The Health, Diet and Exercise Thread

[Zeb]

4 hours ago, Mr. Smooth said:

I've had a bit of a rough go lately, completely out of the blue.

Fortunately, it appears I'm on the road to recovery.

Sorry to hear this Slinky.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[Mr. Smooth]

3 hours ago, Krapow said:

I knew exactly what this post was about after reading the first paragraph of 3 lines.

Been there 3 times. First couple of times was my own fault, falling asleep on long haul from Thailand, and luckily enough the clot developed when i could get seen, diagnosed and sorted within a few hours in our wonderful NHS, and not on arrival in Thailand.

So the first 2 times it was 'reactive', there was a reason why, same place and probably same clot, behind the knee, and i resisted going on continual blood thinning medication. I stopped once advised the clot would either be gone or small enough to not bother me. I just asked for the 2 injections to be prescribed a week or so before going on any long haul, after i explained my wife was Thai, and not flying to Thailand was not an option. They worked fine, i injected them once onboard in the toilet, one going, one coming back, little sting into the stomach. 

But then i was hitting the gym hard, and got the same pain you described and i knew, but told myself couldn't be, hadn't been on a flight or anything that would have brought it on, must be from the gym. It got progressively worse till the point of i was hanging onto things, couldn't walk, red hot pain. So off to A&E i went. It was the time of covid, hospital was empty, seen, blood taken, ultrasound, diagnosed, medication given, injection then tablets, all in an afternoon. 

The Consultant said to me this was the 3rd time, and no 'reason' for it like the past 2 times, sometimes there is no reason. He said i think it's time you go on continual medication, as this will happen again, if it travels to your lungs, heart etc, you could be f***d. So reluctantly i agreed. This clot was in my thigh, not behind my knee as before. 

The clot could have came from covid, i had it for the first time a couple of months before, i had a test via my work that showed antibodies, and said i had it at some time recently. It was before vaccines, in November of 2020, i posted about it on here. But i didn't know then, or now, just know there's evidence covid causes clots. They offered to do lots of blood tests if i wanted to try and find out why it happened, which i agreed to. They took absolutely loads of blood vials from me. Rang a couple of months later, saying they didn't find any reason what it happened, but in all likelihood it would again, so stay on the tablets.

What tablets are you prescribed? 

The first 2 times i was given warfarin, which was a nightmare as in i had to go for regular blood tests to check my blood was at the right level. 

But this third time, and what i'm on now, is Apixaban, 5mls twice a day. Only get my blood checked once a year. 

You probably could still go with the injections, but not a wise thing to do when a Doctor says don't, and you couldn't get insured, going against a Doctors advice. But like me, you'll still be able to fly wherever the Doc says, with whatever medication, and insured no problem as well, albeit a bit more expensive. 

I don't notice anything since i started the Apixaban, you're be fine as well Smoothie, batting away libs like flies as per usual 

Was prescribed Rivaroxaban, might be the same deal as your Apixaban, currently taking a 15 mg pill twice a day, and when they are finished, I continue on with a single 20 mg pill per day, which was has already been renewed beyond the 30 day supply I have. My primary care doctor also wrote up a consultation, which will happen in December, with a blood specialist, I assume to set up a plan for prevention in the future. I'm not opposed to taking a low dosage blood thinning tablet on a daily basis if it will help to prevent clotting in the future.

I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't go through my mind about the possibility of the Pfizer shot having something to do with the clot forming, as I have read way too many instances of that happening to people as a result of the jab. And not just someone in my age group, late 50's, but of younger people, athletes, in much better physical conditioning than myself. I only took the two initial shots, no boosters at all, but in thinking back, I wish I had waited and not gone through with getting them, as I only did because I was figuring it would be mandated for international travel. Silly me...being patient and waiting it out as the Covid mandates went by the wayside, would have been the right move. But hindsight is always 20-20, so no use bitching about it now.

Patience now is a virtue as I take things day by day and optimistic on a little improvement each week. Besides, we still gotta meet up for a beer over there. Yet another motivating factor to get back in the saddle.

