Hi @Isaiah_40_31,
It would indeed be great to have everything (except the surgery) done in one trip. I am hoping it works out that way.
I am already trying to work out the logistics of that trip. It is either a ~2-day drive or a ~2-hour flight for me. I have read bad things (on this forum) about people taking flights with IJV. I have a little concern about flying only for that reason. Not that 2 days in a car is particularly appealing either.
I also don’t know if I need to bring someone with me for that Venogram. It sounds about as invasive as an exam can be. I can have someone there but, obviously, it makes all the logistics twice as expensive.
For the pharmacological bridge, I believe you did recommend Plavix. I actually requested that from my PCP, but he declined. I did not ask my neurologist for anything specific. I was a little worried about appearing “drug-seeking” so I just asked him if he could prescribe “something to help”. (That is how I ended up with a Gabapentin prescription.)
I plan to use AI to build a thorough list of recommendations for the neurosurgeon visit next week based on @Jules post about Pain Relief, Medications and Alternative Therapies.
Considering a blood thinner takes 3-4 weeks to reduce symptoms, is it going to be worthwhile to start it before the Venogram? I would think they would ask me to be off blood thinners before doing a procedure that involves going into an artery, but I really wouldn’t know.