Jennie26's Journal

I'm 26 years old. I am not supposed ot have a blood clot (or a PE for that matter). I am invincible--the picture of youth and happiness. I'm not fat, I have a great job...I have my whole life ahead of me. Nothing can go wrong. My grandfather lived until 95, my grandmother to 86, my other grandmother is still kicking at 82. I have good genes.

Too bad this isn't quite true. A few months ago, just 2 weeks before my wedding, I wen tto the ER because myleg had been hurting. Although my fiance thought I was nuts, I went anyway after reading about DVT online. Turns out I had a DVT in my right leg. I was put in the hospital and told this happened because I was on birth control and had recently taken a long flight.

3 days later I was discharged with a 2.01 INR and some Warafrin scripts. The next day my chest hurt a bit, and I went back to the ER. Fortunately, the ER is 5 minutes from my house. After a CT scan, I was told I had small clots throughout both lungs. Bilateral pulmonary emboli.

The doc asked how I knew to come back.

What can I say--I am a hypochondriac.

 The next thing I know, I'm in surgery to have an inferior vena cava inserted. I stayed another 5 days in the hospital, on Warfarin and a Heparin drip. I was released 3 days before my wedding.

I'm happy to say I made it through the wedding OK. Although after a recent visit to the hematologist, I discovered I have Factor V Leiden (heterozygous) and Prothrombin Gene Mutation G20210 A (or something like that).

I guess this means Coumadin for life. ;-(