Fishing after a major internal clot

[speedbird]

I’ve ended up hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism. Doctors suspect long term damage to the right side of my heart as a result. There’s a high chance I will be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I have no idea how much of my stamina I will get back and how quickly I’ll get it back. I’m pretty upset about missing peak cutthroat and chum fishing. In fact before I went to the urgent care I was kicking myself for forgetting to bring my 8 weight spool, I was planning on buying a new line and fishing the day after.

Have any of you guys been through something similar? How has it affected your fishing? Fishing and cuts go together, so I’m worrying about how being on blood thinners is gonna affect me. How long did it take before you were up walking and casting again? Doctors aren’t too worried about me being able to fish, but I’m wondering what sort of extra precautions I’ll need to take while wading, especially in current

 

[Greg Armstrong]

I’ve ended up hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism. Doctors suspect long term damage to the right side of my heart as a result. There’s a high chance I will be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I have no idea how much of my stamina I will get back and how quickly I’ll get it back. I’m pretty upset about missing peak cutthroat and chum fishing. In fact before I went to the urgent care I was kicking myself for forgetting to bring my 8 weight spool, I was planning on buying a new line and fishing the day after.

Have any of you guys been through something similar? How has it affected your fishing? Fishing and cuts go together, so I’m worrying about how being on blood thinners is gonna affect me. How long did it take before you were up walking and casting again? Doctors aren’t too worried about me being able to fish, but I’m wondering what sort of extra precautions I’ll need to take while wading, especially in current

Dang, I have no experience with that but truly hoping for the best for you getting through this and getting back out there soon.

 

[TicTokCroc]

You'll be fine, just don't have kids. 2 young kids affect my fishing time more then anything else.

I had a pulmonary embolism about a week after I was released from a hospital stay with a high fever an blood infection where they removed an infected abcess in my abdomen. Back in the hospital for another week and on warfarin. I was on warfarin for about 2 years.

 

[Salmo_g]

Sorry to learn of that Kashf. That sounds serious, so I'm glad you're still topside of the grass. Hope you recover and get well soon. Seems like you'll do OK figuring out fishing going forward. Take care!

 

[GLassguy2]

I also don't have any similar experience other than a slight stroke a few years ago. Follow the doctors suggestions and remember that if you do follow them there is a chance of more success in recovery and also more fishing to follow. Please take care and know that there are a lost of folks here hoping for your recovery. You seem like a great guy with a huge amount of fishing experience behind you and I certainly hope a more HUGE amount of fishing experience ahead of you. Hang in there.

 

[Cabezon]

I’ve ended up hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism. Doctors suspect long term damage to the right side of my heart as a result. There’s a high chance I will be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I have no idea how much of my stamina I will get back and how quickly I’ll get it back. I’m pretty upset about missing peak cutthroat and chum fishing. In fact before I went to the urgent care I was kicking myself for forgetting to bring my 8 weight spool, I was planning on buying a new line and fishing the day after.

Have any of you guys been through something similar? How has it affected your fishing? Fishing and cuts go together, so I’m worrying about how being on blood thinners is gonna affect me. How long did it take before you were up walking and casting again? Doctors aren’t too worried about me being able to fish, but I’m wondering what sort of extra precautions I’ll need to take while wading, especially in current

Sorry to hear that. I had a pulmonary embolism in summer 2022. I went from scrambling around the intertidal and hiking in the San Juan Islands to being barely able to breath/walk in a matter of hours. In the end, I spent several days in the hospital recovering and enduring a battery of tests. Rather than just "suspecting" damage, they did an echocardiogram and did not find any substantial cardiac issues that they could pin on the embolism. It was very painful to walk around the ward the first few days that I was in the hospital; I ended up sleeping in a chair because it was more comfortable to be upright. But I experienced improvement after a few days. I was put on a blood thinner for 6 months; but after 6 months my doctor and I discussed the situation and stopped it.
I did take it easy for the rest of the summer, some walks around the neighborhood and favorite local birding areas. But I was back at it in time for tuna fishing in September. This summer, I did my usual two-week trip to fish moving water in Montana and Idaho without serious concerns that I could pin on the embolism specifically. Shit, I'm getting older and fatter...
Stamina will depend on whether there is substantial heart damage and/or loss of pulmonary function. It could impact aerobic capacity (endurance) and you might find that you get tired more easily. But it should have no significant impact on anaerobic (strength) capacity.
Continuing or terminating the blood thinners were part of the discussion that I had with my doctor after 6 months. While on the blood thinner, I did notice that it took longer for routine cuts to clot. She ordered a series of blood tests to see if I had an underlying clotting issue that might have driven the pulmonary embolism. But fortunately, there wasn't anything that jumped out. One of the reasons that I swung toward ending the blood thinner (in addition to being low-level allergic to it...) was that I didn't want an injury while in the wilderness to lead to excessive blood loss.
Hang in there. It will get better!!!
Steve

 

[Jim F.]

Can't offer any advice re: the embolism, but underwent a cardioversion to resolve afib earlier this year. I'm on Eliquis. Even though it is expensive, it is much easier to regulate & get the dosage right than warfarin can be. Here's to a quick recovery & no more issues.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Are you in the hospital now?

I guess one main factor will be age, lots of variables here.

"Long term damage" is that permanent damage? I have had enlarged ventricles 2 times and it will heal itself, quite quickly once the problem is taken care of.

What blood thinner will you end up on? My embolism was about 9 years ago, and they put me on warfarin. I know there are alternatives now like eloquis but are expensive.

The blood thinner will not affect your stamina by itself.

They will most likely have you do a cardiac rehab program through the hospital. Do it, they hook you up to a monitor while you work out. It goes a long way towards peace of mind knowing your exerting yourself while someone is keeping tabs on your numbers and you won't be constantly questioning yourself later on.