[Zambo]

2 hours ago, Mr. Smooth said:

I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't go through my mind about the possibility of the Pfizer shot having something to do with the clot forming, as I have read way too many instances of that happening to people as a result of the jab. And not just someone in my age group, late 50's, but of younger people, athletes, in much better physical conditioning than myself. I only took the two initial shots, no boosters at all, but in thinking back, I wish I had waited and not gone through with getting them, as I only did because I was figuring it would be mandated for international travel. Silly me...being patient and waiting it out as the Covid mandates went by the wayside, would have been the right move. But hindsight is always 20-20, so no use bitching about it now.

Patience now is a virtue as I take things day by day and optimistic on a little improvement each week. Besides, we still gotta meet up for a beer over there. Yet another motivating factor to get back in the saddle.

We all have different perspectives on the covid19 response and i doubt we will learn that much from the pandamic experience to use in the future.

My experience, for example, is from Singapore which has a fairly authoritarian government. I have come out of the pandemic believing in social distancing, masks and vaccination. My main criticism about the approach here is that based on the forementioned actions there was too much lock down and other movement restrictions. Once the health guidlines were in place and strongly enforced i think more freedom of movement would have worked (albeit regrettably a few more deaths of the unhealthy and elderly)

I don't believe in significant dangers from the vaccines, I also don't believe in long covid. I think, and hope, that we are over the whole covid19 experience.

[forcebwithu]

37 minutes ago, Zambo said:

We all have different perspectives on the covid19 response and i doubt we will learn that much from the pandamic experience to use in the future.

My experience, for example, is from Singapore which has a fairly authoritarian government. I have come out of the pandemic believing in social distancing, masks and vaccination. My main criticism about the approach here is that based on the forementioned actions there was too much lock down and other movement restrictions. Once the health guidlines were in place and strongly enforced i think more freedom of movement would have worked (albeit regrettably a few more deaths of the unhealthy and elderly)

I don't believe in significant dangers from the vaccines, I also don't believe in long covid. I think, and hope, that we are over the whole covid19 experience.

Regarding long Covid. From personal experience it would be tempting to attribute the aches and pains I've been experiencing the last couple of years to long Covid, but the realist in me has to admit they're just symptoms of aging.

Edited November 4, 2023 by forcebwithu
they're, not their

[Zambo]

1 hour ago, Zambo said:

We all have different perspectives on the covid19 response and i doubt we will learn that much from the pandamic experience to use in the future.

This chart shows the different views depending on where you experienced COVID19. If there was another pandemic you could expect that Singaporeans and Swedish would be more likely than US citizens to follow government health recommendations (or mandates)

[Golfingboy]

@Mr. Smooth Sorry to hear about your issues Eric, but I am glad you're getting better and smart enough to seek help. I think as we age, especially us bigger fellas, the effects of sitting in place many hours CANNOT be ignored. I believe the rapper Heavy D died prematurely from the same thing at 44, he was huge and unhealthy yes, but what put him in the ground was clots from a long haul flight

To all those above commenting on the pandemic, just because you caught COVID and it flew through your body like nothing, DO NOT KID YOURSELVES THAT LONG COVID IS NOT A THING! I am NOT personally blaming the vaccine, but I am also not so naive to think nobody died from adverse effects due to a "clot shot". Yes all kinds of folks died from heart disease prior to 2019.....but does it not seem like it's been happening just a bit much the last 2 years to celebrities/athletes?

I masked up 2+ years, was very careful, had 2 Pfizer vax in 2021, then finally caught it last July after a long night on the town. Very sick for a week, then energy came back slowly, but random stuff started happening, mainly anxiety and digestive issues. Then my life went to hell just after Xmas, main thing was my heart beating 150+ just getting out of bed. I don't know if I will be sick for life because my beta-blocker fixed the tachycardia, tiny dose but I am scared to quit it

But I joined a few support groups online, and consider myself lucky- many people are suffering unreal fatigue and living like zombies the last 3 years. Just because we didn't die, does not mean we feel the same as 2019. Many people are just quietly battling through it due to inflation and not being able to quit their jobs- but in my case, how do you explain how I felt better at an obese 330 pounds in 2020, than 240 after my infection? Did I age that quick? The funny thing is, my heart is fine, but the excess weight all these years didn;t help, thank God I never smoked. But no denying age gets us all eventually, have to take care of our bodies

From what I understand Eric, serious vaccine issues are usually right away after the shot, so I don;t think it is that. Just do not hesitate if anything feels very off, don't be a tough guy

 

 

 

 

[KhunDon]

My golden rule when flying or driving for more than 1 hour, is get up and walk to the rear of the plane and do some gentle leg exercises for 5 minutes. If I’m in a car, then stop somewhere and walk about, grab a coffee etc, but the most important thing is to get your legs moving and get the leg muscles and blood circulation above what it is at rest. 

