GWS ColinJ.. DVT/Pulmonary Embolism

[wilkie]

Get well soon x

 

[ColinJ]

A quick update:

I'm still suffering chronic fatigue, mild nausea and fuzzy headaches rather too often for my liking. And also occasional bouts of shortness of breath and a rapid pulse. All in all, this is a bit worrying, and frustrating ...

I am waiting for the results of a routine prostate cancer screen, and am having a CT scan of my chest later in the week.

I'm thinking of asking my GP if I can have a battery of blood tests done for various things that could be causing my problems. I think that it is about time that more was done to work out what is going on. The clotting is a sign that something serious is wrong. That is being treated, but the underlying cause has not been identified and addressed.

While searching my old blog for photos, I kept finding references to me having come down with mysterious 'chest infections' which left me breathless, weak and my pulse racing, yet I never got a runny nose or coughed up anything. That's exactly what I was like before collapsing last year. I am now convinced that I had been having clotting problems for several years but didn't realise it!

The good news is that I have been out and done a few good moderate hilly walks (8-10 miles) and bike rides (18-24 miles) and felt pretty good, so all is not yet lost!

 

[MartinQ]

Wish my wife wouldn't buy KoM TdF toilet paper while I'm on warfarin
Bleeding again ... and the sun isn't shining from there ...

 

[ColinJ]

Wish my wife wouldn't buy KoM TdF toilet paper while I'm on warfarin
Bleeding again ... and the sun isn't shining from there ...

Er ... yikes!

(That's one potential problem that I hadn't considered ...)

 

[MartinQ]

Had it last time as well after a couple of months and had a few tests done which I don't want to be repeated.
Best not to even consider it/them.

 

[ColinJ]

I had my CT scan done this morning. I was pretty chuffed to be walking out of the hospital at 09:58 when my appointment had been for 10:00! (I got there early because the next train would have potentially got me there late. I only had to wait about 5 minutes.)

Also chuffed that no x-ray contrast dye was used this time, so no cannula was required. The needle-phobics in the house shout YAY!

Oh, and also chuffed that on my little outing I did a total of 4.1 undulating miles of walking in about 57 minutes, and had no problems with my breathing. When I last went to that hospital, in June, I had to catch buses because walking would have been too much for me.

 

[oldfatfool]

Good going Col. Looking forward to the rearranged ride out.

 

[GaryA]

Best wishes with the (Hopeful) recovery and cycling recuperation Colin.
I always feel humbled reading your posts.

 

[ColinJ]

Best wishes with the (Hopeful) recovery and cycling recuperation Colin.
I always feel humbled reading your posts.

Thanks, Gary.

I seem to be on one of my better days today. I have probably jinxed myself now, and will start feeling awful***, but ... I haven't actually felt ill since yesterday evening. Considering that I only got about 4 hours sleep, and I have now walked over 5 miles at a brisk pace today, I feel fairly energetic.

There are days, however, when I feel like I am going to be ill for the rest of my life and that makes me feel pretty depressed. But then I see someone inspiring like Prof. Stephen Hawking and realise that there are people a lot worse off than me, who just get on with their lives.

Oh, I feel tired now - ha ha! A good kind of tired though. A 20 minute snooze should sort that out. What I cannot stand are the days spent staring at the wall opposite, with a headful of mush, and no energy to get things done.

*** PS Had a bit of a 30 minute slump this evening, but I came out of it in time to enjoy the cycling highlights on Eurosport.

 

[arallsopp]

Glad to hear things are looking up. Sounds like you've got your head facing the right way, and that's the essential step towards managing things. You're doing great, Col. Keep going.

 

[Wobblers]

Thanks, Gary.

I seem to be on one of my better days today. I have probably jinxed myself now, and will start feeling awful***, but ... I haven't actually felt ill since yesterday evening. Considering that I only got about 4 hours sleep, and I have now walked over 5 miles at a brisk pace today, I feel fairly energetic.

There are days, however, when I feel like I am going to be ill for the rest of my life and that makes me feel pretty depressed. But then I see someone inspiring like Prof. Stephen Hawking and realise that there are people a lot worse off than me, who just get on with their lives.

Oh, I feel tired now - ha ha! A good kind of tired though. A 20 minute snooze should sort that out. What I cannot stand are the days spent staring at the wall opposite, with a headful of mush, and no energy to get things done.

*** PS Had a bit of a 30 minute slump this evening, but I came out of it in time to enjoy the cycling highlights on Eurosport.

That sounds far better than a few months ago! It sounds like it might be a slow process where the good days become more frequent and the bad days rarer. Here's hoping, anyway.

 

[ColinJ]

That sounds far better than a few months ago! It sounds like it might be a slow process where the good days become more frequent and the bad days rarer. Here's hoping, anyway.

Thanks. That seems to be how it is going.

One of the things that upsets me is how much I appear to have aged in just 14 months. A year ago (when I was 56), I think I looked about 50. Now aged 57, when I look in the mirror I see a sickly man in his mid-60s!

 

[Wobblers]

Thanks. That seems to be how it is going.

One of the things that upsets me is how much I appear to have aged in just 14 months. A year ago (when I was 56), I think I looked about 50. Now aged 57, when I look in the mirror I see a sickly man in his mid-60s!

Hopefully that'll improve as you get your fitness back: you'll look about 70 when you reach 60!

Assuming that I ever pull my finger out and get round to doing one of your rides, I'll be expecting you to look exactly like your avatar - or else! (How's that for motivation?)

 

[ColinJ]

Hopefully that'll improve as you get your fitness back: you'll look about 70 when you reach 60!

Assuming that I ever pull my finger out and get round to doing one of your rides, I'll be expecting you to look exactly like your avatar - or else! (How's that for motivation?)

A couple of bike rides in the sun have put some colour back in my cheeks, so now I reckon I look 60. By the end of this year, I might look my actual age again!

As for the avatar ... I'm slowly getting the fit, hollow-cheeked look back but my hair is half grey now. Also - the bald patch at the back of my head is expanding, my hairline receding, and what hair there is left is thinning out (a known side-effect of warfarin, though it had already started before I went on the drug) so whatever I do I am never going to look exactly like the avatar again. Maybe I should buy a job lot of 'Just for Men'!

I hope to be starting the forum rides again next Spring, and it would good to see you on one.

 

[MartinQ]

When we went to France last month, I got a bit of tan on my legs. Unfortunately, that is wearing off now and you can see the comedy veins again.
How far are you getting on the rides Colin? I'm still feeling (after 2 months) like the PE symptoms haven't totally gone and the warfarin is still hitting me.