The After.
The After.
Good Monday morning readers! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend . We spent time with friends and hung out in the pool. It was so relaxing ! We finally have our pool up and running . This is the first time I’ve ever had a pool. Ours isn’t deep .. I mean both kids can touch , but I can relax on my float and get some sun. So it’s perfect for me! Luckily the weather looks perfect for the week , I can bet that we will be swimming most of the time . Sounds like a good start to summer break .
So today , I thought I would share with you my story sort of. Since everything has happened , my health ( mental and physical) have went down hill. As I mentioned before , I was diagnosed with Factor V Leiden. When I left the hospital , I was put on so many medications. I was taking aspirin twice a day , three different medications for sleeping , iron supplements , pain medication ..it was overwhelming . I had to wear thigh high compression stockings 24/7. I couldn't be left alone. I was so confused and didn't really understand anything that was happening.
I have always been a healthy person. I've had a few knee surgeries and was only sick when I was pregnant. I never had to go to the doctor , only for regular check ups once a year. The only medication I took was my birth control. I was pretty lucky honestly.
Once I was home from the hospital , my mom got me a pill box thing. It has the Monday through Friday , then morning , afternoon , evening , and bedtime organizing type style. Tyler organized my box for me , funny story ...he mixed up my pain pill with a sleeping pill . We were wondering why I took a five hour nap ! I quickly realized that this wasn't a job for him. So I took over . I felt like my grandma. I had my pill box , stockings. I could only wear my night gowns and robe . My feet were so swollen , I could only fit into slippers. I actually wore them to town quite a few times. I was so sore and sad. I wasn't me anymore. I couldn't sleep , eat . I was afraid all the time that I was going to start bleeding again or have a stroke.
This wasn't my life. I was 28 years old. I shouldn't have to worry about dying. But I did all the time. I was so depressed and scared. I was so tired and weak. None of my medication helped me sleep . I still was clueless about this whole Factor V stuff. I didn't really understand what it was . I knew I was at risk for blood clots , one reason being I had just had a major abdominal surgery and two being I carry the Factor V gene.
5 weeks had passed. I was doing better. My incision was healing well. My doctor adjusted my medication , so I was sleeping well at night. I was up moving around more . The only thing was awful really was wearing those damn compression stockings. I was so hot and uncomfortable all the time. I hated wearing them at night , I usually sleep without pants. I hate for things to be over my legs like that. And don't even get me started on them coming over my feet. I felt like I had tight socks on. I mean who sleeps with socks?! I guess I shouldn't complain. I mean they were preventing blood clots in my legs..but let's face it , I wouldn't be me if I didn't complain about something.. that's according to my husband anyway.
One morning , I noticed my right arm was hurting . The inside part of my elbow area felt bruised. I couldn't see any bruising though. I thought I must have hit it off something at some point. So I went about my day. That night it was hurting pretty bad. I have a pretty strong tolerance for pain , I don't complain that much when it comes to pain. But this hurt! I couldn't lay on my right side , I had to just lay my arm on a pillow so it was propped up. The next day , it hurt even worse. I couldn't move my arm , I couldn't lift anything ( Dr's orders ..I wasn't to be lifting anyway .) It just hurt.
Now before I go on , I should point out that I am a worry wart anyway. My "freaking out" about stuff has gotten worse since all of this has happened. I mean I worry myself sick about the kids , my husband and our families. Harper has a belly ache the week prior to this. I was google appendicitis because I thought for sure her appendix was going to explode or something. I work in the medical field, I'm trained to stay calm and not jump to conclusions . It's my job to calm patients who are flipping out about stuff and worrying. Now I was on the other side. All of my common sense was gone and I was just worried . I called my mom , she assured me that Harper was fine and that I needed to stop googling . She was right , Harper just had a belly ache.
When I woke up that next morning , my arm hurting more than before. I turned to google. I called my Doctor , sure that I had a blood clot . I apologized to the receptionist for being one of those patients who thinks she is going to die every five seconds . I explained the Harper story and she assured me
that I wasn't a bother. To be safe , She scheduled me an appointment for the next day. Luckily Tyler was able to be off work early to take me. His boss is awesome. Seriously , he's more than just a boss. I can't even begin to thank him and his wife for being so kind and helpful during the past couple months. They are a blessing.
When we arrived at my appointment , it was a Friday afternoon. We had Cole with us , my mom was getting Harper from school. As soon as my Doctor looked at my arm , she arranged for me to go next door to the hospital to get an ultrasound done on my arm. This was going to check for blood clots. When the women started the ultrasound , I couldn't see the screen or anything. I could just hear her typing. It took about 20 minutes or so , once she finished she said " I'm going to take this over to be reviewed , you can go ahead and get dressed and hang out here for a moment." I asked if she saw anything , she replied " yeah , I did see something , I'm going to see what the doctor wants to do."
