I stop bleeding when dona ting blood - Why???

[mrskvw]

My husband thinks I'm nuts for worrying about this, but I can't donate blood any more.  I just stop bleeding.  I used to bruise if you look at me sideways, but that stopped 6 or 7 years ago...about the same time I stopped being able to donate blood.  During a trip to the ER a few years ago, they took blood 3x, each time it clotted before it got to the lab.

I guess this is coming to the forefront now because I just tried to donate for the first time in years & still having the same problem.  I'm only a couple years from where my mom was when she had her TIA's.  Funny "brain buzzes" I've been having resulted in an MRI which shows a vascular lesion in my brain.  When doing research online (not a lot for people who clot too fast), I found that the polycystic ovarian syndrom that I have is associated with Factor V & Factor VIII clotting issues. I have had high blood pressure for a good 15 years or so, at times the bottom number getting up to 130 even on meds.  Now it seems to be more under control - mostly due to weight loss.

Question is: is my husband right that I shouldn't worry about this, should I insist on blood work or just take baby asprin or something to set my mind at ease?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi

Take care and do keep me posted!

[mrskvw]

Thank you for the reply.  

I don't see meds as the problem because I haven't been on the same meds the whole time.  The rest is up in the air though.  I'll give my doctor a call next week.  I have to make an appointment with a neurosurgeon about the vascular legion anyway & get a referal for that.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi

Thanks for the detailed post.

You are right about worrying. If you are clotting fast, have a high BP and a family history of TIA with buzzing in head and a vascular lesion, you simply cannot ignore your symptoms.

Clotting process speeds up if there is an excess of clotting factors or more number of platelets or sluggish blood flow or genetic factors. This is seen in some autoimmune disorders and cancers too. Certain medicines and liver problems increase the clotting factors in the blood. Increased platelet aggregation too results in faster clotting. You must get your blood platelet count done along with bleeding time and clotting time. Other tests that need to be done are 'prothrombin time' and the 'activated partial thromboplastin time' (APTT or PTT). Liver function tests and both venous and heart angiography should be done to see the state of your blood vessels. Vitamin deficiencies especially Vitamin K should be looked into.

Please discuss your case with your doctor. It is difficult to comment beyond this without examining and various tests. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!