What are You Gonna Do, Bleed On Me?

Very little says "you're old" more than having to take daily medication. For anyone with diabetes,  what I'm about to say is going to sound a little tone-deaf, but realizing you are now at the mercy of the "pharmaceutical industrial complex" is somewhat disheartening. And plus, every day?! I legitimately wondered about getting a seven-chambered pill box with the day of the week labels.

The cause of this "lifelong treatment" is what I refer to as my "Ragu blood", (although I prefer Prego, go figure?). Apparently, my blood is thick and rich, prone to clotting, and about a month ago was the cause of some problems I initially ignored.

It started with a cramp in the leg, then in my thigh. From past experience, I did think it might be Deep Vein Thrombosis, (something with which I've had past experience), but did you know if you search enough on the internet, you can find a rationalization to be both scared to death and completely assured that nothing is wrong? In spite of my "ignorance" method of self-treatment, on April 21st, I started getting this sever pain in my chest when I breathed. It eventually subsided over a few days, but when I went in for my routine checkup a week later, my doctor ordered tests that indicated I likely had a pulmonary embolism.

Thirteen years ago I was on blood thinners for 6 months when a major bike crash led to a similar clot in my leg. The dietary restrictions and periodic checkups were a nuisance, and that was definitely in the back of my mind as this latest episode prompted my doctor to say the words "lifelong treatment". But here's where I'm going to applaud "Big Pharma" and their annoying 2 minute drug commercials which make you wonder if they are the only ones making money in this world. As Arnold Palmer, Chris Bosch, and some random Nascar driver explained while playing golf, Xarelto is preferable to Warfarin and lets you eat lettuce and not worry about monthly blood tests. Who knew I would be the target audience for one of those commercials so soon -- thank god it was blood thinners and not that damn little blue pill.