@Alaskan Danielle@davina61@Dietlind@KathyLauren@pamelatransukHi Danielle, Davina, Linde, Kathy, Pamela, 28 November 2018
I am going to try and answer all of your questions in the order of there occurrence to my DVT issue.
I was cautioned about DVT prior to receiving a prescription for Estradiol patches. After my Orchie and having been on the patches about one month I had a blood test for my hormone levels. I had been on Estradiol for 16 days sans AA's when I had my orchie and about 30 days of Estradiol so far. Believe me I was feeling great, no more problems with peeing due to BPH, sleeping better, aggression mostly gone after a lifetime of that BS, happiness, Boobs presenting themselves, which by the way I make every effort for them to be noticed and when they are I am greatly thankful.
When I went back to my Endo after the blood test, my "T" was 10 and Estradiol was 58. I had a second blood test about a month or so later and my "T" was <3 (not detected) and "E" was way down. (don't remember the exact number but it was low). I asked if we could bump the "E" and she said yes and also reminded me of the very real possibility of DVT, which by the way is well documented in medical literature.
We went ahead and bumped it up and tested it a month or so later; it was now 128 and "T" was still <3, all well and good. I was feeling great and the boobs, albeit slowly, were becoming more noticeable, which I really liked.
I had been mowing the pasture for several years using a combination of a tractor and a commercial walk behind mower. I preferred the walk behind because it afforded me a lot of exercise while mowing. I calculated I was walking about 7.7 miles each mowing. Last year, prior to HRT and me even knowing how to spell Transgender. I was noticing what appeared to be a slight rash around my ankles that looked like Petechiae though I assumed it was a rash because I knew my platelet count was high (clotting factor), I was on 81mg low dose aspirin and bled quite easily if cut. This fact in itself made me think it was Petechiae except for the fact that it cleared quickly and responded well to OTC salves. The other reason: It only appeared where my socks weren't covering my ankle.
I discontinued the aspirin thinking it might possibly be "P." The fact that it cleared quickly and responded well to salves kind of ruled out "P."
Have to back up here; in 2007 I noticed I was limping a lot. I analyzed my gate and sure enough my left leg was weaker than my right. I went to a sports medicine doctor that ran tests on my legs and determined that I had Asymmetric Peripheral Neuropathy. That was exciting. I started walking more and working out my legs. I managed to strengthen the left leg to where the limp was gone.
Sometimes Peripheral Neuropathy of the leg presents itself with severe pain, sometimes with numbness, sometimes both. My case was numbness, which is better than pain. I had tests run twice by a neurologist who confirmed the original diagnosis both times. His conclusion was that at some point I had damaged the Sciatic Nerve. He didn't know when or how and neither did I. I had numerous injuries while skiing (never a good skier though I enjoyed the excitement of skiing the dangerous terrain). I beat myself up pretty good, destroying my knees in the process, but having what I thought was fun (If I only knew what was ahead).
The last time I skied was in 1998 when I realized if I kept it up I was most likely destined for a wheelchair. Not an option I wanted to even consider so I quit that endeavor. Over time I figured out that everything we do has a price tag attached; we just don't know when the bill will come due; my bills were and are piling up.
Back to DVT and its precursor. I never had an indication that I knew of that indicated the possibility of a DVT, until this past Thursday 28 Nov 2018, Thanksgiving Day. That's when I realized that what I had been thinking was a rash really was "P" and now there were additional symptoms that indicated a blood clot (DVT): Itching, leg red, "P" present and leg hot. I took a couple of Alka-Seltzer tablets dissolved in water, which helped calm the heat and "P." When this hiccup occurred, I removed all patches as a precaution. Oh how I miss my Estradiol.
The next day we came to the conclusion I had better go to the emergency room. Now let me set the record straight; It wasn't me that convinced me to head to the hospital emergency room. It was the love of my life who I had been Skyping with that convinced me to go there and not to one of those "Doc-In-a-Box" places, which do have their place in the scheme of health care but not when time is of the essence.
Just so you know, she's right here at Susan's Place though most of you don't know who she is. She is the most beautiful, intelligent, Lady I have ever known and I love her more than anyone or anything else on this earth. There are many more great adjectives to describe her, which I would do if Susan's servers had enough capacity for all of them.
In the emergency room they drew blood and did an ultrasound of my left leg. The diagnosis was DVT. They prescribed a standard treatment, Xarelto starter pack. Since this has nothing to do with transitioning, I'm going to supply dosage as there is only a standard dose available. I was prescribed 15mg bid for 21 days and 20mg qd until the doctor says to discontinue it; bid = twice a day, qd = once per day. This med must be taken with food. There is no generic for it and it's relatively expensive. I'm also back on the 81mg low dose aspirin.
Thursday will be the day I visit my Endocrinologist to see where we go, hormone wise, from here. My thinking is the problem was already here before I started my transition. "E" may or may not have played some part in the DVT, which already was an accident waiting to happen. I'm going to present to my Endo what my love suggested and that is to reduce the "E" to post menopausal levels.
Tomorrow I'll update this thread with anything I know that is pertinent to this topic. Some day I'll tell you who she is unless she tells you first.
Now I have a few PM's to answer so I'll attend to that after I take care of the kids; they need to eat and go out so they can pee and poop.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts and concerns. Hopefully we all can learn something from this.
Best Always, Love
Chris
