Hi Susan,

You might be fine taking a blood thinner... and you should definitely NOT stop it on your own.  I just wanted to give you something to think about.

Do you have any unusual bleeding such as petechiae, easy bruising, nosebleeds, vaginal bleeding outside of a normal period, etc...?  I do.  I had some pretty extensive testing with two hematologists, and the only thing they could come up with is that my von Willebrand's factor is borderline low (probably because I have type O blood).  In a normal person, that wouldn't require any treatment.  A few months ago I tried taking turmeric as an alternative to NSAIDs... I was hoping to reduce the intensity of my recurrent abdominal attacks.  In just two days I was having nosebleeds and dizziness that I couldn't get rid of with antihistamines!  Until that experiment I didn't realize turmeric is a blood thinner... something that I need to check now with every new medication or supplement.  Weird things make me bleed, like eating gluten or flying on an airplane.  Taking my blood pressure gives me petechiae where the cuff inflated.  I used to take fish oil or flax oil for the omega 3s, but now I don't dare... they're both blood thinners.

Anyway... the point of the article I posted is that bradykinin (induced by heparin, either natural or injected) is a powerful vasodilator.  It's possible that Lovaza is OK for you... definitely better than heparin!  I would just keep an eye out.  

Heather

Thanks, Heather!

So far I have failed heparin, lumbrokinaise, nattokinaise, aspirin, and other NSAIDS. Every time, each one would cause GI swelling, pain, and yes, bleeding, though not to the extent you bleed. I do have a large number of what they call cherry angiomas, that come and go.

The heparin was the worst, as it seems it may have triggered the event that led the docs to look at mast cell issues.

The Lovaza is a highly purified, high dose fish oil, which I understand can also trigger histamine issues, so I am watching it carefully, and starting slowly. The shunt in my heart is pretty high grade, so I would like to find SOMETHING to help protect against stroke, but it doesn't help if it just causes other issues. It is all a teeter totter, trying to balance out the things I need.

Ruth, it would be good for you to learn about what conditions encourage mold growth, so that when you are looking at a new home, you can tell whether it is highly likely to have mold problems. Mold is almost impossible to avoid completely, but you can improve your chances.

I have had to learn more about drainage issues and condensation than I ever thought I wanted to know, but I am so mold reactive, it is critical. I think having these strange health issues makes us extremely resourceful, as we have to learn in so many arenas.