My Adventures with Blood Thinners

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About a year ago on September 12, 2012 I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (PE) which is a blood clot in the lung. I had absolutely none of the classic symptoms of a PE. Instead my blood clot was found during one of my routine PET-CT scans to check on the progress of my cancer. For some reason people with cancer have a tendency to develop blood clots and I just happened to be one of the lucky ones that got one. I remember getting off the shuttle at the UCSF Parnassus campus and starting to walk to my sister’s flat when I noticed I had a voicemail. It was my nurse practitioner asking me to call her back because “it was kind of an emergency, but kind of not”. At this point I was really nervous thinking that maybe the cancer had spread instead of getting smaller so I called her back. She then told me that I had to go to the Emergency Room to start a regimen of blood thinners because I had a PE.

My Lovenox Syringe

So, I went to the ER where they gave me my first shot of Lovenox which is a blood thinner that is injected into the subcutaneous tissue which in my case is my stomach and “love handles”. At that point I began to give myself shots two times a day for about 7 months but now I have downgraded to just one shot a day. Yay! Taking blood thinners makes you bruise very easily and giving myself shots two times a day was making me run out of places to give myself a shot. I’m so happy that I now only have to do it once a day but I really wish I didn’t have to do it at all. Some people have asked why I haven’t switched to pill blood thinners but my oncologist is hesitant to do so because she believes Lovenox is safer. I was on a clinical trial medication and she doesn’t want to risk an interaction between medications which is ok with me. I don’t mind the injections but sometimes it is hard to wear pants due to all the bruises on my stomach. Dresses are becoming more comfortable.


A bruise on my leg. Now imagine 3 or more of these on my stomach.

On a side note, I have noticed that there are a lot of cute male doctors, residents and fellows at UCSF. When I went to the ER both the doctor and the resident were very good looking and here I was bald and puffed up from the steroids. That’s not exactly the way I want to meet a cute young doctor. The same thing happened the last time I went to have a breast ultrasound. Here I am lying on the bed with my breasts exposed and two cute young residents basically feeling me up. I could tell one of them was nervous though because I could feel his hand shaking while he was trying to find the lump in my breast. I’m sure most of these doctors become desensitized to seeing half naked bodies but it is kind of awkward when the doctor is good looking. Is it just me? Thank God most of my doctors are female.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 1:04 AM

    where? in the 8 years i worked there i never saw a cute doctor/nurse. -Chuy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 1:08 AM

      ok, i admit those two were cute but they were the only ones i have ever seen

      Delete
    2. UnknownSeptember 23, 2013 at 9:11 PM

      That's because all the cute ones are not in the opthamology department. Lol

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 4:11 AM

    Stay strong.. my wife and I will pray for u

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 2:48 PM

    Just started reading your blog/posts and I have to say that you sound like an amazing person. Whether or not you feel brave, you ARE. You're showing us your innermost private thoughts and feelings that would bring anyone going through them to their knees but then telling us a story of going through your treatments that portrays a strong woman who walks in ready for whatever comes her way. You're admirable. Thank you for sharing your story.

    ReplyDelete

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