Blood clots - BEWARE!

Nyx said:

I'm so sorry for your loss. I am glad however that you're getting awareness out there. I developed 2 blood clots in my lungs during my surgery for my stoma and was in ICU over Christmas in 2009 because of them. The blood thinners eventually did their job, but I had no idea that surgery could cause them. I'm not sure if there are any preventative measures though.

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Tesscorm said:

David, while looking for more info on blood clots, I found that there was no Wiki entry on clots and the risks of clots with IBD. Could an entry be made on the Forum Wiki, even if it only includes a link to this thread? This thread could provide some initial info for anyone looking for info on clots.

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D Bergy said:

I take Ginger, Tumeric and Krill Oil to thin my blood. These supplements have many other benefits besides this. One big benefit is they are all help quell inflammation.

I also have evidence that these do in fact thin the blood. After my last surgery the surgeon asked my wife if I took a daily aspirin. She said that I did not. He said when he was stitching everything up, I kept seeping blood. He said it was not a problem but it was not typical. I had stopped taking the supplements a few days before, but apparently the effect had not left yet.

Some supplements thicken the blood also, so you have to know that ahead of time so you can counteract that effect. One used here is vitamin K. Anyone taking it should be aware of this.

Dan

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wildbill_52280 said:

so sorry to hear of this,
thank you for telling us this story.


this is my opinion based on my own management of my own blood clots and reading lots of science:

it is the oxidative stress from chronic inflammation that interacts with LDL that is responsible for the blood clots, soluble fiber supplements can be very helpful and protective for people with IBD to avoid blood clots, Such as Apple pectin, inulin, and psyllium, from 4-24 grams per day. also, it is the saturated fat that raises LDL cholesterol. Saturated fat raises ldl, that then can become oxidizing depositing on the arterial wall, stopping blood flow.

i have been learning to manage blood clots for about two years now, it is very dangerous, and now i believe i have understood these relationships very well.

truthfully, it might be easier for me to remove the inflamed intestines, but i am finding a donor to do fecal transplant. I have no symptoms of clotting for about two months now since returning to regular fiber supplements, and keeping saturated fat intake very low. it has taken me alot of reading and self observations/dangerous trial and error to understand how to control them and now eliminate them, without any drugs. i also consume a turmeric pepper tea and resveratrol that both inhibits my disease activity and the clots as well.

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Any patient who has undergone major surgery, sustained a significant trauma or suffered a serious infection will have a widespread inflammatory response. Visibly, inflammation causes fluid to collect throughout the body tissues, making the patient look swollen. It also makes the blood vessels dilate, leading to a reduction in the blood pressure. This often needs to be treated with large amounts of intravenous fluids. Systemic inflammation will also increase the metabolic rate, causing the heart rate and breathing to increase. It can also cause a mild fever and rise in the white blood cell count.

Inflammation also activates the clotting system. The medical term for clotting is coagulation. When a patient has systemic inflammation, they can develop systemic clotting. If the cause of the inflammation is not relieved, clotting can become a serious problems. It can begin to occur in all of the tiny capillaries, blocking the flow of blood and oxygen to the tissues and organs. This can lead to organ failure.

When a patient has a lot of clotting taking place, they can run out of the cells that they need to make clots. Platelets are a type of blood cell that will stick to the wall of a blood vessel and create a clot. We also have many different proteins in the blood that stimulate clot production, and make the clot strong. These proteins are called clotting factors or coagulation factors.

When clotting factors get used up because of excessive clotting, the patient may begin to bleed. Bleeding that develops due to the depletion of clotting factors is a life-threatening complication called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (or DIC).

Laboratory tests can be done to evaluate the coagulation system. The most common tests are called the INR (International Normalized Ratio) and the aPTT (Activated Partial Prothrombin Time). These tests measure the time in seconds that it takes the blood to clot. If it takes longer for blood to clot than normal, the INR and/or aPTT become higher. This indicates an increased risk for bleeding. If the INR and aPTT has increased because the patient has used up too many clotting factors, we can replace the clotting factors by giving a transfusion of Fresh Frozen Plasma. On rare occasions, we may give a concentrated preparation of a specific clotting factor.

We sometimes want to prolong the time it takes for blood to clot. We may want to do this if the patient is at risk for serious clotting problems, such as a heart attack or Deep Vein Thrombosis. Drugs that prolong the time it takes for blood to clot are called anticoagulants or blood thinners. Heparin is a commonly used anticoagulant.

If a patient has excessive clotting, they may also use up their platelets. If they bleed, they may lose red blood cells, which causes the hemoglobin to drop. We may need to give red blood cell or platelet transfusions.

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