I’m normally on Clopidogerel 75mg and 75 mg Aspirin amongst other meds each day and have been for over 20years after suffering 2 myocardial infarctions, (heart attacks) but on any flight over 2 hours I take 300mg aspirin 30 mins before takeoff and another 300mg half way through the flight.

 Some people don’t associate pain in lower legs with a long haul flight they had several days ago and just put it down to a bit of cramp or possibly Claudication and don’t think it anything serious. However, blood clots don’t usually manifest themselves for several hours or days after a long haul flight, so I continue to take 300mg Aspirin for 3 days after the flight, then go back to my usual 75mg dose after that. 

Getting a blood clot in your leg isn’t something only older people can get after a long haul flight, it isn’t, anyone can suffer from it. 
A friends 19 year old son flew to Australia with a one night stopover in Singapore, then on too Brisbane the following afternoon. 
After being in Australia for 6 days he got a cramp in one leg for 2days and didn’t think it was anything serious and just went on with his holiday. Big mistake, big.
Two days later he was in Brisbane hospital intensive care unit with blood clots on both lungs and doctors didn’t think he was going to make it, so they put him into a induced coma and filled him with all sorts of clot busting drugs. Luckily he was young and he pulled through, but it took him 6 weeks to move out of intensive care. 
He had no previous history of clots or any other medical problems and doctors were certain he had deep vein thrombosis and parts of the leg clots had broken off and moved to both lungs. 
15 years later and he still has sufficient lung damage that restricts him from doing a lot of things and any sort of sports are out of the question. 

I even insist that although my wife is very fit, she takes aspirin before and during long haul flights, especially as she has a habit of falling asleep for hours on her flights to Thailand. 😟

 

[Glasseye]

8 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Regarding long Covid. From personal experience it would be tempting to attribute the aches and pains I've been experiencing the last couple of years to long Covid, but the realist in me has to admit they're just symptoms of aging.

My sister (now 80) has long covid.

 

Very much something you should look into mate.

[Butch]

6 hours ago, KhunDon said:

My golden rule when flying or driving for more than 1 hour, is get up and walk to the rear of the plane and do some gentle leg exercises for 5 minutes. If I’m in a car, then stop somewhere and walk about, grab a coffee etc, but the most important thing is to get your legs moving and get the leg muscles and blood circulation above what it is at rest. 

I’m normally on Clopidogerel 75mg and 75 mg Aspirin amongst other meds each day and have been for over 20years after suffering 2 myocardial infarctions, (heart attacks) but on any flight over 2 hours I take 300mg aspirin 30 mins before takeoff and another 300mg half way through the flight.

 Some people don’t associate pain in lower legs with a long haul flight they had several days ago and just put it down to a bit of cramp or possibly Claudication and don’t think it anything serious. However, blood clots don’t usually manifest themselves for several hours or days after a long haul flight, so I continue to take 300mg Aspirin for 3 days after the flight, then go back to my usual 75mg dose after that. 

Getting a blood clot in your leg isn’t something only older people can get after a long haul flight, it isn’t, anyone can suffer from it. 
A friends 19 year old son flew to Australia with a one night stopover in Singapore, then on too Brisbane the following afternoon. 
After being in Australia for 6 days he got a cramp in one leg for 2days and didn’t think it was anything serious and just went on with his holiday. Big mistake, big.
Two days later he was in Brisbane hospital intensive care unit with blood clots on both lungs and doctors didn’t think he was going to make it, so they put him into a induced coma and filled him with all sorts of clot busting drugs. Luckily he was young and he pulled through, but it took him 6 weeks to move out of intensive care. 
He had no previous history of clots or any other medical problems and doctors were certain he had deep vein thrombosis and parts of the leg clots had broken off and moved to both lungs. 
15 years later and he still has sufficient lung damage that restricts him from doing a lot of things and any sort of sports are out of the question. 

