GWS ColinJ.. DVT/Pulmonary Embolism

[ColinJ]

Hi Colin,
As your heparin shots are subcutaneous in your tum, why don't you self administer at home? Save you the trouble of going out to get them done.
Get well soon by the way.

I could have sworn that I posted a reply yesterday, but I must have forgotten to click the button ...

TBH, I probably could get a grip on my needle-phobia but the health centre is only a few hundred yards away and it is only for a few more days until the Warfarin takes over. The doc said that she would rather a nurse did it to make sure the dose is right and it is done properly. (Since I have lost weight, about 10% of each syringe has to be discarded.)

 

[ColinJ]

I'm trying to find out what the effects of exercise are on INR (the clotting speed which Warfarin affects). I'm hoping that it increases INR, which would mean that I could take lower doses of Warfarin if I exercised more regularly. If so, that would motivate me to do more - I would rather be fit and on a low dose, than unfit and on a high dose.

(I'm going to do more exercise anyway, when my body will take it, but I want to feel optimistic about the future. I want to be on the lowest safe dose of drugs that I can get away with. I'll find out soon enough what happens because I will be having regular INR tests and I'll track for myself INR vs dose vs exercise.)

 

[Pale Rider]

I

TBH, I probably could get a grip on my needle-phobia

Strange things, phobias.

I'm no braver than the next man, but needles don't bother me too much, I can cope by not looking.

I had a cannula as a precaution for my hip op.

Oddly, I don't recall them putting it in - mind was scrambled at the time.

It was needed, I leaked a bit too much on the table and needed a blood transfusion after passing out the next day.

The pipework leaked as the blood was going in, so I had by arm stuck in the air with blood running down my wrist and dripping onto the ward floor.

Happy memories - not.

 

[ColinJ]

Strange things, phobias.

I'm no braver than the next man, but needles don't bother me too much, I can cope by not looking.

I had a cannula as a precaution for my hip op.

Oddly, I don't recall them putting it in - mind was scrambled at the time.

It was needed, I leaked a bit too much on the table and needed a blood transfusion after passing out the next day.

The pipework leaked as the blood was going in, so I had by arm stuck in the air with blood running down my wrist and dripping onto the ward floor.

Happy memories - not.

Whereas I feel slightly faint just reading that!

My sister commented on the fact that I was cracking jokes in A&E a few seconds after being told that I had a serious health problem, but I was bothered about the needles ...

I don't like medical procedures, and I am not good with heights. Snakes are no problem and neither are clowns!

I have no fear of descending on my bike at speeds greatly in excess of 50 mph, though maybe I should reconsider that given the potential consequences if I fall off when on anticoagulants!

Yes - different people really are different.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Whereas I feel slightly faint just reading that!
.

You're not the only one.

When I was whisked down to the surgical assessment unit earlier in the year with suspected appendicitis (it turned out not to be) the vein hid when they tried to put a canula in my right hand, so after a few minutes mucking about it had to go in the left instead. I felt .

 

[ColinJ]

I called in to visit a friend in Mytholmroyd yesterday to pass the time before my appointment at the clinic. He lives just a short walk up the hill from the main road but I got short of breath strolling up there. It confirms that I caught this relapse only just in time. A month ago, I could have almost run up there. Another week or two without treatment and I could have been flat out on my face or back again!

Anyway, I am going to do what I can to build myself back up. I did 10 very easy minutes on my gym bike earlier, just to keep the blood moving in my legs, and I will do another 10 while my evening meal is cooking. I will take a walk to the shops, pharmacy and local health centre this afternoon.

 

[Minotier]

Sorry to hear you are under the hammer again fella, luckily you seem to have realised in time.
We all bury our head in the sand thinking that all's well even when our bodies are screaming out at us and throwing different symptoms up to make us aware and do summat.
Hope the road to recovery is shorter than predicted and all the best.
I have been away for a while myself and the future is unpredictable to say the least

 

[hopless500]

The Heparin jabs are okay. I don't mind them into the belly fat because I hardly feel the needle. The drug itself makes the flesh throb for a couple of minutes, but it is only like getting a mild wasp sting.

The thing that I really hate is having a cannula put into a vein on the back of my hand!

Cannulas are grim but all in a good cause...
GWS

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Cannulas are grim but all in a good cause...
GWS

I'm not too bothered by Cannulas, its catheters I don't like, or the attached bag.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm not too bothered by Cannulas, its catheters I don't like, or the attached bag.

I must admit that I winced a bit in hospital when I could hear two nurses trying to plumb one into the man in the bed opposite me! He didn't sound like he was enjoying it ...

