Factor 5 Leiden
Factor 5 Leiden, you're probably thinking what in the world is that!?
The last week or so has been interesting. Here's the back story...
At the age of 19, one day I woke up to find my calf was the size of my thigh. I could barely walk. My mom immediately took me to my regular doctor, I received an ultrasound on my leg and nothing was found. They didn't know what was wrong and sent me home. My leg didn't get better and I KNEW there was something wrong, repeat the above, long waits with doctors and finally after a more thorough ultrasound a blood clot was found in my groin. This clot was in a dangerous spot, in a deep vein. It was called a DVT. First time ever hearing this term and it has now been a normal thought in my head over the years. I had to get surgery as soon as possible to prevent the DVT from breaking off from where it was and go to my lungs, heart or even brain. DVT's are scary, they could kill you. After surgery I had to stay laid on my stomach for 7 days, not moving, no trips to the bathroom, no showers. There was a hardcore blood thinner being injected to the area of the clot. During my stay in the hospital, my blood was checked every couple of hours for 8 days. Both my arms were covered in bruises. Needless to say it sucked. After I was able to move it was hard for me to walk since I haven't for a week. For 6 months to follow I was on blood thinners and needed to get my blood checked on a weekly basis. With all this happening I was told I had a blood clot disorder, factor 5 leiden. After I found out I had this disorder, my mom was checked and also has it. I guess it's in the genes. Since I was at such a young age they didn't want to put me on blood thinners for the rest of my life since they could be dangerous as well. Many years passed and I didn't have any more blood clots.
When I was pregnant with my son I had to be on blood thinners since there was a high risk of clots. It was an injection into my stomach daily. I thought it would be worse than it was, just burned a bit.
Then 3 years ago, my son was in the NICU for 6 weeks (he was born premature, 10 weeks early) and a couple days before he was about to finally head up to be with us I found out I had a clot in my calf. At first we thought I might've had to stay in the hospital as my son headed home, but we found out it was in a superficial vein and so small that it wasn't a danger to me. Luckily blood thinners weren't needed as well.
Both incidents were brought on by other circumstances, birth control which has a risk of blood clots and the fact that I was basically in a sitting position for 6 weeks with little activity while my son was in the hospital. Also, I just had surgery, a C-section, which is always high risk for clots.
Cut to two weeks ago I was having a lot of leg pain in my vein from my thigh to my ankle. I gave it a week to see if it got better, but instead it got worse. Last Monday I went to the doctor to have it checked and since I have a history with leg and clot issues I was sent for an ultrasound. It showed I have multiple clotting in my right leg in the superficial vein. I was sent to a vascular doctor as well and he noticed that these clots are close to the valve when the superficial and the deep veins meet. If a clot entered the deep vein it would turn into a DVT and we wanted to prevent that at all costs so I was put on blood thinners and will go back next week to see the progress on the clots. My leg has been slowly getting better. I am hopeful they will be gone during my next ultrasound. It was also recommended for me to consult a hematologist with my history and now age. It's still unknown if I will be on blood thinners for life or just during this time. Fingers crossed!
It's always something, right? But it could always be worse. I am grateful for my life.
It's definitely so important to be aware of your body and any differences or changes that may be going on. It never hurts to pay a small co-pay and get checked by a doctor. I always prefer to see a doctor or even call and get their opinions, if not for anything but a piece of mind. Don't rely solely on the internet or others opinions in Facebook groups. Everyone is different. Go with your gut. Get checked.
Positive vibes,
Jenn
