Sqad - And Anyone Else

[phleb]

Mum has blood clots? warfarin for life. Had 2 ct scans and will be sent home next week, then recalled for another ct. my concern is that can anymore blood clots occur while shes sat at home waiting for another ct scan as an outpatient. The said there are indications that there are more than two clots. ?Pulmonary Embolism? what is that? How do they occur? She sits on her reclining armchair most of the day watching television, can that contribute to blood clots? just sitting around? She is always in pain with osteoporosis everywhere, even her hands. :'( any advice will be great, and tips to help her get better. thanks so much x

[bednobs]

my tip is to keep taking the warfarin.
yes sitting around contributes to clots, yes she's at less risk if she's anti coagulated (blood thinned with warfarin)
yes more clots could happen, but they could also happen if she's in hospital

[rsvp]

Phleb why not go to the hospital she's in at the moment and insist on a thorough explanation of her condition and how you can help - most likely your Mum will be sent home with a list of instructions but if it were my Mum I'd want to know as much as possible. Certainly sitting down all day is bad but she could (and should), even if she can't get about too well, do the sort of exercises given to long haul flight passengers and she should drink lots of water (that should help her get up more often too!)

[Sqad]

/// my concern is that can anymore blood clots occur while shes sat at home waiting for another ct scan as an outpatient. ///

That is not impossible but extremely unlikely as she is on anti-coagulants (Warfarin)

\\\\ ?Pulmonary Embolism? what is that? How do they occur?\\\

A clot forms in the deep leg veins and sticks to the vein wall (deep vein thrombosis DVT)and if not treated then a piece of that clot may detach from the vein wall and travel to the lungs and cause cough shortness of breath and maybe, death. However very few cases of DVT actually cause a clot to detach to the lungs (Pulmonary embolus) and hence is quite uncommon.

\\\\She sits on her reclining armchair most of the day watching television, can that contribute to blood clots? just sitting around?

Yes, you are correct, this "sitting about" is the worse thing that she can do, so please try to get her to move around the house for at least one hour a day.

[rsvp]

ps - you should also appraise yourself of any likely symptoms that are cause for concern re:her condition.

[lcg]

the warfarin should help and she does need to get off her bum and exercise regularly, even if she is in pain i'm afraid. this is what happened to my mum in august, so i do appreciate what a worrying time it is. basically, pulmonarry embolisms are blood clots in the blood vessel leading into the lungs and it is the prime site to develop such clots for a whole host of reasons (age, weight, cardiac health, level of exercise, diet - the list goes on). she should be ok when the warfarin levels settle, but she needs to be doing stuff - luckily my dad has dragged my mum everywhere he can think of to do this (as she also has osteo and chronic pain) and i'm glad i don't have to listen to the inevitable grumbling this will have caused. good luck, and if either of you have questions, write them down and ask the next dr you see to explain them - that is what they are there for.

[phleb]

Thank you, to you all and sqad for your helpful insight, the doctors always seem rushed and thus i feel uncomfortable asking them too much, in this day and age they think were being too inquisitive and they don't always like it. I will see them tomorrow and ask for more information. I have everyday visited my mum and asked her to leave the chair and walk, she just got angry and said i don't care and if i was going through her pain i wouldn't be telling her to move about. I cant win. I feel life is so short, i don't want to be telling her what to do and,making her do stuff she doesn't want.

[nelliebee]

Morning Phleb, don't be afraid to keep asking questions on behalf of your Mum. I was diagnosed In January of this year with "Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension" (blood clots on the lungs) I have had plenty of attention, scans etc etc, and we have found a new drug which was given the o'k in April of this year, unfortunately it is not on the N.H.S.yet so i am having to pay a fortune for it, but hopefully for my sake and your Mum's it will become available for all soon. Not to cure me I might add, but to help me breathe a bitter better,and therefore hopefully a bit better quality of life. My very best wishes to your Mum and yourself x

[nelliebee]

^ I did not mean "bitter better " ha!

[murraymints]

get her one of those pedal machines she can use whilst remaining seated ! I got one for my dad..loads on AMAZON

[phleb]

Murray, mums got one of those, but chose to hide it away, it is coming out now. Nelliebee, what is this new drug called? im glad you are breathing better on this, my mum is always struggling to breath without getting out of breath x