Q:
I've also just been diagnosed with venous thromboemboli disease after getting
several blood clots in my eye and undergoing blood tests.
Could you tell me in "laymans terms" what the heck venous thromboemboli disease
is?
You should also note that my bipolar is genetic (ie: my mother's elder sister
was dx bp but untreated because of a heart condition) and I am the eldest
daughter in my generation....and now this venous dx and again it's genetic!!
Any "light" you could shine on this matter for me would be greatly appreciated
(as internet search results are freaking me out)
thank you.
Dear Ms. K' --
In brief, you're asking about "blood clots", as you've probably learned. Being
on the venous side, that is, in a vein and not an artery, means that if they
bust loose they end up in your lungs, not blocking some artery somewhere. You
can have a few such clots land in your lungs without hardly even noticing, but a
big one there can be very dangerous. That's why if the doc's find you've got a
clot (usually in one of the big leg veins), they get pretty aggressive about
using anti-clotting medications to make it slowly melt away, and then stay
away.
Dr. Phelps
June, 2005 |