Coumadin and Bleeding

[Granbonny]

Since there is another thread running..Coumadin and shaving...I thought I would ask all coumadin takers..what has (if any) been the worst bleeding episode (EXTERNAL)while taking coumadin....I will start, when my cat Rufus was a kitten 2 years ago..would nip my arm..Small pool of blood. wipe blood off. End of bleeding I have been a coumadin user for 2 years 4 months. Bonnie

 

[Ross]

My worst was working on the brakes on my car. I sliced a finger open pretty good. Washed it off, applied pressure for a few minutes, no more bleeding.

 

[Karlynn]

Mine was when I sliced off a tiny bit of the skin on my knuckle while slicing an onion. It was the knuckle because I was holding my hand correctly for slicing (fingers curled under) but lifted the knife too high. It bled for a good hour. But I don't know how long it would have bled if I wasn't on Coumadin. Probably a long time as well. Been on Coumadin 12.5 years and that's my worst to date. (knocking wood!)

 

[Nancy]

Joe had some minor office surgery to remove a small skin lesion. All went well until the scab broke off. The area apparently was full of tiny blood vessels. He bled profusely even with pressure. I had to take him to the ER and even there they had trouble stopping the bleeding. About an hour and a half later, it finally stopped and they applied a tight surgical dressing with a Tegaderm covering. He was told not to try to remove it himself. We had to have a surgeon remove it, in case it opened up again. The dermatologist was on vacation w/o any backup for himself.

It was a VERY expensive situation for a relatively minor thing.

 

[tommy]

My derm/melanoma doc occasionally takes a skin "slice" for biopsy . The first time I bled for a couple of weeks . Now they cuaterize (sp?) with silver nitrate. That's a vast improvement, but not perfect. They stil ooze and I need to be careful not to have a bandage stick to it, or it will open up .

I go again tomorrow for regular 3-month follow-up appointment. If he sees anything suspicious and feels it necessary to take a slice, I'll ask him to to take others to try and avoid the every three month "bleed'.

I'm not comfortable running (elevating BP and HR) with the hole(s) in my skin. The next 3-month visit will be in prime marathon training season. I don't want a bleeder then.

 

[Georgia]

In the 17 mos. since surgery I haven't had bleeding problems. I noticed that my toe bled a lot a few days ago after a stick got jammed in my sandals. A piece of kleenex took care of that.

I really hate the nasty bruise/bleeds I get from botched blood draws. I have a beaut right now and it'll last a long time. It grew for a couple of days.

As for internal bleeds, my cardio keeps me on a prophylactic dose of famotidine (pepcid) to avoid problems, altho I've never had such. She said that post-ohs patients are prone to GI bleeds and she wants to avoid them.

 

[Gnusgal]

The worst external bleeding I've had since starting coumadin (2 years ago) have been from popped zits. They are annoying, but no big deal. Just hold a kleenex to them for awhile and all is well...

As for internal bleeds, THAT's a different matter altogether. I had to have 4 units of blood transfused (after the 2 units of plasma) because of a cyst that burst and caused internal bleeding. But even with that experience, I'd still rather be on coumadin than risk a stroke!

 

[Guest]

*grins*

Yeah know....

When I took Coumadin last year, I was _scared to death_ (well, perhaps not that badly), but scared nonetheless of getting a cut or anything because I read so much material that _warned_ about Coumadin and bleeding.

I was even concerned about cleaning my "baby girls", because, as the case with Ross, you sometimes cut yourself when working on cars.... I've cut my fingers/hands a few times along some sharp chrome parts while washing or waxing the MCs....and I wasn't about to let Coumadin stop me from cleaning my cars. So, I bought some latex gloves.

As it turned out, I didn't have to be on Coumadin as long as I thought I would...and I had no bleeding problems .

Cort, "Mr MC"/"Mr Road Trip"/"The Uniter", 30swm/pig valve/pacemaker
member & newsletter editor, Faith COB, Batavia IL
'72/'76/'79/'81/'87 & train & models = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Spotting MCs = http://www.chevyasylum.com/mcspotter/main.html

 

[Harpoon]

Was cleaning out the cap of a travel mug when my thumb slipped and an edge on the cap caught the top of my thumb and peeled off some skin...

That bled for about 15 hours....


