• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Rat Poison, Part Deux: The Final Insult

And the latest news.....

OK, before we all physician bash....

scienceworks.png(Gratuitously stolen from xkcd.com)

It's an economic reality that health care costs money. I was rolled off of the Warfarin script in January because, given the level of tests I had performed on me, I came through with flying colors.

Mind you, those "tests" amounted to one recurring test - the PT/INR test, which is the most common test used. It provides only the most basic of information regarding clotting and anticoagulant progress.

And why didn't I get more, and more extensive, tests? Because I was "under-employed" and had no health insurance to cover the more extensive and expensive tests. Now that I have a great health insurance plan, item one on my agenda was to have a complete "thrombosis panel" performed on me. That actually happened this past Friday (kind of prescient on my part, given that I didn't develop strong symptoms until Saturday) when I had no less than 7 separate vials of blood drawn from me....and I actually called my clinic twice yesterday to see what the results were.

What I wasn't informed was that the blood samples are shipped to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN for the series of tests; there are around 13 separate "factors" in hypercoagulability, of which I could have one, a combination, or all of 'em.

And the results are trickling in. It's now determined that I'm "Protein C aberrant", as well as "lupus anticoagulant by dilute Russell's viper venom hypercoagulant". (The first one I understand, but since I've never been diagnosed with lupus, I gotta read up on the second - especially since there's a snake in the mix. ;) )

Point being, NONE of us knew in January that I had these two "factors". So, like the graphic says, science works. :)

OOH!! OOH!! I just now got to see the CT scan slices, and it's interesting; compared to the solitary golf-ball sized clot I threw two Novembers ago, this one looks as if my lungs were peppered with birdshot, with a respective 40/60% split between the left and right lungs.

It looks like I'll be here tonight, and maybe tomorrow night as well. If it's any longer than that, I guarantee that I'll rip the telemetry leads off and storm out.

Finally, my thanks to Charles Pritzel for having the courage to enter the squalor that is my home and walk my dog.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Dale
 
Hey Dale, sorry to hear it. I had a similar problem with some tenants in a property I manage last week. They were not the paying tenants, but rather some squaters in the garage. Luckily we were able to find them some warfarin that comes in over the counter in little blue blocks.. I performed the treatment myself, so if you should bust out of that joint and decide to take matters into your own hands, let me know. I don't recommend the dosage that I gave them though.

I'll be praying for you though, and dressed up as a pirate, so that the FSM will no doubt give my prayers first consideration..

Now, just in case the above parts of my silly post fails to cheer you up, I thought I'd direct your attention to the Michelle Obama 'Whitey' tape which has now been released. Yes I have been saving this gem for a post from you, lol.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aZi6U811hxE

Get well dude!

Regards,

Karl Rove
 
Good for you that you had the the work up last week. Too bad that it was a little late... Well now you know you need to stay on the warfarin for life.

You don't have to have lupus to have the lupus anticoagulant and the test result probably just refers to the reagent they used to test for the lupus anticoagulant. There are different tests for it and I think there are different types of the anticoagulant too.

Feel better soon. I hope your INR is therapeutic soon and you get off the Lovenox injections.
 
What is with that Russel's Viper part? Out on a huge limb, could that be related to the teensy tiny bit of venom that's been found in corn snake saliva? Are they suggesting that you had it in your system, or that the results are just consistant with what they would expect to see if you did?
 
Hey Jazz hate to see a good man down. Hopefully not for long. To raise your spirits and distract you, your Abbotts pipped. I haven't sexed them yet so I don't know if I have a pair yet. But if I do they are yours and man are they ugly! Should be great looking adults. Get better soon! If you need anything, I'm not that far away, just let me know.
Terri
 
While I can sometimes agree with you on the docs didn't know, and you are lucky they found it and that you had that gut feeling. The tests no matter who does them can always be subject to dispute and error. In your case I would go with your own gut and of course CT scan. As far as the Lupus, I would wait for other symptoms or more tests. Not to hyjack, cuz I'm not but I've had positive and negative Lupus tests, one doc says yes the other no, one says his lab is bad and vice versa. One of my postives was at USC medical center, what do they know. I just act like I don't. Anyway stay well and don't eat the food, for sure that will do you know good, susan
 
Hey Dale, sorry to hear it. I had a similar problem with some tenants in a property I manage last week. They were not the paying tenants, but rather some squaters in the garage. Luckily we were able to find them some warfarin that comes in over the counter in little blue blocks.. I performed the treatment myself, so if you should bust out of that joint and decide to take matters into your own hands, let me know. I don't recommend the dosage that I gave them though.