I even insist that although my wife is very fit, she takes aspirin before and during long haul flights, especially as she has a habit of falling asleep for hours on her flights to Thailand. 😟

 

Brilliant post and it really should be brought to the attention of the entire forum as we all tend to fly long haul.

I totally agree, exercise and movement during a long haul flight is essential. DVT can effect anyone regardless of their fitness level. I tend to take 100mg of Aspirin for 3 days prior, during and after a flight. Factor in a good slug of brandy to thin the blood even more (medicinal purposes, of course).

My shoulder plays up to f**k on a flight in economy, but these days my knees and my calves are also getting painful, I've noticed. I get a few funny looks when I'm at the back of the aircraft doing squats and then extending my legs, stretching my whole body, I might look a bit of a muppet but hey, it works for me.

Also I get a massage within the first 48 hours of arriving, nothing hard, just a gentle hour of oil massage minus the happy ending.

If ever there was an advert for getting good, comprehensive Travel insurance, then your post above highlights it. I have a Nat West Advantage account which gives me their travel insurance , there are a few A/C's with banks which include this as part of the benefit packages you can sign up and pay for.

 

[Krapow]

15 hours ago, Mr. Smooth said:

Was prescribed Rivaroxaban, might be the same deal as your Apixaban, currently taking a 15 mg pill twice a day, and when they are finished, I continue on with a single 20 mg pill per day, which was has already been renewed beyond the 30 day supply I have. My primary care doctor also wrote up a consultation, which will happen in December, with a blood specialist, I assume to set up a plan for prevention in the future. I'm not opposed to taking a low dosage blood thinning tablet on a daily basis if it will help to prevent clotting in the future.

I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't go through my mind about the possibility of the Pfizer shot having something to do with the clot forming, as I have read way too many instances of that happening to people as a result of the jab. And not just someone in my age group, late 50's, but of younger people, athletes, in much better physical conditioning than myself. I only took the two initial shots, no boosters at all, but in thinking back, I wish I had waited and not gone through with getting them, as I only did because I was figuring it would be mandated for international travel. Silly me...being patient and waiting it out as the Covid mandates went by the wayside, would have been the right move. But hindsight is always 20-20, so no use bitching about it now.

Patience now is a virtue as I take things day by day and optimistic on a little improvement each week. Besides, we still gotta meet up for a beer over there. Yet another motivating factor to get back in the saddle.

Yea, my clot definitely wasn't anything to do with vaccines, they weren't rolled out until a couple of months later, no one had taken any. But could've been covid.

I actually found the thread i did at that time, Nov 2020, entitled 'One of the worst weeks of my life'.

I forgot that when doing tests they did a chest xray incase any clots had travelled to my lungs etc. They said it looked fine, but would be checked by another consultant, i could wait on results or go home. I went home. They called me half an hour after going home, said a shadow had been spotted on my lung, to come straight back the next day for a full CT scan! Fucking horrendous, as your head spins out straight away, the said they didn't think it was cancer, but couldn't rule anything out. Lanza hadn't long passed from cancer  as well. 

Turned out okay, but you think at the time, this could be it, how long have i got, do i tell the missus or wait until confirmation one way or another? It's another reason why i just enjoy life as much as i can now, you just don't know what's round the corner.

And my Da had just been diagnosed with covid in his care home, when at that time elderly people especially in care homes were dying at a fast pace from covid as no vaccines then.

Was near breaking out in a sweat earlier, reading my OP to the thread below i did about what happened, horrendous time. Certainly another reason i re-evaluated my life. 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Krapow

[KhunDon]

18 minutes ago, Krapow said:

Yea, my clot definitely wasn't anything to do with vaccines, they weren't rolled out until a couple of months later, no one had taken any. But could've been covid.

I actually found the thread i did at that time, Nov 2020, entitled 'One of the worst weeks of my life'.

I forgot that when doing tests they did a chest xray incase any clots had travelled to my lungs etc. They said it looked fine, but would be checked by another consultant, i could wait on results or go home. I went home. They called me half an hour after going home, said a shadow had been spotted on my lung, to come straight back the next day for a full CT scan! Fucking horrendous, as your head spins out straight away, the said they didn't think it was cancer, but couldn't rule anything out. Lanza hadn't long passed from cancer  as well. 

