So I had my hematology appointment. First I saw the fellow who took my history and went through my labs with me. Elevated Factor VIII can be caused by any number of things including stress, infection, etc. so he said that number doesn't tell us anything specific. The rest of my labs all support the idea that I clot really well—more quickly than normal. (Extra vWF = clot faster = shorter PTT) He didn't say what the implications of that are. Somewhere in the discussion he did casually mention it's possible to acquire "vW disease" but usually it's genetic—it sounded like he was thinking out loud. He was not saying that is my diagnosis...but I wonder if that's the most likely explanation? (I don't have a diagnosis yet.)
Then the attending Dr. D came and asked me some more questions. I swear I was asked by each of them at least twice if anyone in my family had clotting issues. My answer was no all four times. ;) I really wanted to say yes just to satisfy them... hahaha Dr. D wanted to know if I was sick on the day my blood was drawn for the labs. I hadn't been sick, but I did mention my uterine strep infection that was found the same day. I assumed he already knew that—it was listed in the medical record right next to my clotting lab results plus I had already told the fellow about it. Dr. D asked if I had been treated for it. I said no. Apparently that was the WRONG answer. He went from pleasant to super annoyed in no time and demanded to know why it hadn't been treated. I wanted to hide under my chair... I didn't have a good answer...I hadn't asked either of my NaPro docs for an antibiotic yet...they were both really concerned about the clotting labs so I assumed they wanted that part taken care of first. And if Dr. C (ob/gyn who knew about the infection) thought it was that urgent, he would have given me a prescription right away, right?
So what I gathered from this reaction is that Dr. D might have wanted to repeat some of the labs at this visit but now could not because the strep would skew the results...and perhaps my previous labs were also skewed and therefore not usable? Dr. D said I am to call him when my "doctor is sure the strep infection is gone" so they can redo the labs and then I'll have another appointment with him. (Now I really hope that my TEBB disappears with the next antibiotic so I'll have a little "proof" the infection is gone...) Another trip to see Dr. D isn't so bad...even if it is a long drive. I asked if I could have the labs done at the hospital closer to home...not an option—they have to be done at his hospital's lab. Sigh. I asked if I could have them done the same day as my next appointment with him to make one less trip...no, obviously. (silly me for asking) Sigh. So that means two more trips. Ugh. I just want this clotting issue diagnosed and treated sometime soon, and I think it would take longer if I started over with a different hematologist. I'll stick it out with Dr. D at least until the next round of labs. Hopefully he'll be in a better mood the next time I see him.
Oh, they did say one thing sort of definitive. This yet-to-be-named clotting issue isn't preventing us from conceiving, in their opinion. That's good to know. I didn't get a chance to ask if there is an increased risk of miscarriage with it (should we ever conceive), but I will next time.