I mentioned it elsewhere (the Tea? thread, perhaps) that the nurse giving me my Clexane injection yesterday told me that her boyfriend developed the same problem as me at the end last year and is now a warfarin-for-lifer. She told me that she encounters a lot of patients with clotting problems. I still can't work out why this doesn't get as much attention as heart disease and cancer, given that it is the biggest cause of sudden death.

I spoke to a helpful man at our local warfarin clinic this afternoon and he confirmed that he would be happy for me to do my own INR tests if I bought my own machine and did the (simple) training to use it. If I were not self-testing, then the interval between my blood tests would gradually be extended up to 12 weeks, which I think is a bit long for checking on a drug which needs to be tightly controlled! I would be thinking in terms of testing myself weekly.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

I must admit that I winced a bit in hospital when I could hear two nurses trying to plumb one into the man in the bed opposite me! He didn't sound like he was enjoying it ...

I spoke to a helpful man at our local warfarin clinic this afternoon and he confirmed that he would be happy for me to do my own INR tests if I bought my own machine and did the (simple) training to use it. If I were not self-testing, then the interval between my blood tests would gradually be extended up to 12 weeks, which I think is a bit long for checking on a drug which needs to be tightly controlled! I would be thinking in terms of testing myself weekly.

I fully appreciate your anxiety about the length of time between blood tests Colin - but once stabilised many patients remain on the same dose of Warfarin for years without it needing adjusting. Great if you can check your own - and it is really straight forward.

As for urinary catheters, I have inserted hundreds over the years, and most of my victims have been surprised at how painless it has been.
In fact - if the patient is in acute retention of urine and has been for a while, passing a catheter gives almost instant relief and so many patients are extremely grateful.......but I am kinda glad to report that none of my catheter victims has ever given me the slightest hint that they were enjoying the procedure!

 

[ColinJ]

I fully appreciate your anxiety about the length of time between blood tests Colin - but once stabilised many patients remain on the same dose of Warfarin for years without it needing adjusting. Great if you can check your own - and it is really straight forward.

I've looked at lots of websites and they pretty much all talk about monthly INR tests once things have settled down. I know that warfarin and vitamin k levels tend to build up and die away slowly, but 3 months is a really long time!

I was very stable on warfarin last time but other things that might have affected my INR were not going on at the time, things such as going out and doing long bike rides, or getting an unrelated illness or an injury.

I still haven't spoken to my consultant up here since finding out that I am ill again. My GP was going to contact Northampton General to get them to send their scans and lab results up so I am waiting for that and then I am sure that I will be asked to come and have a chat.

As for urinary catheters, I have inserted hundreds over the years, and most of my victims have been surprised at how painless it has been.

In fact - if the patient is in acute retention of urine and has been for a while, passing a catheter gives almost instant relief and so many patients are extremely grateful.......but I am kinda glad to report that none of my catheter victims has ever given me the slightest hint that they were enjoying the procedure!

I think that this is a case where 'not enjoying' is understatement, rather than the opposite of 'enjoying'! I would be pretty worried if someone did enjoy having a catheter inserted. Mind you, there are some strange folk in the world - I remember 'Operation Spanner'!

 

[mrandmrspoves]

You are quite right about the various things that can affect your INR and I was not suggesting that this is not checked regularly....but if after say a year of therapy and monthly tests have shown no need to adjust your Warfarin dose it would be reasonable to extend the period between tests further.
I can't remember Operation spanner......and as I need to be up early tomorrow, I am not going to click on your link so close to bed time!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

As for urinary catheters, I have inserted hundreds over the years, and most of my victims have been surprised at how painless it has been.
In fact - if the patient is in acute retention of urine and has been for a while, passing a catheter gives almost instant relief and so many patients are extremely grateful.......but I am kinda glad to report that none of my catheter victims has ever given me the slightest hint that they were enjoying the procedure!

I consider myself fortunate as I was out for the count both times I had one inserted, I found the removal uncomfortable though, especially the last one where there was a lot of catheter inserted, I had something called Low Flow Priapsim, if you look that up its adult material and an unpleasant subject, and it was a painful and very uncomfortable experience.

 

[ColinJ]

I can't remember Operation spanner......and as I need to be up early tomorrow, I am not going to click on your link so close to bed time!

It raised uncomfortable questions about the law interfering in people's private lives. The behaviour that the men in question got up to would have been pretty offensive to many people, but they were all consenting adults. A tricky one, made more controversial by the fact that the men were gay and it was suggested that the law might have turned a blind eye to heterosexuals indulging in similar behaviour.