is there anyone on IV who keeps getting blood clots? has anyone seen a hematologist regarding clots?
i just accidentally pushed a blood clot into me. whoops. i have no homecare cause my doctor can't prescribe it. i am doing the infusions myself. i have run into clotting problems before. i used to have picc lines now i have a chest port.
anyone have clotting problems with chest port?
i am on heparin sublingual and switching to injectable. i always make sure to flush the port properly with saline then followed up by 5 units of heparin.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
I'm not familiar with the chest ports at all, but I did have a problem with clotting with a Groshong PICC.
It has a special valve on the tip that prevents back-flow. A covering nurse had fixed the clamp on the extension, which is a NO-NO with the Groshong.
The small amount of pressure placed on the line by the clamp forced the end open just enough to cause a clot to form on the end.
My regular nurse disolved it with the altaplase and cleared it. I made sure it never got clamped again & we had no more problems.
I was also having problems last time with the formation of fibrin sheaths around the catheter. I'm taking Dr.Zhang's "Circulation-P" this time around to hopefully side-step it.
Should you go to the ER & get checked out if you pushed a clot in? That doesn't sound like a very good thing to me. I know they've told me never to force against resistance.
Hopefully someone who knows more about the chest ports will be able to give you more info.
I'm sorry you're having such a tough time. hugs & prayers, Ali
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
The last time I was on IV, I was posting in Cobweb's thread in General Support, "IV Cautionary Tale" (I think). I believe I started posting around page 7.
I had a few problems and a Nurse - Lymenet member came to my rescue. I believe her name was Becky. You might want to check out the thread and give her a PM, if you don't get answers here.
Perhaps she can help you out with some answers.
Good luck, Ali
Posted by ByronSBell 2007 (Member # 11496) on :
are you on heparin?
I take 4 cc's of heparin a day + I use heparin locks for my picc line. So far it has lasted about 80 days but it is starting to get slower and harder to push
Posted by lymeout (Member # 8045) on :
We have seen a hematologist who did diagnose my daughter with a "hereditary blood clotting disorder". Interestingly, neither her father or I tested positive for it. He did acknowledge that it could possibly be a result of chronic infection.
But it was our LLMD, whose advice helped us resolve and maintain the problem. My daughter has had a port in her chest for about 3 years. She has done IV Lovenox for several months at two differennt times over the 3-year period. The rest of the time, she has maintained on Boluoke; and more recently added Rechts-Regulat to the protocol. Her port is in fantastic condition.
I hope you can get someone to prescribe the lovenox. But you can do the Boluoke and Rechts- Regulat without prescription. As with anything, please discuss this with your doctor though. And there are many threads on her about both of these supplements. Good luck!
Posted by Dawn in VA (Member # 9693) on :
I had 3 clots from a PICC and went on luvenox shots for a couple of weeks then coumadin for a year.
You're not doing any more infususions with your port right now, right? And did you get a CT scan to make sure no PE?
I saw a hemo doc and had 2 things come up. Ask him/her to run a complete test, including MTHFR mutation.
![[shake]](graemlins/shake.gif)
I know they've told me never to force against resistance.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)