A coagulation specialist finally diagnosed it in March, 1999. He very gently asked me what my ethnic origin was. When I told him that I was a German Jew his face lit up. Apparently there are two bleeding disorders that are found almost exclusively in Ashkenazic Jews. He immediately ordered the blood draws for both disorders to see if I had either one or both of them.
Most people think of hemophilia or sickle cell anemia when they hear of a bleeding disorder.
But, there are many other disorders and it can be very difficult to find information concerning them. I have not been able to find a support group or a webring on the internet dealing with a bleeding disorder other than hemophilia or sickle cell anemia. Unfortunatley, I bruise easily. Add this to the fact the I frequently fall due to my balance disorder and my arms and legs usually have several bruises on them. There are two medications available to help my blood clot.