JimL
Well-known member
Blood is red, but I turned blue, I was nearly dead
Being on coumadin means a constant danger of a bleed—but in six years on coumadin that has never been a problem. I’ve cut myself repeatedly with no trouble at all; most often, I see I’m bleeding here or there and wonder how that happened.
On MLK day, I found out what happens when a serious bleed occurs. I vomited Sunday night because of what I ate, repeatedly, forcefully, and felt poor Monday morning. For reasons I don’t yet understand this let loose Monday afternoon. Within a short time, I couldn’t stand up for long, and then I couldn’t stand up at all. Because of coumadin, I was losing blood rapidly.
Shirley got me to the ER, and I went in riding a wheelchair, because I couldn’t walk; we waited our turn. I was just beginning to feel worse when our turn came, and as the wheelchair entered triage, I slipped out, passed out, turned blue, whatever. That had the benefit of greatly speeding up the care I received. Diagnosis really went pretty quickly.
Treatment was an immediate reduction in INR to 1.1 via Vitamin K shots and blood plasma. The fact that I stopped bleeding was indicated when the hemoglobin numbers remained steady or increased. Although I tried to compromise with the doctors on the INR issue, it was maintained at 1. That was to continue until I had an EGD scope on Friday, which showed a cessation of bleeding, and I could again be anticoagulated.
Friday begins the weekend, and things don’t always happen like they’re supposed to. The doctor who did the scope on Friday told us what he had seen on Monday; in the meantime, other doctors told us what they thought his handwriting meant. The end result was that instead of beginning coumadin again on Friday, I didn’t start it until Sunday evening. The doctor in charge and I had words on Monday morning.
I suggested to the cardiologist that I start with 10mg of coumadin in order to boost the INR quickly; he prescribed 10 for Sunday night, and 10 for Monday night. Tuesday night I asked the nurse where my coumadin was, and she had no prescription for it. The card was called in, and since my INR was only 1.2 (completely natural if coumadin takes three days to take effect and I had only received my first dose two days earlier), he prescribed 15 mg. I gobbled it down. Wednesday I left the hospital; my INR was 1.7, not high enough but rising. The doctor in charge of my release wanted my INR to be 3.5, but I assumed the responsibility for leaving early. He then prescribed that I remain on a dose of 10 mg a day until I got tested. Had I maintained that dosage, I would have achieved an INR of 6 or better.
I wanted to write this up so I can learn from it, and perhaps so someone else can learn from my experience. Being on coumadin means that there is a risk of bleeding; it is a small risk, but it is there. If bleeding should occur, get to the ER quickly; there is not much time. I lost roughly half my blood, but with no permanent damage; a stroke, even a little one, would have left permanent damage.
I’m now on a bland diet for at least three months to get everything thoroughly healed. No caffeine at all, nothing decaffeinated either. No spices of any kind. I miss the coffee; I’ve wanted to get rid of the spices for years.
I lost five pounds in the hospital; since I got out, I'm eating twice as much as normal, with no weight gain, since I'm still replacing blood.
Being on coumadin means a constant danger of a bleed—but in six years on coumadin that has never been a problem. I’ve cut myself repeatedly with no trouble at all; most often, I see I’m bleeding here or there and wonder how that happened.
On MLK day, I found out what happens when a serious bleed occurs. I vomited Sunday night because of what I ate, repeatedly, forcefully, and felt poor Monday morning. For reasons I don’t yet understand this let loose Monday afternoon. Within a short time, I couldn’t stand up for long, and then I couldn’t stand up at all. Because of coumadin, I was losing blood rapidly.
Shirley got me to the ER, and I went in riding a wheelchair, because I couldn’t walk; we waited our turn. I was just beginning to feel worse when our turn came, and as the wheelchair entered triage, I slipped out, passed out, turned blue, whatever. That had the benefit of greatly speeding up the care I received. Diagnosis really went pretty quickly.
Treatment was an immediate reduction in INR to 1.1 via Vitamin K shots and blood plasma. The fact that I stopped bleeding was indicated when the hemoglobin numbers remained steady or increased. Although I tried to compromise with the doctors on the INR issue, it was maintained at 1. That was to continue until I had an EGD scope on Friday, which showed a cessation of bleeding, and I could again be anticoagulated.
Friday begins the weekend, and things don’t always happen like they’re supposed to. The doctor who did the scope on Friday told us what he had seen on Monday; in the meantime, other doctors told us what they thought his handwriting meant. The end result was that instead of beginning coumadin again on Friday, I didn’t start it until Sunday evening. The doctor in charge and I had words on Monday morning.
I suggested to the cardiologist that I start with 10mg of coumadin in order to boost the INR quickly; he prescribed 10 for Sunday night, and 10 for Monday night. Tuesday night I asked the nurse where my coumadin was, and she had no prescription for it. The card was called in, and since my INR was only 1.2 (completely natural if coumadin takes three days to take effect and I had only received my first dose two days earlier), he prescribed 15 mg. I gobbled it down. Wednesday I left the hospital; my INR was 1.7, not high enough but rising. The doctor in charge of my release wanted my INR to be 3.5, but I assumed the responsibility for leaving early. He then prescribed that I remain on a dose of 10 mg a day until I got tested. Had I maintained that dosage, I would have achieved an INR of 6 or better.
I wanted to write this up so I can learn from it, and perhaps so someone else can learn from my experience. Being on coumadin means that there is a risk of bleeding; it is a small risk, but it is there. If bleeding should occur, get to the ER quickly; there is not much time. I lost roughly half my blood, but with no permanent damage; a stroke, even a little one, would have left permanent damage.
I’m now on a bland diet for at least three months to get everything thoroughly healed. No caffeine at all, nothing decaffeinated either. No spices of any kind. I miss the coffee; I’ve wanted to get rid of the spices for years.
I lost five pounds in the hospital; since I got out, I'm eating twice as much as normal, with no weight gain, since I'm still replacing blood.
