All I managed was one very painful kickboxing workout this week. During that workout I basically couldn’t punch, kick, run, participate in calisthenics, or breathe. I knew something was wrong since two Fridays ago, but I couldn’t go to the hospital or to the doctor until my new insurance policy kicked in on August 4th.
So on the 4th I went to see my primary care physician for a routine physical and to diagnose my breathing issues. Given my history of clotting, he set me up with a CT Scan and some blood tests. After fighting with my health insurance for an hour or more, I finally was cleared to take the tests. Finally on the 5th (today) I made it in for my tests.
The Verdict: Blood Clots
Once again, I am down and out with blood clots in my lungs (also called Pulmonary Embolism). This is the third time I have developed clots in 5 years, this is the second time this year, and this is the second time they have settled in my lungs.
Essentially I can’t do much of anything. Walking at a rapid pace for more than a minute or so causes me chest pain, I run out of breath, and I sometimes get dizzy and see spots. Therefore my great gym comeback has been halted once again. If it’s not illness, it’s family issues, if not that, it’s work related.
My doctor wants me to be admitted to the hospital for overnight treatment and monitoring. There are two problems with this:
- My pathetic excuse for health insurance will be used up for the year.
- I won’t be able to work, and as a contractor I have no sick time or paid absences. If I don’t work, my family doesn’t eat.
So here’s what will happen next. I will double my dosage of blood thinners, give myself Lovenox injections in the stomach one a day, go for blood tests every couple of days, and probably a second CT Scan within the next week. With any luck the clots will dissolve in a week or two and I will be able to start kickboxing again. Not that I feel like kickboxing right now, I’m slumped in a depression that I just can’t kick.
One day I will have a string of 30 positive posts, devoid of bad news, rants, or negativity. That day is not today, tomorrow, or anytime soon. I shall return.
Once again thankyou for your knowledge,its great to have found this sight and someone thats gone through the same thing.Good to hear you are still strong and fit.I wish you good health and much happiness.
Muay thai all the way;)
Thanks steve your advise has helped alot,i trained two days this week being so excited to get back in the ring i went all out doing my usaul three rounds feeling fine afterwards, but you have scared me abit i’m not sure if the clots have dissolved yet, i go for my second CT scan in two weeks and i to will out if i have a blood disorder.If i do would that mean i wouldn’t be able to fight?I am sorry to hear you have to stay on medication the rest of your life, i may be joining you but thats not going to stop me from doing anything…obviously it hasn’t stopped you.
jacqui: That’s awesome that you are back into training. If the doctor cleared you to train even though you might still have clots, then you should listen to him/her. I just know I’d be paranoid about dislodging the clots from my lungs and having them travel to my brain.
Now, if you have a blood disorder you might still be able to fight. The problem is that if you maintain an INR between 2-3 and you incur some internal injury, most people would just clot up and stop bleeding – they might not even know that they were injured internally, and would suffer no consequences short term – however, you and I would mostly likely have to be taken to the hospital and injected with Vitamin K to force clotting, probably undergo several MRIs to be sure the internal bleeding stops, then be monitored for a couple days to make sure the K doesn’t cause clotting somewhere else in the body. It gets complicated. Also, any kind of surface bleeding, especially from the face, would be an issue because you would likely bleed for an extended period of time and would definitely need stitches for even a small cut. Nosebleeds are very annoying when your body doesn’t want to clot.
All that being said, maybe your doc will clear you to fight, and you can definitely continue to train however you want. I am obviously still thai kickboxing (but I don’t fight), I can play any sport, and I lift weights. The warfarin itself seems to have somewhat impacted my overall strength and stamina, but I am still stronger and quicker than the average man.
this is to steve if you still visit this site,i to have 2 large blood clots one in each lung,caused from being imobile due to a calf tear at muay thai training (kickboxing)this is my third week since i left hospital i am on warfrin 6mg my INR stays between 2 and 3.I am highly motivated and i want to start training again,i was just wondering if you have any idea or know of any problems that could worsen the clots if i was to start training?
jacqui: Hello, this is Steve. I own this website so I always visit it. I am thinking about writing up a post about this exact problem, but for now an answer here will have to suffice. I am on 10mg alternating with 7.5mg or warfarin or coumadin for the rest of my life due to some genetic blood conditions.
As long as you are on warfarin you risk internal bleeding. You will bruise easy and you will bruise BIG. If you cut yourself you will bleed for a while but it’s not that big a deal. Once I had a nosebleed that dripped backwards into my lungs for about 30 minutes. I had to keep coughing up and spitting out the blood. It was scary, but it passed. You should be careful not to get hit too hard if you are sparring, especially in the midsection or kidneys, and definitely not the nose. Otherwise you can still probably train. I do my thai kickboxing class without issue and I still using super high intensity when lifting.
If you actually still have the clots in your body, YOU SHOULD NOT TRAIN AT ALL as you could dislodge them and they might end up in your brain. However the doctors are probably taking steps to dissolve the clots, so please make sure they are dissolved before jumping back into your training. Once they are dissolved and as long as you stay on warfarin to keep your INR between 2-3 you should not have a problem with clots again. In fact, training helps to prevent clots as it forces the blood to move around in your body, especially the calves.
thankyou for the info its been almost a month since my diagnosis and i continue to have chest pain sob with minimal activity ..so i guess its really all about baby steps…right!
If I was able to get insurance without having a job, I would have been able to afford to get regular blood tests, and I would have known to increase my blood thinners before I actually got sick. Health insurance has been a major problem for me since I got out of college, and now that I have a pre-existing condition, I can’t even get insurance on my own. Everyone denies me.
In fact I recently could not afford the medicine that my doctor prescribed for me, because I ran out of money and my insurance won’t cover more than $35 a month in prescriptions. I nearly had to go to the emergency room just so I could get my script filled.
Health insurance is a major, major problem in this country and I am learning more about it it every day. And to think, Obama wants to give health insurance to all illegal immigrants. How about helping US citizens first, buddy?
Bummer. Sorry to hear about that. Is there anything you could have done to prevent this?
Thanks for all the recovery wishes. Everything is going OK so far. We will see what the results of this mornings blood tests show. AZ Reader, you’ll be back to normal in a couple weeks too, no worries.
Hope you start to feel better soon and your blood clots dissolve in a timely fashion!!
I’m too trying to recover and get motivated again after a small gallbladder set back (removal).
It’s not as easy as I expected. My mindset is not as motivated as before and I find myself eating foods I would otherwise stay away from. I hope we are back in the swing of things soon.
I’m sorry to here this and I can identify with you because it sucks when you are motivated and you have issues like this, right now your battle will be more mentally than physical, stay strong and as you said 2 weeks (which is not that much) it will pass.
Good luck in your recovery.