I walked out the waiting area and told Tyler. Within minutes , I was taken over to the ER. My doctor came over to check on me , she arranged for me to be seen right away so I could get home. She didn't want me to be at the hospital any longer than I needed to be. I was quickly taken into a room , where I was told I did in fact have a DVT ( deep vein thrombosis) in my right arm. It's more common to get these types of blood clots in your legs . Which is why I was wearing my compression stockings. I was told I was going to be put on Lovenox injections . Which is a form of heparin . It's a anticoagulant that would stop the clot from getting bigger so my body could dissolve the clot on its own. I was shown how to inject myself in my stomach and sent home.
I was told to give myself the shot every 12 hours . That's two shots a day. The needle was small , like an insulin needle. I was terrified to stick myself. I am a certified medical assistant . I'm trained to give people shots. But sticking myself..oh hell no! The next morning , I woke up and it was time to do my first injection. Tyler was in the bath , I sat on the toilet and leaned back , just to prevent me from passing out. I cleaning off an area with an alcohol swap on my stomach. I took the cap off the needle and took like twenty deep breathes. Tyler kept saying " just do it , just do it Haylli " I snapped at him to be quiet and not rush me! Finally I made the stick , it didn't hurt and I didn't pass out. I could do this. It wasn't so bad. Then I started to slowly inject the medicine . Holy mother of God did that burn. I felt like I was going to pass out. The medicine was kind of thick , and since it was being injected to the skin and not the muscle, I had to do it slowly so it wouldn't leak out. I was horrible.
I continued to give myself the injections every 12 hours until I finished on Monday morning. I had a follow up that day with my OB/GYN . My arm was feeling better , but my belling was covered in big bruises from the injections. It was so sore. She explained that I should see a hematologist to figure out long term treatment . The office was quick to get me in that same day! I met with the hematologist that afternoon , it was music to my ears when he said he was putting me on Xarelto..which is a pill , NOT an injection. wooo hooo! He stated that since I was still in the postpartum phase , it was unclear on whether the clot was caused by that or the Factor V . Most people with Factor V never have any issues and don't require long term treatment. So my case was just unclear at the moment.
Now , I still take Xarelto every day . It does make me have heavier periods ( check out my last post for more on that topic) and I notice that I burn in the sun easily , which I'm not used to . My skin always tans so easily. I haven't had any more blood clots ( Thank God!) . I will have my platelet levels checked soon and that will determine if long term treatment is needed.
Like I said , this just isn't me. I've always been healthy , I've never had to worry about blood clots , strokes, or bleeding out. Now I do. This is all new to me . Pretty much everything these days feels new to me. This is the start of a different life , life after loss , life after almost dying. It's just weird. I don't really know how to explain it. I'm beyond thankful for the doctors and staff for their kindness and for continuing to save me. Sometimes it takes a villiage when it comes to healing, whether it be mentally, physically or both. I am so blessed that they are a part of this process .
until next time...
Tulips of Pink
So today , I thought I would share with you my story sort of. Since everything has happened , my health ( mental and physical) have went down hill. As I mentioned before , I was diagnosed with Factor V Leiden. When I left the hospital , I was put on so many medications. I was taking aspirin twice a day , three different medications for sleeping , iron supplements , pain medication ..it was overwhelming . I had to wear thigh high compression stockings 24/7. I couldn't be left alone. I was so confused and didn't really understand anything that was happening.
I have always been a healthy person. I've had a few knee surgeries and was only sick when I was pregnant. I never had to go to the doctor , only for regular check ups once a year. The only medication I took was my birth control. I was pretty lucky honestly.
Once I was home from the hospital , my mom got me a pill box thing. It has the Monday through Friday , then morning , afternoon , evening , and bedtime organizing type style. Tyler organized my box for me , funny story ...he mixed up my pain pill with a sleeping pill . We were wondering why I took a five hour nap ! I quickly realized that this wasn't a job for him. So I took over . I felt like my grandma. I had my pill box , stockings. I could only wear my night gowns and robe . My feet were so swollen , I could only fit into slippers. I actually wore them to town quite a few times. I was so sore and sad. I wasn't me anymore. I couldn't sleep , eat . I was afraid all the time that I was going to start bleeding again or have a stroke.
This wasn't my life. I was 28 years old. I shouldn't have to worry about dying. But I did all the time. I was so depressed and scared. I was so tired and weak. None of my medication helped me sleep . I still was clueless about this whole Factor V stuff. I didn't really understand what it was . I knew I was at risk for blood clots , one reason being I had just had a major abdominal surgery and two being I carry the Factor V gene.
5 weeks had passed. I was doing better. My incision was healing well. My doctor adjusted my medication , so I was sleeping well at night. I was up moving around more . The only thing was awful really was wearing those damn compression stockings. I was so hot and uncomfortable all the time. I hated wearing them at night , I usually sleep without pants. I hate for things to be over my legs like that. And don't even get me started on them coming over my feet. I felt like I had tight socks on. I mean who sleeps with socks?! I guess I shouldn't complain. I mean they were preventing blood clots in my legs..but let's face it , I wouldn't be me if I didn't complain about something.. that's according to my husband anyway.