Turned out okay, but you think at the time, this could be it, how long have i got, do i tell the missus or wait until confirmation one way or another? It's another reason why i just enjoy life as much as i can now, you just don't know what's round the corner.

And my Da had just been diagnosed with covid in his care home, when at that time elderly people especially in care homes were dying at a fast pace from covid as no vaccines then.

Was near breaking out in a sweat earlier, reading my OP to the thread below i did about what happened, horrendous time. Certainly another reason i re-evaluated my life. 

 

I know exactly what you mean when you get the called back for a scan. 🥺
Actually I “wasn’t called back for an MRI” as I was already in intensive care having had most of my Aorta replaced from my heart down into both legs with a Dacron one a few weeks before and they had given me an XRay with a mobile XRay Unit as I lay in bed having contracted Double Pneumonia as a result of laying on my back for 3 weeks in a induced coma after the operation, as I wasn’t doing too well when recovering from the operation. 
I was half out of it on Morphine and other drugs as they woke me from the coma to do the XRay whilst I was in my bed. 
The Vascular consultant who did my operation said I’ve looked at your chest XRay and it doesn’t look good, so we are going to wheel you around to the MRI scanner to do some more tests. 😩

As it turned out they did a CAT scan as well and wheeled me back to my room whilst they studied the results. 
10 minutes later he and his entourage of doctors, one of which I later learned, was an Oncologist, walked into my room and said we have found 2 large lesions, one in each lung, but don’t worry, we’re going to put you back in a coma for another week, so that we can get you through the Aorta operation first and get you stronger before we tackle the lungs problems.
With that, an anaesthetic was pumped into a  a cannula in my arm and the world went white for another week or so. 

They woke me up a week later and my wife and son were at my bedside as I came too and remembered where I was and the Surgeon said we’re not sure what the problem is so we’re going to give you more scans in 1 months time after you’ve been home a while recovering in the comfort of your own home. I didn’t like the sound of that at all. 😟

Went back a month later and had 3 scans, MRI , CAT scan and a new one on me, a Nuclear bone scan, where I had to drink a liquid containing nuclear markers that migrate from your stomach and blood stream into your bones, to see if there was cancer in my bones. If it shows any clusters of white dots in any bones, it could possibly be lung cancer that has spread to my bones, or maybe the other way around, I’m not sure which. 

They had measured the lumps in my lungs after the first scan a month or more ago and the latest scan was to see if they had grown. 
Nothing had increased in size and the bone scan showed no growths in my bones, so I was put on a schedule of monthly scans for 6 months and then every 3 months for 3 years to monitor what they were now calling “Nodules” and after 3 years I was given the all clear, as they hadn’t grown, but had actually reduced in size by a few millimetres over the 3 year period. However, I would have them for life now. 

The consensus amongst the Consultants was that they were caused by contracting double pneumonia, caused by being in a prone position for the operation to replace my Aorta for almost 10 hours, and were possibly helped along by the fact I’d had 2 MI’s a few years before and my heart wasn’t 100% in pumping blood around my comatose body. 

Needless to say the wife was shitting a brick all this time, seeing me in a coma with several lines in my neck (1 to feed me liquid food) and both arms, drains in my groin for liquids etc for 2 months and plus our son was only 3 years old at the time. But give her her due, she was rock solid through it all and nursed me through it all, only once we had the all clear after 3 years did she break down and let out all the emotions she’d held in for all those years. 🏆🥇

 

It really shook me out of my complacency as well and proved, if proof were needed, that I wouldn’t live forever and life can be snatched from our grip at any time. 👌

 

[maipenrai]

Wow, reading these stories reminds me yet again of how lucky I have been with my health over the years - I haven't spent a night in hospital since I was four months old and have never broken a bone. My first serious health examination has been last week's colonoscopy, where they found one small polyp and removed it and sent it out for a biopsy - I'm still waiting for  results from that but am not overly concerned. I still have to live with my enlarged prostate for now but have a phone interview coming up with a specialist about that - it's a nuisance but one I have learned to deal with. I spoke with this same specialist three years ago and he told me of  a new operation they had but the waiting list for it was 1.5 years so I declined - silly me, I won't make that mistake again, this time I'll sign up. Anyway, when I'm on the long flights I always get up every couple of hours whether my bladder demands it or not - even a short walk around and some exercises help. 

