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| Abdominal Hysterectomy - TAH/BSO/Blood Clot (DVT) - Catherine's Story |
Date : 05-03-2003 - 03:17 PM - Readers : 3292 |
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In May of 1999 I had a TAH/BSO due to large fibroids. After the first week post op I began to feel stronger. I was staying up nearly all day, taking only a short nap or two during the day. My recovery was moving along better than I thought it would until three weeks post op, when I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot (Deep Vein Thrombosis) in my leg.
I remained in the hospital for eight days with a heparin IV drip. Blood was drawn every six hours 'round the clock. Once I was therapeutic, I was put on Coumadin and sent home. After a year, the hematologist decided that I should be taken off it and that a complete blood workup would be done to find out what had caused my DVT.
The blood work determined that the cause was Factor V Leiden, which is the most common hereditary blood coagulation disorder in the United States. It increases the risk of venous thrombosis 3 to 8 times for heterozygous (one bad gene inherited) and substantially more, 30 to 140 times for homozygous individuals (two bad genes inherited). I am homozygous, having inherited the gene from both mother and father. What this also means is that each of my children has at least one bad gene, making them heterozygous.
Before my diagnosis, I had never heard of Factor V Leiden. This disorder would explain my father's untimely death from a stroke and a heart attack in 1968 at the age of 47. Tests for Factor V Leiden have only been performed since the early 1990's and many doctors aren't familiar with it.
My hematologist has decided not to prescribe Coumadin therapy. I took the drug for a year after my DVT, and because my problem surfaced only after my hysterectomy, we will take a wait and see approach. I'm doing well off the drug and seeing my hematologist 4 or 5 times a year. If I should experience another clot, I will then take Coumadin for the rest of my life.
My purpose in writing is to let anyone reading this know about blood clots and Factor V Leiden. Any leg pain after surgery should be brought to your doctor's attention. In my case, I had only one symptom of a clot, and that was pain. Other symptoms, including pain, redness, heat, swelling, and fever and the more severe symptoms of shortness of breath and chest pain were absent.
While my experience isn't common, it is a definite possibility after surgery. I hope that by reading this you will be more aware of the seriousness of reporting any leg pain to your doctor. I'm thankful that Hyster Sisters has given me a place to share this information.
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