Bad Blood

Every once in a while my bleeding disorder (VonWillibrands) raises its ugly head.  I hesitate writing about this as I fear that it may cause some fear related to a very important procedure.

I had my third colonoscopy last Thursday.  It is wise for adults my age to have it done every 10 years.  The technology used is efficient and effective.  There are few side effects or dangers…unless you have a bleeding disorder.

In my first two procedures, everything went well.  Last Thursday, for the first time, they found four polyps.  They harvested the polyps and cauterized the wounds.  The polyps were biopsied and found to be adenomatous (noncancerous).  I felt fine until Saturday when the pain in my abdomen increased and I began to pass blood.  I waited until Monday to call my doctor and I was directed to proceed directly to the Emergency Room.  There I was admitted to the hospital and given some clotting factor.  Later, but before the factor could take effect, my blood count continued to fall and the passing of blood continued to rise.  At one time I passed out due to low blood pressure.   I was infused with two units of blood and taken back into surgery on Tuesday.  They recauterized the wounds and put me back on the IVs.  By Wednesday I felt well enough to go home.  I continue to go into the infusion center once a day for 3 days for continued clotting factor.  I am on a limited activity regimen until I get the o.k. to resume normal activity.

Lesson learned?  When I had my hernia operation in 09 I was a bit frustrated at all the prep and procedure that I had to go through.  At that time I had my surgeon consult with my hematologist which resulted in presurgery clotting factor infusion, surgery in the hospital (most hernia surgeries are done in clinics as outpatients) and I spent one night in the hospital where they could monitor blood levels and infuse more clotting factor as needed.  There was no bleeding and everything went well.  I thought it was overpreparation and my insurance company was given a bill of over $46,000.   However, in retrospect, that hernia procedure did go well.  I guess overprep is better than underprep.  It is better to be proactive than reactive.

In the medical arena, we live in the best of times…