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I need help for my brother who is suffering from a ...

Sent to Health Experts September 14, 2006 4:41 p.m.

I need help for my brother who is suffering from a condition that seems to have no name and the doctors can't seem to do anything for. He has thousands of blood clots in his body and the Coumadin that he has been treated with is no longer working to disolve the clots. He has a greenfield filter in his aorta that was placed in 2001 and it has became clogged by clots also. We have been told that nothing can be done for my brother and that he should just go home and enjoy what time he has left of his life. He is only 52 years old! I just find it hard to believe that there isn't a drug out there can disolve blood clots!! Now his blood is clotting before they can transfer it from the syringe to the vial. I don't know if it is just small town lack of higher learning, or my lack of giving up on my brother's life. But I just can't believe that something isn't available out there to help this man! If you have any ideas on this PLEASE send them ASAP. They are saying my brothers time is not very long. I say it's as long as God wants it to be, and I don't think He's through with my brother yet!! Thanks...toXXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX

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Female , Age: 50

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Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $15

Info Request
September 14, 2006 9:07 p.m. (4 hours and 26 minutes later)

REPLIED to Info Request

You say that he has seen "medical experts" - Do you know if he has seen a hematologist?

Has he been on any medications besides Coumadin?

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Family Physician -- Doctor (MD) -- 99% Positive Feedback on 3345 Health Accepts
Physician with 22 years experience in Emergency Medicine / Family Medicine

Reply to Family Physician
Sent September 14, 2006 10:38 p.m. (1 hour and 30 minutes later)

Yes he is currently being seen by a hemotologist. He has to be hospitalized frequently (every 4 or 5 days) and put on a heparin drip besides the coumadin he is already taking. He has also been seen by a cancer specialist, a doctor who specializes in liver diseases, a pulmanologist, and a heart specialist.Even they don't know what this is that is wrong with him, they tell us it is genetic. I just want to know if there is somewhere I can take him that can do something for him, or at ht every least give him some help with the cost of his meds. He is strictly on Social Security Disability and Medicare and I feel he is not getting the best of care due to this financial situation of his. He was even told at the hospital that they had to discharge him because he was no longer considered in an "emergency life threatening situation", so there was no need to run up the tab any further. At the time he still had very limited blood flow to both legs from all the clots, and both arms were just about as bad! I'm still amazed that they found one blood clot in "my" leg worthy of a 27 day stay untill it was completely disolved!!(Thank God I had Medicare AND Blue Cross) Please forgive the rambling...

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Answer
September 14, 2006 11:47 p.m. (1 hour and 8 minutes later)

ACCEPTED

I wish there was somthing I could offer that would be definitive. There are a couple of option that may be useful for you to look into.

Chronic use of a medication such as Lovenox - which is a type of heparin that can be given as an injection at home. This is a VERY expensive medication, however, the company does have a patient assistance program for which he may qualify - particularly if he has a RARE genetic disorder.

A research protocol - somewhere like the NIH, or a large university medical center may be able to offer you something.

There is also a newer class of medication being developed as a competitor to Coumadin called Direct Thrombin Inhibitors. A research protocol may be available with them.

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Family Physician -- Doctor (MD) -- 99% Positive Feedback on 3345 Health Accepts
Physician with 22 years experience in Emergency Medicine / Family Medicine

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