DVT in teen

[Darkbaptism]

My DD (17) has a suspetected DVT.

DD had a sore calf yesterday and had been in bed for days due to illness. The GP sent her to A&E where she has a d-dimer test which was raised. DD had an injection in the early hours of this morning and we are waiting for a follow up call to arrange a scan and to collect the injections to administer at home.

Has anyone had any experience of DVT and know what we should be expecting?

Sadly, I do.

The injections are in the stomach and aren't pleasant, but she shouldn't need them for too long before they put her on medication. The ct scan will confirm the clot & probably check her lungs are clear and then she'll be put on a course of blood thinners, usually for around six months, but be prepared for the possibility of it being for life due to her age and if it was unprovoked.

It's scary, but it does get easier.

Feel free to pm me if you want to ask any questions. I had my first unprovoked dvt and pulmonary embolism when I wasn't much older than your dd so will have an idea of how she might be feeling.

Thanks, sounds like it’s going to be a long road to recovery. DD did have a couple of risk factors, she’s in the pill but only for 2 months, she has also been in bed for 12 days due to glandular fever.
Am obviously hoping it’s a one off but even with the above factors she’s young, a healthy weight, goes to the gym regularly and doesn’t smoke so doesn’t tick the boxes of high at risk groups. Feel really sorry for her.

I think that it's important to remember that no two people will recover the same or react the same way to the medication. She might feel completely fine in a month or so but others are still healing a year down the line.

Different medications can be affected by foods & alcohol. She might be told not to take certain medications (ibuprofen, anaxin, aspirin). Be prepared for heavier periods (my haemotologist told me that anecdotal evidence showed that Eliquis is better than Xarelto and I'd definitely agree!) Warfarin made me exhausted and it's a pain to keep having your blood checked. Depending on her medication she might need blood tests for her liver and kidneys, so if she's partial to gin, she might want to knock that on the head! And just because a side effect isn't listed on the leaflet, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. My haemotologist was adamant that hair loss wasn't a side effect (nothing excessive, but more than normal) but members of various support groups on FB would beg to differ. differ

Ask about genetic testing as well. And remember she's at higher risk of future clots now, so any leg pain or breathlessness cannot be ignored! It's serious and people of all ages die from them because they haven't realised what the symptoms mean. She might also have problems with some anxiety, particularly if she realises how serious it can be, so be prepared. It's not easy confronting your own mortality at such a young age!

Thanks for taking so much time to reply @Sn0tnose.

DDs scan still hasn’t been booked so it’s looking like it won’t be until Wednesday which DD isn’t too happy about as she really doesn’t like the injection- not so much the needle but the feeling of the medication flowing in and the little bubble at the end. Thankfully she’s feeling less tired as she’s recovering slowly from the glandular fever but will still take next week off college and then go back the week after.

I’m really hoping that even though she has symptoms of a DVT and the d-dimer test was raised there is another less long term reason for it...