[Mr. Smooth]

Some very sobering, though much appreciated, posts here from BM's telling of their own concerns and experiences with blood clots. I most certainly will be changing up my routine, especially before, during and after a long haul flight. I think for most of us who travel to Thailand, as an example, we have to fly at least 10-12 hrs. A few Aussie friends have said even from Sydney or Brisbane, it's 8-9 hrs to BKK.

When I next have my own consultation with a blood specialist, or further along, a follow up with my own doctor, if my clot has broken up and there isn't anymore evidence of it's presence, and it's no longer required to be prescribed blood thinning medication, then as others have done, and are doing, I'll be sure to take a heavy dose of aspirin prior to flying, another about midway through the flight, or during the layover in Korea, Taipei, etc...and another after arriving, or the following morning, along with the usual vitamins...B-12, C, D and Zinc that I normally take. Then a standard daily dosage of 50 or 100mg from then on.

I would imagine that the average age for members of this forum is somewhere in the 50's or so, and info like this that is being shared by members who have had their own experiences regarding blood clots, or some other ailment, can prove priceless in assisting others to watch out for their own situations.

I most grateful for all who have contributed and will update my status in this thread in due course.

[Golfingboy]

@Mr. Smooth Does that mean no 40 hour drives to meet me in Vermont?

[KhunDon]

6 minutes ago, maipenrai said:

Wow, reading these stories reminds me yet again of how lucky I have been with my health over the years - I haven't spent a night in hospital since I was four months old and have never broken a bone. My first serious health examination has been last week's colonoscopy, where they found one small polyp and removed it and sent it out for a biopsy - I'm still waiting for  results from that but am not overly concerned. I still have to live with my enlarged prostate for now but have a phone interview coming up with a specialist about that - it's a nuisance but one I have learned to deal with. I spoke with this same specialist three years ago and he told me of  a new operation they had but the waiting list for it was 1.5 years so I declined - silly me, I won't make that mistake again, this time I'll sign up. Anyway, when I'm on the long flights I always get up every couple of hours whether my bladder demands it or not - even a short walk around and some exercises help. 

Excuse me for asking, but does your enlarged prostate give you problems pissing? I had a suspect enlarged prostate many years ago LV but after having the consultant proctologist and his trainee doctor shove their fingers up me cat flap, he pronounced it not to be the prostate that was causing me difficulties in pissing, it was, he believed, my bladders sphincter muscle not playing properly. I had to drink 2 litres of water prior to the consultation and had too piss into this machine that had some sort of spinning disc inside and a digital readout which showed how long and how fast I was pissing and the nurse pressed a button when I’d finished and it printed a graph out for the consultant to see. 
He put be on Tamsulosin tablets, one every morning and it’s been fine ever since, that was until I started taking a lot more morphine and like constipation of the bowel, I’m back to having problems pissing again. It takes feckin ages and requires me to sit down because it takes so long. 🤣

[Mr. Smooth]

5 minutes ago, Golfingboy said:

@Mr. Smooth Does that mean no 40 hour drives to meet me in Vermont?

The reason I bought a Dodge Ram as a retirement present to myself was in order to take long, cross country drives. I'd like to take one in April to the Southeast....Florida, the Carolinas, Gulf Coast, etc. Once I'm cleared, that will be my first order of business.

I've got a couple friends up in the New England area....Connecticut, Maine, Upstate New York. Any road trip to the Northeast will involve stopping by to see them. One guy I served with in the military lives way the hell up in Perry, Maine, looks like within an hour of the Canadian border. Though we keep in touch a couple times a year, we haven't seen each other in 37 years. Of course, if I'm in that part of America, I gotta hit up Vermont to buy some genuine maple syrup to bring back home for my pancakes! 

If I make plans to head up that way, I'll be sure to let you know ahead of time.

But it will take me at least 10-12 days to make it up there as I'll have friends along the way to stop by for a night or so to give 'em a big bear hug hello too.