I'll be praying for you though, and dressed up as a pirate, so that the FSM will no doubt give my prayers first consideration..

Now, just in case the above parts of my silly post fails to cheer you up, I thought I'd direct your attention to the Michelle Obama 'Whitey' tape which has now been released. Yes I have been saving this gem for a post from you, lol.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aZi6U811hxE

Get well dude!

Regards,

Karl Rove

Thanks, Turdblossom!! :grin01:

I've yet to click on the link, but I hope to hell it's the RickRoll version!! (I got nailed with it a couple of days ago.)

And yep, what Jo and Alan said; the viper venom is the reagent in the test. I just thought it was cool.

And my thanks to everyone for the well wishes. Truly, I've been touched by his noodly appendage, even if by means of TCP/IP. :laugh:

And for anyone who's interested, here are the 11:00 pm lottery numbers:

  • 97.7
  • 75
  • 16
  • 143/90
  • 95%
biggrin.gif


Dale
 
Status Update...

OK, now I'm getting a little concerned. It's not even noon here, and I've had two EKGs to compliment the echocardiogram from yesterday. I'm all for erring on the side of caution, especially when it has to do with my ticker, but c'mon guys, share some information.

Because the only information I've gotten regarding the heart is this: the blood enzyme levels have been all good since I came into the ER yesterday, but the troponin (a protein that gets measured "with" the enzyme levels to gauge heart muscle damage) is in the "gray area".

And if any of you have seen the way I slice up forum posts for precise language here, you can only imagine how pissed off I am with the ambiguity when it comes to my body.
wink.gif


That said, it looks like I'll be here one more night, while I'm passing the vitals tests with flying colors, I'm still short of breath after taking a lap around the ward - and I'm not THAT out of shape. So the current game plan is for them to come to a conclusion regarding the heart as I rest up and let the heparin begin the "bridge" to Coumadin-ville (where I'll stay the rest of my life).

Otherwise, things here are good - I'm able to crack wise with the day shift nursing staff, and they happily return the volleys.

It's the third shift crew that scares me. Anyone who finds pleasure in measuring urine output and taking blood draws at 2:30 am must be a closet sadist.

And why is it that the people WORST at drawing blood work during the time of day when you're LEAST tolerant of the procedure? I swear, last night, I had a stout and over-enthusiastic Teutonic woman (who was a monocle short of being Eva Braun) use my arm as a needlepoint project.

OK, I'm done ranting. Time to shove the little plastic oxygen prongs back up my nose.
ohmy.gif


Dale
 
Just read this thread and I'm sorry to hear you're back in the hospital with a relapse. I know science is a wonderful thing, but you also have to consider that it's about time for your doctor to be getting a new car (2 years is the maximum time limit he can own the same vehicle, otherwise he gets thrown out of the Doctor Club). I thought about doing a special LOLCat for you, but will just let the image speak for itself...

hockeyrodentjpg-1.jpg


Get well soon, Dale!
 
LOL, I love that picture Susan (we were discussing Warfarin in biology the other day) :grin01:

I hope you get better soon Dale.

All the best, mate.

David
 
Third and final EKG was an hour and a half ago - all normal, except that I had "bradycardia" this morning. (Low beats per minute.) Well, DUH. I hadn't had my coffee yet.

They've declared that the right ventricular enlargement and "bundle branch block" (alliterative diagnoses are fun!) were "transient", i.e., a one-shot dealio because of the pressure involved in throwing the emboli.

So, I'm waiting on:
  1. My bland institutional food breakfast,
  2. The Blessing from the Lovenox people regarding a "payment plan" (the shots, which I'll need twice a day until I become "theraputic" on the Warfarin, cost $110.00 a pop
  3. The Blessing from my attending doc during morning rounds, and
  4. Some photos of me in my green, tone-on-tone, two-panel dress (aka hospital gown), thanks to my first shift nurse bringing her digital camera in. I'll post 'em here. Yes, I have no shame.
After that, I'm outta here!! W00t!

Dale
 
Sorry to hear you had a relapse. Glad to hear your ticker is alright, and the doc will let you outta there. How long before the rat poison will be the only med you will need?
Here's to a speedy recovery.
 
I agree with the Hurrah but Photos? I have problems enough getting to sleep at night. I don't need that mental image stuck in my head!;)
Terri

Just think of Brian Doyle-Murray with a Fu Manchu and hairy legs, in a dress.

In other words, HAWT.



:sidestep:


Dale
 
Back
Top