I met with my new PCP yesterday. I have to say, he was a crackerjack, really on top of stuff. Key takeaways:
- Since my clot may be ‘unprovoked’ (no proximate cause) I may be on blood thinners the rest of my life
- He’s referring me to a hematologist (blood specialist) to determine point 1 above.
- My clots will not be monitored, no imaging, he says there’s no point. Big surprise to me and not sure I understood the rationale. Basically if there is or isn’t a clot, the treatment is the same: blood thinners.
- He poo-poohed the whole “eat blood thinner meds with fat” thing, but sure, eat meds with cheese or full fat yogurt, whatever.
- I can travel after 3 months on blood thinners and my travel risk will be the same as anyone else
- But for the next 3-4 weeks stay close to a hospital just in case
- He showed me how to test my swelling in my clot leg: press thumb against shin bone, it stays indented (it’s quite startling when someone shows you).
In other “trouble comes in threes” news, I got bloodwork (PSA) back 2 days ago that shows my prostate cancer may have returned.