For my twenty sixth birthday, I got a blood clot. Protein S deficiency runs in my family and both my brother and dad have had blood clots, so I’ve been expecting this for years. It would’ve been a drastic lifestyle change if my Post Concussion Syndrome hadn’t already changed it. It pays to learn some lessons early. Blood needs to clot to keep you from losing too much blood from cuts and bruises. However, sometimes blood will clot while it’s still inside you. When an internal blood clot forms in a vein deep in your leg, it’s called Deep Vein Throbosis (DVT).

Tl;Dr:

  • Blood clots can be fatal in seconds.
  • A clot is always at risk to move, and it moving to your lungs can kill you in seconds or leave you with permanent damage.
  • Caused by long periods of sitting (flights, drives, bedridden).
  • Symptoms are warmth, pain that feels like a muscle cramp, and
  • Highest risk in legs. Most likely to occur a few weeks after a long period of sitting.
  • Wear 20-30mmHg compression socks during long flights or drives.
  • Pregnant women are at risk

Blood clots are extremely serious. They occur most commonly in legs, although they can happen in your arms too. The most common danger is a clot moving into your lungs, which is called a pulmonary embolism (PE). The closer a clot is to your lungs, the more serious the clot is. Pulmonary embolism can take your life in seconds! Less commonly, clots can move to your brain or heart and cause a stroke or heart attack. Some of the gnarlier organ damage cause by COVID-19 is due to blood clots. The warning signs are swelling, warmth, and pain at the clot. Some clots can show no symptoms!!

Blood clots are riskier during long periods of not moving much. This can be on a plane or car ride, during a movie marathon, or very rarely sleeping. Pregnant women, the obese, and smokers are at higher risk of clots as well. When you travel, try to get up and move around every 2 hours to reduce the risk.

In my case, I only had severe pain in my leg that stopped me from walking. The pain started suddenly one day, and it got worse each day. At first I thought I pulled my calf from overextertion or poor shoe choice. It hurt the most in the morning, less during the afternoon, and some at night. With the addition of my family history and our road trip a few weeks ago, my fiancee realized this is likely a blood clot and drove me to the hospital. Thankfully,the clot had a low risk of moving due to its position. We caught it relatively early, and I’m able to be treated without complications.

For treatment, I got put on an anticoagulant called Xarelto. Anticoagulants slow down the clotting of blood. Previously, the only way to survive a blood clot or live with a clotting disorder was to take Coumadin/warfarin. My brother and dad are both on Coumadin, and it is fairly high maintenance. You have to get your blood tested regularly to make sure its INR is in a good range. INR is a measure of how quick your blood forms clots. Too low could lead to severe injuries from minor cuts/bruises, too high could lead to another blood clot. Coumadin is tricky, because INR can be affected by a ton of things. This includes alcohol, salads, fish, eggs, and other medications. In addition, Coumadin puts you at higher risk of internal bleeding like brain or GI bleeds. Because Coumadin has a ton of interactions, the pharmaceutical industry developed Xarelto/Eliquis. Xarelto/Eliquis are newer anticoagulants and don’t have many interactions, don’t need constant monitoring, and don’t put you at risk for internal bleeding. The only downside of these newer drugs is that they are more expensive than Coumadin/warfarin.

To help with the pain, I wear compression socks during the day. They are socks that gradually loosen as they go up your feet. This helps keep blood from pooling in your feet and ankles.

Although it was painful, I try to never waste a crisis. On viewing my mortality, the ultimate truth (emptiness/God) and mundane truth (the present reality) are inseparable. Nirvana is not in a smidgen separate from samsara, heaven cannot exist without hell. This reality is both a dissatisfactory trap and blissful liberation, entirely dependent on the viewer. With the right view, we can swallow suffering, use it to fuel our drive to reduce suffering. This will nourish our soul until our lease on life expires. I was given a hell of a birthday present.