Serious trauma can cause blood clot

Dear Dr. Gott: A lady doing 55 miles per hour ran a stop signal and hit my driver’s-side rear door with a loud, tremendous crash. If I hadn’t sped up she would have hit my door and probably killed me. I was dazed and stunned for a few minutes, but suffered only minor back and neck injuries, a bruised left knee and a dislocated jaw.

Five weeks later I awoke early in the morning and found that I had no feeling in my legs. A huge blood clot had blocked off the Y in my veins that branched off to both my legs. A skilled surgeon made an incision on each side of my groin, ran a tube up and sucked out the clot, totally restoring the feeling in my legs. I spent a week in intensive care and three months recuperating at home after losing 35 pounds.

I checked my computer for blood clot information and it mentioned trauma from an accident as a possible cause. I asked my primary physician if it were possible that trauma from the wreck could have caused my clots. He replied, “Not possible but probable.” When I later asked my surgeon, he replied, “Extremely possible.” Two other doctors said that in light of the fact that I did not drink and had never smoked, they could not think of any other likely cause for the clots. Although I was 83 years old at the time of the accident, I have been an athlete all my life and was in about the same shape as the average 60-year-old man.

I value your opinion, Dr. Gott and would greatly appreciate it if you would give me your thoughts on the matter.

Dear Reader: Serious trauma such as that which you experienced can certainly lead to venous thromboses (blood clots in the veins), which may lead to neurological consequences (at least) or stroke (at worst). In my opinion, your doctors were correct in their conclusions.

Although your problem was solved, I suggest that you have serial ultrasound examination for a year or two, to make sure that blood clots have not re-formed in your veins.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Blood – Donations and Disorders.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: I have read numerous columns from you in which you recommend specific prescription drugs for combating osteoporosis, but in none of those columns have you mentioned Miacalcin nasal spray at 200 I.U. Your failure to mention this drug causes me to wonder if perhaps you consider it inferior to say Fosamax or Actonel, which you do recommend.

Dear Reader: Miacalcin spray is not a particularly useful preventive for osteoporosis. Fosamax and Actonel are superior.