Monday, March 7, 2011

A Clot, a Correction and a Conundrum

Let's start with the clot. When I went for an ultra sound to check on my left IJV the Radiologist said he couldn't detect any blood flow in the vein. After my doctor (PCP) read the radiology report she told me there was a clot in the vein and immediately put me on anticoagulant meds. I'm no longer in shock about the situation and am trying to move slowly and carefully to avoid any bleeding. At some level I feel relief because the clot may explain why I've experienced practically no benefit from the procedure in Brooklyn!

Okay here's the correction to my previous post: my left IJV did show stenosis near the valves. Delete the phrase I posted about the region of valve not being thickened or abnormal---the confluens of the IJV and subclavian vein was angioplastied aggressively to get blood flow through a faulty valve. Unfortunately, that's exactly where the clot formed.

So I'll stay on Coumadin three to six months as the clot shrinks and shrinks and shrinks. Oops, I regressed to talking about the clot again.

Here's the conundrum. Actually it's a riddle that I hope Dr. Sclafani figures out but I'll accept any ideas from practically anyone on how to solve it. The upper part of my left IJV has that septum issue that wouldn't pop open during the procedure. Think of it like a funnel but turned upside down so the wide part is higher and the narrow is lower. That's what my blood is trying to pass through as it flows down the vein.

I was told I'm not the only patient with an inverted funnel thing causing problems. However I'm the only one with such resistance to balloon angioplasty to treat it. I'm forever searching for the part of me that is unique but I really DON'T want my veins to be unique!

I realize I'm a pioneer and my doctors are learning from my case but I didn't want to hear that no one else has shown the resistance that I did during angioplasty. While writing posts for this blog I usually try to end on a hopeful note but I must confess that I feel discouraged today.