Dazed and Confused

[Mizar]

Yesterday, Morning, I got up to take, My Husband, to D. He seemed to be in a good Mood and was not having any Breathing Problems, ( He ususally does ). I dropped Him off at D and 45 Minutes, later, got a call from them, saying, His Heart Rate, was up to 150 and the Neph, wanted Him Taken to the University Hospital, by EMS. They did that and I met Him at the Hospital, in Er. After many Tests, they Found, that He has a Blood Clot, in His Left Lung and this was causing the High Heart Rate. They put Him on Heparin, right away. He was in a Critical Care Unit, last Night and again Tonight. They gave Him Meds, on the way to the Hospital, which should have brought the Heart Rate, down right away, but they could not get it under control, till 2 a.m. this Morning. They were going to wait, to do D, till Tomorrow, Morning, but His Breathing got to bad, Today, so they had to call someone in to do the D Tonight. They have done an Ultrasound on His Legs, to see if He had, DVT and the Clot, could have broken, off from there, but the Ultrasound, on His Legs, was all good. This is the part, I am Confused about. He gets, Heparin, Three times a Week at the Clinic, during D. How do You develop a Blood Clot, if You are on Big Gun, Blood Thinners, all the time? Does this happen a Lot? We are not new to Dialysis, so this one caught Me by Surprise.

[boswife]

I have no answers for you, but these are the things i fear the most.  Were gliding along, feeling all is good, and something like that happens. Im so sorry, and hope answers are on the way..   

[cloud393]

My understanding is that the Heparin they use for D, is not a long lasting med.  It supposedly leaves the body pretty quick.  Not sure if that's any help but it's what I have been told.  Hope he feels better soon and all is well.   

[RichardMEL]

I agree with cloud. If the heparin stayed in your body you'd never clot after needles were removed (for those on HD with fistula or graft). The whole purpose is to prevent clots in the lines, so they only need it there for during the treatment. During my hemo treatments of 5 hours they typically add heparin for the first 4 hours, and stop. By the end of treatment I clot like 2 minutes after the needle is taken out.

[texasstyle]

A pulmonary embolism is a very serious matter and he is in the right place now. I know you'd much rather have him home though. With this a clot is usually located in the artery to, or in, the lung. Strong, constant doses of Heprin may help dissolve the clot. Most of these clots do originate from the legs (DVT). There are many causes anywhere from smoking to high blood pressure risks (hypertension), to even being sedintary for long periods of time. So many causes. Please keep us updated. I'm going to be thinking of you both. I know how over whelming all this can get & feel.

[Poppylicious]

Yikes!  Thinking of you both, Mizar ... *huggles*

Blokey will be on warfarin for life (possibly) because he's prone to blood clots, despite the heparin; heparin is only a short-term solution during dialysis itself, I believe.

[looneytunes]

Oh how glad I am they sent him to the hospital.  What a scary thing.  Here's hoping this resolves and things go back to being smooth for you.

[Riki]

I agree with cloud. If the heparin stayed in your body you'd never clot after needles were removed (for those on HD with fistula or graft). The whole purpose is to prevent clots in the lines, so they only need it there for during the treatment. During my hemo treatments of 5 hours they typically add heparin for the first 4 hours, and stop. By the end of treatment I clot like 2 minutes after the needle is taken out.

I wish I clotted that quick. I bled on Monday.  Is only the second time it's happened since I started using the fistula, though.

is a very scary thing, though. Hope all works out ok