[maipenrai]

1 minute ago, KhunDon said:

Excuse me for asking, but does your enlarged prostate give you problems pissing? I had a suspect enlarged prostate many years ago LV but after having the consultant proctologist and his trainee doctor shove their fingers up me cat flap, he pronounced it not to be the prostate that was causing me difficulties in pissing, it was, he believed, my bladders sphincter muscle not playing properly. I had to drink 2 litres of water prior to the consultation and had too piss into this machine that had some sort of spinning disc inside and a digital readout which showed how long and how fast I was pissing and the nurse pressed a button when I’d finished and it printed a graph out for the consultant to see. 
He put be on Tamsulosin tablets, one every morning and it’s been fine ever since, that was until I started taking a lot more morphine and like constipation of the bowel, I’m back to having problems pissing again. It takes feckin ages and requires me to sit down because it takes so long. 🤣

No worries, I'm always willing to share - sometimes I have difficulty starting a piss but once it's flowing it's usually not too bad; my biggest problem is urgency, meaning when I have to go I don't have much time to find somewhere to do so, and frequency because I find it difficult to go for more than two hours without having to pee. Mix in changing seasons where you are going from warm to cold frequently and that can trigger more frequent occasions, and you can imagine what drinking a few pints of beer does to me - sometimes I am up and down every five minutes or so which becomes not only a nuisance but I find it embarrassing as well. Also, lately I have been noticing that I have to take extra care that I have completely finished my piss before tucking the works away - you think you've got it all and next thing you know you've got a wet spot in your undies...

[KhunDon]

15 minutes ago, Mr. Smooth said:

Some very sobering, though much appreciated, posts here from BM's telling of their own concerns and experiences with blood clots. I most certainly will be changing up my routine, especially before, during and after a long haul flight. I think for most of us who travel to Thailand, as an example, we have to fly at least 10-12 hrs. A few Aussie friends have said even from Sydney or Brisbane, it's 8-9 hrs to BKK.

When I next have my own consultation with a blood specialist, or further along, a follow up with my own doctor, if my clot has broken up and there isn't anymore evidence of it's presence, and it's no longer required to be prescribed blood thinning medication, then as others have done, and are doing, I'll be sure to take a heavy dose of aspirin prior to flying, another about midway through the flight, or during the layover in Korea, Taipei, etc...and another after arriving, or the following morning, along with the usual vitamins...B-12, C, D and Zinc that I normally take. Then a standard daily dosage of 50 or 100mg from then on.

I would imagine that the average age for members of this forum is somewhere in the 50's or so, and info like this that is being shared by members who have had their own experiences regarding blood clots, or some other ailment, can prove priceless in assisting others to watch out for their own situations.

I most grateful for all who have contributed and will update my status in this thread in due course.

You’re welcome Mr Smooth, we are, after all, in the same club as it were and every little helps. 
 As for “taking a heavy dose of aspirin before and during the flight” on long haul flights  300mg 30 minutes before you fly and 300mg halfway through the flight is enough (300mg is what ambulance trained medics give you if they suspect you may be suffering from an MI before they whisk you to A&E, even if you tell them you’ve already taken 300mg. 

So 2 tablets before/during your flight total, and 300mg the following day after you land and then reduce that over the next few days is more than sufficient, as long as you’re not allergic to aspirin of course. And of course keep mobile for a few days where possible.

 
I know when I flew back and forth to Thailand before I moved there for good, it was usually on a Boeing 747 and after a few hours it looked like half the passengers were down the back by the toilets, all doing various exercises, as if we were about to run a marathon. 🤣

[KhunDon]

7 minutes ago, maipenrai said:

No worries, I'm always willing to share - sometimes I have difficulty starting a piss but once it's flowing it's usually not too bad; my biggest problem is urgency, meaning when I have to go I don't have much time to find somewhere to do so, and frequency because I find it difficult to go for more than two hours without having to pee. Mix in changing seasons where you are going from warm to cold frequently and that can trigger more frequent occasions, and you can imagine what drinking a few pints of beer does to me - sometimes I am up and down every five minutes or so which becomes not only a nuisance but I find it embarrassing as well. Also, lately I have been noticing that I have to take extra care that I have completely finished my piss before tucking the works away - you think you've got it all and next thing you know you've got a wet spot in your undies...