I have had a pulmonary embolism. Valve sparing aortic root replacement, mild stroke, and Aortic valve replacement. I'm on warfarin now due to the mechanical valve. It's kind of a pain, but not really, I'm down to about 1 visit a month to the hospital for INR check. I'm 38, so I'm on warfarin for the long haul now. Any questions just ask, I am way too familiar with the cardiac ward.

 

[Wanative]

Sorry to hear of your condition.
I wish you the best possible outcome with lots of fishing ahead of you.
You've become a valuable member on this forum and I've really enjoyed your posts.

 

[fatbillybob]

Talk to your doc. Let him know how you fish and he will tell you what to look out for and when you can get back to normal. Your dentist will want to know your medicine list. He'll see the blood thinner and know what to do like being careful when doing surgery for bleeding risk. You could take extra precaution when out by having pressure bandages with you and other things to handle bleeding if you hike in to fish pretty far. You can also be smart about and change habits to decrease risk. Don't cut your line with a knife but with a fishing plier with cutters. Fish barbless so you don't cause lots of bleeding if you stick yourself good and have to extract the hook. Bring betadine pads in the small 1.5x1.5" foil pack to disinfect a cut and 3M nexcare bandaids. The nexcare bandaid is water proof with a pad on it to cushion the wound and totally seals out dirt with a skin-like rubber/plastic seal. Prevent falls by using your wading staff out of the water as well as in the water. Learn to cast better so you don't have to wade as deep to reduce risk, or change tactics from traditional overhead casting like this:


Don't wet wade. Use the waders to keep brush from scratching you until bleeding. Wear good wading boot for good support to prevent falls. I find felt and or aluminum bars the best for rivers. Even in summer I wear rubber sole wading boots to protect the feet from getting cut on all kinds of junk while I fish the beaches. When doc says it's OK get in better shape. Most of us are too heavy and too sedentary. Being in good shape from regular physical exercise helps everything in our body work better and even reduces fall risks that increase with age.

 

[adamcu280]

@Kashf, here's to a quick and thorough recovery!

 

[DimeBrite]

I fished with an older gentleman taking blood thinners on Christmas Island, where the sum of healthcare is a green coconut IV line and a Pepto chewable. One day he climbed back into the boat with a nasty coral gash to his knee oozing blood. We helped him slap a water proof bandage onto the wound and he jumped out of the boat for another fishing session. He didn't seem worried about it, tough guy.

 

[TicTokCroc]

I fished with an older gentleman taking blood thinners on Christmas Island, where the sum of healthcare is a green coconut IV line and a Pepto chewable. One day he climbed back into the boat with a nasty coral gash to his knee oozing blood. We helped him slap a water proof bandage onto the wound and he jumped out of the boat for another fishing session. He didn't seem worried about it, tough guy.

Cuts can be annoying but delt with, as long as an artery isn't hit. The real concern is blows to the head, internal stuff.

 

[Stonedfish]

Best of luck and hope you have a full recovery.
SF

 

[Zak]

I hope you recover quickly and completely!

 

[flybill]

I had a scare, woke up in the middle of the night and my left leg was killing me. A sharp pain, I thought it was a cramp at first..

I woke up my housemate and had her drive me to the ER, after she woke up of course.. Was taken super quick, and they triaged me.. Had an EKG I think, an ultrasound on my leg and an IV as well. Pain subsided pretty quickly, but it was good that I went in.

I was 45 or 46 when it occurred.. I knew what it probably was and reacted right away! It turned out it wasn't a PE.. I don't recall what it was, but I'm glad I was insured and knew what to do. I'm having my annual physical in a few days and will ask my PCP.

Cheers to all! I had no lasting side effects.. but listen to my body and will react quickly if I have any additional symptoms.

Bill

 

[Kilchis]

I've been on Warfarin for decades. It's essentially a non-event. I try not to do stupid things like stab myself or slip when using razor blades fly tying, but…life happens. The big caveat the medical team emphasizes is that if I fall and hit my head hard I should get checked for a possible brain bleed pdq. I'm in the latter half of my 70’s and have tissue paper skin, so it gets penetrated a lot and I bleed somewhere about 4x a week. I bleed about 2.5 x more than normal when I get scratched or poked. It's not a big deal. Thumb pressure stops a bleed quickly and Oxyclean is your friend. I believe I have become less cold-tolerant due to my Warfarin. I might be an idiot, but……..wait - let me rephrase that. I'm an idiot, but since I started on Warfarin 30 years ago I have never altered any of my activities because of fear of a potential bleed.

A comment that I think is important. Warfarin/Coumadin is reversible. In 2011 I got hit with peritonitis and had emergency surgery at 1 in the morning. I literally bought the farm while on the operating table and was revived. The surgery could be done because injections quickly reversed the Warfarin. At that time some of the alternative thinners could not be reversed. If surgery had been delayed waiting for a thinner to metabolize, I'd be 12 years dead.

 

[stylesmagz]

After experiencing a major internal clot, consult your healthcare provider before resuming fishing or any strenuous activity. They can offer guidance tailored to your health status, ensuring a safe return to such pursuits.

 

[flybill]

After experiencing a major internal clot, consult your healthcare provider before resuming fishing or any strenuous activity. They can offer guidance tailored to your health status, ensuring a safe return to such pursuits.

I would also make sure to fish with someone.. I do most of the time, since I have other issues. Happy to meet up sometime if you want a partner out on the water! Just safer, particularly with someone who knows a bit of your medical history and can react quickly if necessary!

 

[SteelHeadDave]

After experiencing a major internal clot, consult your healthcare provider before resuming fishing or any strenuous activity. They can offer guidance tailored to your health status, ensuring a safe return to such pursuits.

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