One morning , I noticed my right arm was hurting . The inside part of my elbow area felt bruised. I couldn't see any bruising though. I thought I must have hit it off something at some point. So I went about my day. That night it was hurting pretty bad. I have a pretty strong tolerance for pain , I don't complain that much when it comes to pain. But this hurt! I couldn't lay on my right side , I had to just lay my arm on a pillow so it was propped up. The next day , it hurt even worse. I couldn't move my arm , I couldn't lift anything ( Dr's orders ..I wasn't to be lifting anyway .) It just hurt.
Now before I go on , I should point out that I am a worry wart anyway. My "freaking out" about stuff has gotten worse since all of this has happened. I mean I worry myself sick about the kids , my husband and our families. Harper has a belly ache the week prior to this. I was google appendicitis because I thought for sure her appendix was going to explode or something. I work in the medical field, I'm trained to stay calm and not jump to conclusions . It's my job to calm patients who are flipping out about stuff and worrying. Now I was on the other side. All of my common sense was gone and I was just worried . I called my mom , she assured me that Harper was fine and that I needed to stop googling . She was right , Harper just had a belly ache.
When I woke up that next morning , my arm hurting more than before. I turned to google. I called my Doctor , sure that I had a blood clot . I apologized to the receptionist for being one of those patients who thinks she is going to die every five seconds . I explained the Harper story and she assured me
that I wasn't a bother. To be safe , She scheduled me an appointment for the next day. Luckily Tyler was able to be off work early to take me. His boss is awesome. Seriously , he's more than just a boss. I can't even begin to thank him and his wife for being so kind and helpful during the past couple months. They are a blessing.
When we arrived at my appointment , it was a Friday afternoon. We had Cole with us , my mom was getting Harper from school. As soon as my Doctor looked at my arm , she arranged for me to go next door to the hospital to get an ultrasound done on my arm. This was going to check for blood clots. When the women started the ultrasound , I couldn't see the screen or anything. I could just hear her typing. It took about 20 minutes or so , once she finished she said " I'm going to take this over to be reviewed , you can go ahead and get dressed and hang out here for a moment." I asked if she saw anything , she replied " yeah , I did see something , I'm going to see what the doctor wants to do."
I walked out the waiting area and told Tyler. Within minutes , I was taken over to the ER. My doctor came over to check on me , she arranged for me to be seen right away so I could get home. She didn't want me to be at the hospital any longer than I needed to be. I was quickly taken into a room , where I was told I did in fact have a DVT ( deep vein thrombosis) in my right arm. It's more common to get these types of blood clots in your legs . Which is why I was wearing my compression stockings. I was told I was going to be put on Lovenox injections . Which is a form of heparin . It's a anticoagulant that would stop the clot from getting bigger so my body could dissolve the clot on its own. I was shown how to inject myself in my stomach and sent home.
I was told to give myself the shot every 12 hours . That's two shots a day. The needle was small , like an insulin needle. I was terrified to stick myself. I am a certified medical assistant . I'm trained to give people shots. But sticking myself..oh hell no! The next morning , I woke up and it was time to do my first injection. Tyler was in the bath , I sat on the toilet and leaned back , just to prevent me from passing out. I cleaning off an area with an alcohol swap on my stomach. I took the cap off the needle and took like twenty deep breathes. Tyler kept saying " just do it , just do it Haylli " I snapped at him to be quiet and not rush me! Finally I made the stick , it didn't hurt and I didn't pass out. I could do this. It wasn't so bad. Then I started to slowly inject the medicine . Holy mother of God did that burn. I felt like I was going to pass out. The medicine was kind of thick , and since it was being injected to the skin and not the muscle, I had to do it slowly so it wouldn't leak out. I was horrible.
I continued to give myself the injections every 12 hours until I finished on Monday morning. I had a follow up that day with my OB/GYN . My arm was feeling better , but my belling was covered in big bruises from the injections. It was so sore. She explained that I should see a hematologist to figure out long term treatment . The office was quick to get me in that same day! I met with the hematologist that afternoon , it was music to my ears when he said he was putting me on Xarelto..which is a pill , NOT an injection. wooo hooo! He stated that since I was still in the postpartum phase , it was unclear on whether the clot was caused by that or the Factor V . Most people with Factor V never have any issues and don't require long term treatment. So my case was just unclear at the moment.
Now , I still take Xarelto every day . It does make me have heavier periods ( check out my last post for more on that topic) and I notice that I burn in the sun easily , which I'm not used to . My skin always tans so easily. I haven't had any more blood clots ( Thank God!) . I will have my platelet levels checked soon and that will determine if long term treatment is needed.
Like I said , this just isn't me. I've always been healthy , I've never had to worry about blood clots , strokes, or bleeding out. Now I do. This is all new to me . Pretty much everything these days feels new to me. This is the start of a different life , life after loss , life after almost dying. It's just weird. I don't really know how to explain it. I'm beyond thankful for the doctors and staff for their kindness and for continuing to save me. Sometimes it takes a villiage when it comes to healing, whether it be mentally, physically or both. I am so blessed that they are a part of this process .
until next time...
Tulips of Pink
For more information on Factor V Leiden click the link below
stoptheclot.org
Content and Photos Owned and Created by Haylli Smith { tulipsofpink.com}
Comments
Post a Comment