I know exactly what your problem is.
In medical terms the acronym is DAPAPAG  

Or in layman’s terms; 

Drink a pint and piss a gallon.🤗

One of the reasons I only drink wine and never by the pint  🤣

Seriously though, it could possibly be that your bladder sphincter is working opposite to mine in that it opens early (or wants too) then doesn’t shut completely when you’ve finished.

A visit to a Urologist may get you sorted. 
Dribbling is something most males encounter during their lives and you don’t want to get caught in the loo shaking it vigorously, you may give out the wrong signals to other men using the loo. 😉

Happens to women as well and of course they can’t shake it, but I believe they stamp their feet hard a few times instead. 🤣

[Krapow]

1 hour ago, KhunDon said:

It really shook me out of my complacency as well and proved, if proof were needed, that I wouldn’t live forever and life can be snatched from our grip at any time. 👌

Yes, absolutely, changed my mindset as well.  Enjoy life as much as you can, while you still can! 

Got me out of my complacency and doing the things i always wanted to, but never got round to actually doing.

Will be in Northern Lapland in 3 weeks today, and 2 trips to Thailand already booked and paid for, for next year.

[galenkia]

[KhunDon]

Send us a picture of you sat on Santas lap, we could all do with a laugh. 🤣

[KhunDon]

3 minutes ago, galenkia said:

I believe his commanding officer was Major Bloodnok. 🤗

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Bloodnok

[KhunDon]

1 hour ago, Mr. Smooth said:

Some very sobering, though much appreciated, posts here from BM's telling of their own concerns and experiences with blood clots. I most certainly will be changing up my routine, especially before, during and after a long haul flight. I think for most of us who travel to Thailand, as an example, we have to fly at least 10-12 hrs. A few Aussie friends have said even from Sydney or Brisbane, it's 8-9 hrs to BKK.

When I next have my own consultation with a blood specialist, or further along, a follow up with my own doctor, if my clot has broken up and there isn't anymore evidence of it's presence, and it's no longer required to be prescribed blood thinning medication, then as others have done, and are doing, I'll be sure to take a heavy dose of aspirin prior to flying, another about midway through the flight, or during the layover in Korea, Taipei, etc...and another after arriving, or the following morning, along with the usual vitamins...B-12, C, D and Zinc that I normally take. Then a standard daily dosage of 50 or 100mg from then on.

I would imagine that the average age for members of this forum is somewhere in the 50's or so, and info like this that is being shared by members who have had their own experiences regarding blood clots, or some other ailment, can prove priceless in assisting others to watch out for their own situations.

I most grateful for all who have contributed and will update my status in this thread in due course.

I take Clopidogrel (Plavix) 75mg daily to help prevent blood clots and have been on them for 20+ years, I suspect it is similar to the drug you’ve been given or maybe not, as you already have the blood clot and require a drug that breaks up the clot, rather than prevent it  

“Clopidogrel belongs to a class of drugs called platelet inhibitors or thienopyridine class inhibitors of P2Y12 ADP platelet receptors. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. These drugs are often used to treat similar conditions. Platelets are blood cells that help your blood clot normally. Clopidogrel helps prevent platelets from sticking together. This stops them from forming blood clots.”

When I had my first MI (Myocardial Infarction) I was taken to the county hospital where a thrombectomy was performed, but the blockage was at the back of the heart and in a very small vascular vessel, too small to remove it through surgery and stenting, so I was given a bolas of blood thinner to break up the clot. After 3 hours it became obvious that it wasn’t going anywhere so a second drug was injected into me and that didn’t work either, so I was airlifted by helicopter too Southampton University Hospital which is the main hospital in the south for heart surgery. 

It was bloody painful, but as I was wheeled into Southampton hospital the drugs worked and the chest pain subsided, but not soon enough that the blood clot had caused a fair bit of damage to my heart.

I was treated with drugs for a few day when I had my second MI in hospital, but that was treated with surgery and 2 stents. 
I’ve had several angiograms and angioplasty’s since and it always amazes me that I can lay on the table and watch them being performed on the monitor. 
Great fun. 🤗

Edited November 4, 2023 by KhunDon

[Krapow]

2 hours ago, galenkia said: