I’ve taken a little bit of a hiatus from blogging and sharing my experiences with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolisms (PEs), but I’m back! I’m not training as frequently as I did for the marathon, but I finished my tenth half marathon (eighth post-DVT) yesterday in Central Park — the MORE/FITNESS/SHAPE Women’s Half-Marathon! 🙂 It was such a beautiful day and I’m always inspired when I’m surrounded by so many women who have trained and worked so hard.
I was also lucky to have had the opportunity to share my DVT and running story with Rewire Me — an online community focusing on health and wellness.
You can check out the video here.
You should also look at the other women in the video series — they all have very inspirational stories about never giving up.
Fight Deep Vein Thrombosis 
Hi, I am so happy to find your informative and inspirational blog. I found the section about compression stockings especially helpful as I am having difficulty finding the right ones so they don’t rub or fall down. I also liked the tips about how to work them into different clothing styles.
I am one month post diagnosis of ileofemoral DVT at 7 months pregnant. This time last year I was completing an Ironman 70.3, so the whole learning to walk again thing is quite a change in pace, however I am making progress. I hope to be able to follow your inspirational lead and aim for another long distance event some time in the future, and raising money for blood clot awareness will be an important part of that.
Thank you
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Hi Amy, I’m so sorry to hear about your ordeal! It must be such a stressful and scary time with the baby coming along soon. Congrats to you for becoming a mom though! 🙂 It’s definitely really frustrating to go from healthy to suddenly immobile, but if you were able to do an Ironman 70.3, then I am sure you will have the discipline and drive to succeed!!
You should also check out this blog: http://clot-buster-triathlete.blogspot.com/
There are so many inspirational stories on this site of people who have suffered clots and become stronger, faster and better as a result. Thank you for sharing your story and keep me updated on your progress!!
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Hey Amaris
Thank you for the reply. The website you suggested is great, thank you. I will be sure to keep you posted. X
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Hi Amaris
I said I would update you so here it is – we have a healthy three month old son now so that’s great! In other news I have stopped injecting blood thinners (on the advice of the haematologist) and I have been slowly building up swimming and running. I do have post thrombotic syndrome so my leg is still large and heavy but it’s not slowing me down too much.
How is your leg doing now? I am wondering if mine will improve much now, or if this is it. I am based in the UK and there only seems to be one surgeon in London who offers venous stenting for post thrombotic syndrome, so I am starting to look into that, but it is by no means a common treatment so I’m a bit unsure. In your experience is vascular intervention and stenting common for PTS in the US, and has it helped you at all?
Well done again for your infectious positive attitude and for all you have achieved.
Thanks
Amy
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Hi Amy,
Sorry for the delay in replying! So great to hear you’re doing so well! Congrats on the baby. 🙂 I’m so happy to hear you’re exercising and not letting your leg stop you from doing everything you want!
My leg is more or less totally okay now. I still can’t stand for very long periods of time (though I can walk for those same periods because my leg creates a pump for the blood!), and I have trouble sitting in tight spaces where my leg needs to be bent at a <90* angle.
My stent was placed in my iliac vein (hip area), which helped me a great deal because my femoral (thigh) and iliac were both completely blocked off. The stent opened up my iliac vein and helped me greatly with my recovery. Stents work differently for different people though, and the smaller the vein, the greater risk there is of them closing up (this is why my doctor opted not to put one in my femoral vein). I'm honestly not sure how common stenting is in the US, but I think that if I had gotten sick originally in the US I would have gotten the proper aggressive treatment and the clot would have been cleared entirely — meaning I wouldn't be needing a stent in the first place! I see my doctor on an annual basis to check on the status of the stent. There is always the risk that the stent will close up so it's something I'll always need to be careful about, especially because there isn't much research on how the stent will hold up over the next half century… So far it's looking much much better than the doctor expected! All sorts of vein growth and openings of veins, but that is really in huge part because of my running.
Please definitely keep me posted on all of your progress!
Amaris 🙂
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Hey Amaris
Thanks for the response. That’s great. Out of interest how long after the DVT did you have the stent surgery? Do you know the name of the type of stent? And are you on lifelong blood thinners because of the stent?
Not running so well for the past few weeks as I broke my little toe 😦
Thanks again
Amy
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Aww Amy, I’m so sorry to hear about your toe! 😦 That’s terrible. I hope you’re still trying to stay active though, are you able to do something like the rowing machine? It’s a great way to get your blood circulating (to create new collaterals) without having to fight gravity or pound the pavement!
I had my DVT in August 2012 and got the surgery for the stent at the end of October, so two months later. I don’t actually know the name or type of stent unfortunately, but I think I can hunt it down and find it written somewhere if it’ll help you out. I may or may not be on lifelong thinners. I’ll probably be on some kind of thinner, but they may eventually reduce the dosage. Just playing it by ear for now.
I’m currently on 20mg/day of Xarelto (Rivoraxaban) and a baby aspirin. I’m still young enough that I’m not having any problems with excess/dangerous bleeding, so there’s no real reason to change my treatment. I imagine that story will change when I’m older (medicine will also have changed by then), so who knows when/if my dosage will change. I’m on the thinners in part because of the stent, but also because I have a lot of residual scar tissue left in my veins, which increases my risk of clotting. I also have Factor V Leiden, which is a genetic blood disorder that makes me more likely to clot than the average person.
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Hi Amaris. A little update. Last weekend I did the Brighton Marathon! I had a stent put in about a year ago and my running has much improved since. Thank you for your inspiration. The fact you had done a marathon really helped when I kept wondering am I a bit crazy for attempting this?
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Hi Amaris, I’m very happy to have found your blog. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones, having only developed a DVT in a distal vein in my calf. I’ve been on blood thinners for a week and I’m having a tough time deciding if I should continue running or simply walk a couple of times per day. I won’t get into all the details here, but if you don’t mind, I’m adding a link to your story from my blog. You’ve come such a long way and your story is very inspirational to me. I hope you are still doing well. Thanks for sharing this amazing story! Des
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