On January 1, 2009 I went into the ER with new right groin pain. An ultrasound was done and the technician told me that there was new blood clot on top of my old clot. I was dismissed from the hospital by the ER doctor who said that he didn’t know what to do for me since I was already on oral blood thinners. After speaking with my doctor who is following my blood thinners I began Lovenox blood thinning shots for 5 days which seemed to help.

I felt like the doctors I had seen locally were unable to give me the help or answers I needed so I called a blood specialist's (Dr. Kelty Baker) office in Houston, TX and sent over my medical records to her. She got me in immediately and I had a very detailed consultation with her on January 16, 2009. She ordered further lab work (blood tests) and told me that she felt that the reason for all my blood clot problems stem from the filter that was placed. She also informed me that the filter that was placed in me is NOT considered removable. To remove it would take major surgery, that it can not be removed through the vein in my neck as my other doctor stated. She suggested that I may really need to have the major surgery to get the filter removed and referred me to Dr. Erik Peden, a vascular surgeon, in Houston. Dr. Baker said that while it was not an unreasonable idea to get a filter that a removable filter should have been inserted. She also stated that these filters are known to cause DVT’s.

On January 19, 2009 I went to Dr. Guniganti’s office in Nacogdoches and requested a copy of the consents that I had signed for the filter placement. Dr. Guniganti was in the office and I briefly asked him if this filter was removable. He asked me why I would want it removed and I told him that I had seen a specialist who thought that it might be causing my DVT problems. Dr. Guniganti said that there was ‘no way’ that the filter could cause clotting problems. I thanked him and left the office.

I saw Dr. Peden on January 20, 2009. He agreed that my blood clot/DVT problems stem from the filter that was placed in me. Both from the initial insertion (trauma to vein) and from having a filter in place. I told him what Dr. Guniganti had said about it not being possible and asked him why it was that he said that it was from the filter. Dr. Peden stated that studies have proven that you are much more likely to clot with the filter in place. He also said that the trauma of inserting the filter into your vein causes scar tissue which blood clots are drawn to. He told me that I can NOT remove the filter because the surgery to remove it is to risky. He also said that he would never have put a permanent filter into me - that the studies that have shown them to cause blood clots have fueled doctors placing temporary, removable filters when a filter is necessary. Dr. Peden advised me that a surgical procedure to open my veins back up and place a stint in them is available. This would help with the constant pain and swelling in my leg.

As for the weight loss, I have continually lost weight since my surgery and am hoping to loose about 30-40 more pounds.  We'll see how it goes!