xc62701
Well-Known Member
Hey guys. I know some of you have heard the warning that if you take long car trips or flights that you need to take precautions to get up and move around or you could have some circulatory issues. Take this first hand: Every 2 hours move around and get that blood flowing or you could end up like me. Here's my tale.
I just drove out to Durango Colorado and it took 18 hours in the first leg, then 6 hours of sleep, then 12 hours more driving to get there. At the end of day 1 of riding I had a weird pain in my groin that radiated down into my quad. I thought nothing of it and pushed through. 10 days later I went to bed and woke up gasping for air. I wandered around for an hour trying to make the pain subside but all it did was get worse as my abdomen and chest started to tighten up. I was on the verge of tears/passing out when I reached out to my brother to drive me to the hospital. Well after a nice trip to the hospital I was diagnosed with a Pulmonary Embolism - blood clot in my lung. It's PAINFUL!!!
So I had to have a nice stay in the hospital for 2.5 days to get on blood thinners to prevent any other clots from forming and doing any further damage. My lung was effected and my heart has been under severe stress from the incident. The body will supposedly absorb the rest of the clots and 2-3 months later I will be supposedly back to normal - whatever that is.
So I just wanted to let my issue be a warning to those travelers that neglect things like I did. I actually have done this drive 4-5 times and this trip was probably the best as I had to stop the most and moved around a lot when I stopped but it didn't matter. Supposedly this happens more frequently to fit individuals so just be aware of what can happen and do what you can to prevent this.
As it stands this is day #4 after my incident and I have to stay in Durango a while longer while my blood gets regulated before I can even attempt another 32 hours in the car driving back. I have to have my blood checked at the hospital every morning until my meds are perfect and stable. At least I got in a bunch of good riding, climbing, hiking in before(or actually during) my blood clot debilitated me.
I just drove out to Durango Colorado and it took 18 hours in the first leg, then 6 hours of sleep, then 12 hours more driving to get there. At the end of day 1 of riding I had a weird pain in my groin that radiated down into my quad. I thought nothing of it and pushed through. 10 days later I went to bed and woke up gasping for air. I wandered around for an hour trying to make the pain subside but all it did was get worse as my abdomen and chest started to tighten up. I was on the verge of tears/passing out when I reached out to my brother to drive me to the hospital. Well after a nice trip to the hospital I was diagnosed with a Pulmonary Embolism - blood clot in my lung. It's PAINFUL!!!
So I had to have a nice stay in the hospital for 2.5 days to get on blood thinners to prevent any other clots from forming and doing any further damage. My lung was effected and my heart has been under severe stress from the incident. The body will supposedly absorb the rest of the clots and 2-3 months later I will be supposedly back to normal - whatever that is.
So I just wanted to let my issue be a warning to those travelers that neglect things like I did. I actually have done this drive 4-5 times and this trip was probably the best as I had to stop the most and moved around a lot when I stopped but it didn't matter. Supposedly this happens more frequently to fit individuals so just be aware of what can happen and do what you can to prevent this.
As it stands this is day #4 after my incident and I have to stay in Durango a while longer while my blood gets regulated before I can even attempt another 32 hours in the car driving back. I have to have my blood checked at the hospital every morning until my meds are perfect and stable. At least I got in a bunch of good riding, climbing, hiking in before(or actually during) my blood clot debilitated me.
