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Brian Hagan - Deep Vein Thrombosis
I was pretty shocked 2 days ago when I found out I have Deep Vein Thrombosis in my right calf. I woke up Tuesday 25-April with a pain in my calf after my dog spent the night sleeping on it. I wrote it off as typical tendon or muscle ache that I usually have, because I have imbalances and lack in the strength and flexibility area.
I rode with team Stanbaugh down to Boone North Carolina from Southeast Michigan on Wednesday 26-April (9.5 hours) and participated in the EN Blue Ridge Camp. The pain was present in my calf all weekend, although during the riding it did not feel too bad. It felt the worse when I woke up in the morning or after sitting at dinner for an extended time.
When I got back to work on Monday I was able to schedule an appointment with a sports medicine doctor right away. I later learned that when he heard my symptons (swollen calf with some constant pain), he suspected I had a blood clot. He did some tests and suggested I did not have any calf muscle issues and that I should go to the emergency room to have them do an ultrasound immediately. I went to the ER and within a couple of hours I found out I have DVT in my right calf.
There is a slight risk of this clot moving from my leg to my lungs (pulmonary embolism (PE)). This could cause lung or other organ damage and could also cause heart failure. The first 2 weeks are pretty critical, because the clot needs to harden and connect to the vein. It is recommended to not exercise and take it easy (especially the first 2 weeks). Also, I am on Eliquis, which is a blood thinning medication that I will be on for 3 months. This also causes some risks, because if I get cut, it will take a long time for blood to clot. Also, there would be some serious complications if I need emergency surgery.
I am a pretty healthy person. I eat a mainly plant based whole food diet. I am 5' 10'' and 158 lbs, so I am not over weight. My cholesterol is around 165 (tested in January). I do not fall into any of the categories to be a probable candidate, but the bottom line is that I have a clot.
My doctor has recommended that I not "exercise" for 2 to 3 month. I was planning on doing IM Mont-Tremblant 20-August. 2 to 3 months of not training seems pretty rough, but the alternative makes me believe that I should rest and wait this thing out. I will most likely try and defer to Louisville and spend the next couple of months collecting SAUs.
Have any of you had any experience with DVT? I would love to hear some thoughts from the team!
Thanks!
Brian
I rode with team Stanbaugh down to Boone North Carolina from Southeast Michigan on Wednesday 26-April (9.5 hours) and participated in the EN Blue Ridge Camp. The pain was present in my calf all weekend, although during the riding it did not feel too bad. It felt the worse when I woke up in the morning or after sitting at dinner for an extended time.
When I got back to work on Monday I was able to schedule an appointment with a sports medicine doctor right away. I later learned that when he heard my symptons (swollen calf with some constant pain), he suspected I had a blood clot. He did some tests and suggested I did not have any calf muscle issues and that I should go to the emergency room to have them do an ultrasound immediately. I went to the ER and within a couple of hours I found out I have DVT in my right calf.
There is a slight risk of this clot moving from my leg to my lungs (pulmonary embolism (PE)). This could cause lung or other organ damage and could also cause heart failure. The first 2 weeks are pretty critical, because the clot needs to harden and connect to the vein. It is recommended to not exercise and take it easy (especially the first 2 weeks). Also, I am on Eliquis, which is a blood thinning medication that I will be on for 3 months. This also causes some risks, because if I get cut, it will take a long time for blood to clot. Also, there would be some serious complications if I need emergency surgery.
I am a pretty healthy person. I eat a mainly plant based whole food diet. I am 5' 10'' and 158 lbs, so I am not over weight. My cholesterol is around 165 (tested in January). I do not fall into any of the categories to be a probable candidate, but the bottom line is that I have a clot.
My doctor has recommended that I not "exercise" for 2 to 3 month. I was planning on doing IM Mont-Tremblant 20-August. 2 to 3 months of not training seems pretty rough, but the alternative makes me believe that I should rest and wait this thing out. I will most likely try and defer to Louisville and spend the next couple of months collecting SAUs.
Have any of you had any experience with DVT? I would love to hear some thoughts from the team!
Thanks!
Brian
0
Comments
DVT can be caused, and often is, by thrombophilia, a condition where your blood will basically clot better and faster than the average human. If this is the final diagnosis, the treatment will consist of blood thinners primarily.
(sometimes hypercoagulability or a prothrombotic state) is an abnormality of blood coagulation that increases the risk of thrombosis (blood clots in blood vessels).
Thrombifilia causes problems in pregnancies when blood volume can double and the patient becomes ever more immobilized. To complicate matters more, when blood thinners are used and the pregnancy results in a Cesarean, the patient can then bleed to death, therefore all has to be performed/monitored by a specialist.
As Tim says, do not take it lightly but know, this is a well researched and manageable condition if diagnosed early by a reputable specialist.
Let us know how the progress updates come out.
SS
It scares to think what could had happened if I wasnt working from home that day..
Now she needs to inject herself everytime we are traveling (air or car) for more than 2 hours.
@tim cronk - Yes, I will take this very seriously and make sure I am ready to start preparations this fall. I am glad Heather is OK.
@Shaughn Simmons @Francis Picard - Thanks you so much for the words of caution. I never heard of this before, and now I am finding out about so many peoples lives have been affected by this.
It's been two weeks now since I first felt the symptoms. My calf no longer hurts and is only slightly swollen, but I know the clot is still there. My next Dr. appointment is next week (17-MAY), and I do not plan on doing any riding / running unless he says it is OK. I can do upper body strength training, so I will do that and some easy swimming with no push off until then. My yard looks great!
Thanks again guys!
Rest up. Behave!
I've done a bit of research with Dr. Google and I've been on a few online forums. Most of the literature on the medical sites focuses on patients that are overweight and inactive (or pregnant). I found a few forums on endurance athletes with DVT including the article I posted above. There seems to be a connection with a low resting heart rate and dehydration in endurance athletes getting DVT. This article (attachment) is the best resource I've seen for returning to running.
Thanks so much @Dawn Cass @Danielle Santucci @Jenn Edwards @Jacklyn Moore for posting! Jen, I will be back on the Sunday "Take No Prisoners Ride" as soon as the doc says its OK. Until then, my wife and mother in law have my bike locked down.
The good news is, all of the symptoms are no longer present (swelling, pain). My yard has moved into neighborhood respectability status, and I'm taking care items on the "to do" list that I've put off for years.
My next doctor appointment is this Wednesday, so I am looking forward to see what they say.
Based off of the article attached to my previous post (and discussion with my doctor), I started easing back into things after 4 weeks of being treated. Last week I had a little over 500 TSS over 7 hours of Swim/Bike/Run. I only had 10 minutes of Z4 intensity, the rest was all Z1,2 with a little bit of 3.
I am traveling for work this week and plan to get in some aerobic paced runs. Next week I will be good to start building. I've got 6 weeks until I get into race prep for Louisville, so I've got plenty of time.