I had my protime done during that period, a normal scheduled appointment, was within specified parameters....


Oh well.


In the past I've had some trouble with prolonged bleeding after seeing my beloved (?) dentist but the last time I had a cleaning (about a month ago) I was fine when I walked out to the car to go home. Seems to be kinda relative almost.

 

[Johnny Stephens]

You may laugh at this; actually, I hope you do

I was eating with my wife and daughter at a nationwide chain restaurant, and ordered a Club sandwich. You know, the triple-decker with the looooong toothpicks holding it together? Sometimes, I leave the toothpick in for the first few bites, if the sandwich is gloppy or sliding around too much.

Soon, daughter points at me and yells "EEEWwwwww!"

I'd stabbed myself in the chin with the toothpick. Bled pretty good for about an hour. Don't know why I didn't feel it.

 

[Gnusgal]

Johnny, that made me cringe, not laugh. As soon as I saw "leave the toothpick in" I got a mental picture I didn't want. Glad you didn't feel it. I can't imagine...

 

[Gnusgal]

Okay, now I have to update my "worst bleed" answer. I just poked myself for my Protime test and everything was normal (I thought). But when the result came through my INR was 4.3 (oops!). I then looked down at my finger (with a bandaid on it) and noticed that the entire bandaid was full of blood. So I decided to change out the bandaid. While I was trying to switch the "wound" practically gushed. It was dripping into the sink before I could get the new bandaid on. So I grabbed some toilet paper (the closest available cleanup tool) and applied some pressure for a few seconds. I then put on a new bandaid and everything seems to be fine. Scared me for a second, but all is a-okay. Guess it's time for a salad or two? I don't know why I was thinking my INR was going to be low. Guess a lack of bruises and such isn't as accruate as I thought.

 

[tommy]

Niki,

You need to stop using toothpicks to prick your finger.

 

[Gnusgal]

I truely think I must have just hit the wrong "spot" on my finger. It also bruised something awful. I've always wondered why they called them "tenderlets" though. They are FAR from tender!!! Unless they mean that your finger will be tender when they are through.

 

[Granbonny]

Niki

Niki

When I first got my protime. I was nervous and would let Hubby push the tenderlet. I would bleed and bruse too. Then I found by running my hand under hot water for 2 minutes. I could push gently on it..outside of finger..Not middle of finger. That's tough skin...and blood would flow..Got my drops in 2 drops..Never bleed..just a tad for maybe a minute..after test is completed. No bruise. Hubby pushed too hard Bonnie

 

[Yaps]

Cut my finger at work

Cut my finger at work

dont evenknow how or when , but I went through about 4 bandaids and it still bled through my bath at home and on my bed covers ..it just didnt want to stop..I think our b/p would have a lot to with how long we may bleed as well. My b/p stays up there sometimes..lol

 

[bvdr]

The time I noticed the most bleeding was after a biopsy on my upper lip. The pressure dressing the doctor put on soaked through after I got home. I had to change it a couple of times but it kept oozing. I ended up having to apply manual pressure for a while before it stopped. I put a bandage on it and in the morning that was soaked through again but the bleeding had stopped.

 

[Gnusgal]

When I first got my protime. I was nervous and would let Hubby push the tenderlet. I would bleed and bruse too. Then I found by running my hand under hot water for 2 minutes. I could push gently on it..outside of finger..Not middle of finger. That's tough skin...and blood would flow..Got my drops in 2 drops..Never bleed..just a tad for maybe a minute..after test is completed. No bruise. Hubby pushed too hard Bonnie

I do the same thing (run finger under hot water and puncture side) but apparently I happened to hit just the wrong spot. It's not the center of my finger. It's right around where I've always done it. Don't know why it happened to gush this time. Oh, well. It only took a few seconds of extra pressure on it to finally get it to stop. It's not like I bled for days like some of these folks are talking about. THAT would freak me out.

 

[McCln]

My worst bleed was back in February when I had my nasty fall on black ice and hit the back on my head on the last step. I did bleed, but not too bad though. Got it stop once and when got in the cold to go to emergency, it bleed a little more. But no major blood loss. Healed up very well with two staples. But have no desire to fall again.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve

 

[John & Joann]

Never had any bleeding problems (Coumadin since 71, BUT I fell down the basement stairs when the power was out and have signs of major brain hemmorage.