I am still on Xarelto, although at 10mgs instead of 20. I am also still on Plavix. Medication for pain is a problem for me because I can't take NSAIDs. I have, and have ended up with blood in the toilet....

I have a very involved degenerative disk disease in the lumbar spine with scoliosis. The neurosurgeon I saw said the 6-7 hour surger would be too much for me since I have Factor V Leiden and I am 73 and have a moderate kidney disfunction. He is sending me to a radiologist who administers epidural steroid shots and I will get 3 of them at L1/L2, L3/L4 and L5/S1. This will be scheduled once the radiologist has contacted my hematologist to discuss a bridge plan. I also have severe osteoarthritis in both knees and the orthopedic surgeon would not do surgery...on and on. So I do have quite a bit of pain. I am in the process of getting off- loading knee braces and that may help. I had ablations for both knees, but the pain relief does not last very long for me at all.

I no longer experience my femoral artery disaster as PTSD. My husband was wonderful with me by listening patiently and reviewing what happened to me. So that was great!