Hi Everyone
A bit of a mixed bag as I had to go back to hospital last week before my 8 week review as I had tingling a kind of pins and needles in the front and back of my my thigh and an ache below my knee I Phoned the AMU ward as that’s what they had told me to do if I had any worries after examining my leg they arranged for me to have a scan of my left leg again. I had a scan but the woman who did the scan wasnt interested the scan lasted about 2 and a half minutes she didn’t scan below the knee until I insisted she read my notes on the previous scans which would explain the clot originated below my knee............. she hadn’t even read my notes she was just going through the motions lokking for a DVT which is what we were trying to avoid not what I had . Begrudgingly she pushed a bit of gel below the knee to try to appease me she didn’t even look properly and said the clots all gone !!!! I didn’t believe her as my previous Doppler scans lasted between 10 and 15 minutes and were really thorough. i went back to AMU after the scan and the head nurse said great news your clots all gone and wh3n I wasn’t jumping for joy he said why arn’t you happy ...... I just said I was getting my head around it but I didn’t mention the scan was shit !!!! ............Big mistake on my part. He said keep your appointment on Tuesday 27th November at the heamotologist dept and keep taking your injections till then.
So I spoke to the senior nurse on Monday at my GPs whose been giving my daily injections about the woman’s attitude and the poir quality of her scan and that I was worried about the results I said I was going to tell the person I saw at heamotology yesterday and she said I must .
I told the person I saw yesterday and she said she’d walk down to AMU and speak to the Advanced Nurse Practitioner James who had been looking after me over the last 8 weeks but when she came back she said James wouldn’t order another scan and as far as he was concerned he trusted the woman who had done the scan and if she says it’s gone it’s gone !!!!
So me being me I walked down to AMU from heamotology and insisted on speaking to James personally . I told him about my concerns and used voice memo on my phone to record the conversation just in case I needed proof later but in the end he arranged another scan with a senior radiologist and he told her about my concerns and thankfully she did an excellent job and guess what ......... the clot is still there !!!! It’s below the knee but only in its original place where it started my body has dissolved the portion that had crept up my thigh naturally
I went back to AMU once again and when James read the results of the latest scan showing I was right and the woman in question had missed the clot his manner changed completely and he seemed a little embarrassed he phoned heamotology and they gave two options
1. Stop the injections and do nothing and let my body dissolve the clot over time
2. Stop the injections and do a six week course of blood thinners taking it orally something called Apixaban
It was explained that the blood thinners such as Tinzaparin I was on and Apixaban I could take don’t get rid of the clot your body does. So after much diliberation I decided to stop the injections and do nothing for now and review it in a week . James says I can change my mind and go on the Apixaban if I want either now or next week if I want too.
I just hope I’ve made the right decision Apixaban like warfarin can cause bruising quite easily and it takes cuts ages to heal and the potential of bleeding on the brain if you bang your head according to James the ANP
Let me know your thoughts and whether or not you would have made the same decision after 8 weeks of injections
I’ll be grateful for your comments
Take care Guys
Pete xx