I heard about the D-dimer blood test. How soon does this have to be done? During symptoms?
I read that delaying the test by a few days can render it useless. A few days after what exactly?? The clot forming? I thought that you can have blood clots without symptoms, so how is the blood test of any use at all? At first I thought it was the main test, but now it seems to be pretty useless. Also, what I am getting at is what sort of test (apart from the manual searching ones) would show if the patient had a clot, but the clot wasn't causing any problems, so they did not know the had it, so wouldn't get a test for even a week after it formed.
I know the can hang around for years? So what would happen if someone had one for a year and didn't know? If they got this test what would happen?? Would it be useless (and miss it) or would it come up positive and lead to a diagnosis?
I am wondering if it is of use or if you would need an ultrasound to manually look for any clots?
Also is this a specific test to be done at a specific time or does the full blood count tell you anything about DVT, I know regular blood tests check how the blood is clotting but I don't know why this is, or how much detail can be had from it. I suppose it probably has nothing to do with it.
(PS - don't tell me to go to the doctor, it's not about me, it's after a news story I read, which confused me. Then I read some more, and got even more confused haha. Sorry if I sound stupid.)
I read that delaying the test by a few days can render it useless. A few days after what exactly?? The clot forming? I thought that you can have blood clots without symptoms, so how is the blood test of any use at all? At first I thought it was the main test, but now it seems to be pretty useless. Also, what I am getting at is what sort of test (apart from the manual searching ones) would show if the patient had a clot, but the clot wasn't causing any problems, so they did not know the had it, so wouldn't get a test for even a week after it formed.
I know the can hang around for years? So what would happen if someone had one for a year and didn't know? If they got this test what would happen?? Would it be useless (and miss it) or would it come up positive and lead to a diagnosis?
I am wondering if it is of use or if you would need an ultrasound to manually look for any clots?
Also is this a specific test to be done at a specific time or does the full blood count tell you anything about DVT, I know regular blood tests check how the blood is clotting but I don't know why this is, or how much detail can be had from it. I suppose it probably has nothing to do with it.
(PS - don't tell me to go to the doctor, it's not about me, it's after a news story I read, which confused me. Then I read some more, and got even more confused haha. Sorry if I sound stupid.)