My stay in the hospital, gruesome edition

[ALCapshaw2]

WHEW !

Glad you are on the mend Jim,

ROSS:

This thread needs to be in the Anti-Coagulation Forum
as an example of "the other side of the coin".

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Rich]

Welcome home my northern nieghbor, that sounded like a really tough experience.
I happy to hear you are doing OK.
Hang in there and get well.
Rich

 

[Guest]

JIM!!!!

I'm very sorry you had to endure this....

BUT ... I am VERY glad to know that you are HOME ... and doing better now.


Thoughts/prayers CONTINUE coming your way, of course.



Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"I can't stay on your morfeine, cause it's making me itch" ... Pink ... 'Just Like A Pill'

 

[Susan]

Bleeding is always an acute emergency Call 911

Bleeding is always an acute emergency Call 911

Glad you are doing better. Hope you have no more bleeds. If anyone on the forum experiences bleeding please call 911 to get the fastest possible response at the hopsital ER.

As for weekends in hospitals, you need an advocate who is comfortable going down the hall and pulling a doctor in the room if necessary.

Glad it worked out for you.

take care

susan

 

[Lionheart]

Jim,
Thanks so much for sharing such a personal story and for providing details that help me really understand the implications of a bleeding event. We need to hear the good and the bad if we want to share knowledge and gain from the experiences of others. I am your age and face AVR probably in the next month. I will have to choose a valve type, but it is difficult to really understand what people mean when they talk about bleeding events from Coumadin. Your story helps me understand the implications.

That doesn't mean that your story has swayed me and that I've made up my mind about which valve I think is best for me. But it sure helps me to know that I may be in very serious danger if I have a similar event while doing some of the things I love to do, such as hike, ski, or raft in remote areas of wilderness where I could be hours or days from emergency care.

One thing I don't understand was whether you were nauseous because of something you ate or because you were having a stomach bleeding event.

Please keep us informed and take care of yourself!
Thanks again,
John

 

[JimL]

Valve choice is not a simple thing, but involves many factors. I remain prejudiced in favor of mechanical, because I have mechanical. I have had six years with no problem.
I had no nausea other than from what I ate. I had no evidence of any stomach bleeding whatsoever before this incident. That vomiting can cause a tear in the esophagus is established.

 

[Curtsmum]

Glad you got through it and are doing well.Thanks for posting the scary stuff, i guess we all need to know, it may not always be a walk in the park.Take care

 

[catwoman]

Valve choice is not a simple thing, but involves many factors. I remain prejudiced in favor of mechanical, because I have mechanical. I have had six years with no problem.
I had no nausea other than from what I ate. I had no evidence of any stomach bleeding whatsoever before this incident. That vomiting can cause a tear in the esophagus is established.

Jim:
I have had nausea problems since I was a child. (Was one of those students who was getting sick in class, in the auditorium, on the playground, etc. )
I have had some episodes so strenuous that I have broken blood vessels in the eyes and on my face, enough to need liquid makeup so I don't look "measley."
I can understand how vomiting could cause the GI tract to bleed. My guess is the GI tract has a rich blood supply -- look at people who have GERD and the potential to vomit blood.
Would be difficult to determine how much more you bled, if any, due to the warfarin. Just a little harder to stop/control.

 

[Robbyn]

Jim, really glad to hear you are doing better.

Someone asked when do you tell when you are bleeding. Well, when you vomit up a sink full of blood, that is definitly one way. My lung were hemmorraging - I kept unknowlingly swallowing it, resulting in the sinkful of blood. I don't remember what happened for the next week after that.

Hi Rachell, that was me talking about "Coumadin - and The side Effects of Life" we could all write a book

 

[Natanni]

Nice to see you posting Jim-I don't post much anymore but I was certainly alarmed at your hospitalization! Glad to hear things are going so much better. These things are scary and I think it is a learning experience for all of us as we hear these stories!

My husband had a bleed in his arm, and his entire arm from the wrist to past his elbow is a complete bruise. He leaned on something funny while wrenching in the garage. They had to cut his dose way down to allow the bleeding to stop. He looked like he had an eggplant hanging off of his elbow. And this was just an arm! It is amazing to think about when these things happen inside the body. Glad to hear things are getting better.

 

[JimL]

I am so relieved!

I am so relieved!

It is such a relief to know that my blood test has come down and everything is good.
I got a call from my local GP today with that comforting message.
"What are you talking about?" I diplomatically answered.
Further questions brought up the fact that it was not really good news that my hemoglobin test had gone down, but it was good news that my INR had gone down.
It was old news, though.
Seems the doctor had been on vacation, so he thoughtfully had his nurse call to relay the good news from my blood test on March 24, a mere three and a half weeks ago.
I am so very relieved.
It was my last hemoglobin test, which was at 13.7, finally in range again.
I've had three INR tests since then, all "perfect."

 

[Rich]

Jim,
That's good news, glad to hear you are doing OK.
How are you doing with the Nexium?
Just curious because my little problem is still ongoing.
Rich

 

[Freddie]

It was my last hemoglobin test, which was at 13.7, finally in range again.
I've had three INR tests since then, all "perfect."

I already knew you were "perfect"

Congrats

 

[WayneGM]

Good news!!!

 

[tobagotwo]

Intestinal bleeds and intracranial bleeds seem to most often be the culprits when "major" bleeds are reported. Female issues probably run third.

In other words, the emphasis you hear and read about the danger of Coumadin is mostly directed to the wrong issue. It's not the cut you can see that's apt to be the biggest concern.

I certainly agree with Nancy that a bad internal bleed is of critical danger to anyone, anticoagulated or not. However, it only makes sense to consider that if you are anticoagulated, you need to show up that much faster at the emergency room door when these things occur, to have time to compensate. Get in there early, so you can come home later and post about it.

Best wishes,

 

[bvdr]

Jim, I'm glad that everything is checking out good for you. I know those bleeds are a scary thing. My Hbg usually is close to 16 if not a bit over so I have a little bit of a safety margin. I can lose quite a bit of blood and still be in what would be considered a "normal" range. The problem is that when the GI tract starts bleeding briskly, massive amounts can be lost in just a brief period. It sounds like yours and Ross' ...and Nancy's SIL all had those kind. It was something that I used to see quite often in the ER and you all do need to keep in mind that if you've had one GI bleed that you could be more susceptible to developing another. Is everyone who has had problems now on Prilosec, Prevacid, or similar drugs as a preventative?

 

[JimL]

Thanks for all your kind words.
I did, however, mean to be expressing a bit of sarcasm since they called me three and a half weeks after the INR test, and then got confused as to which old test they were giving me good news from, news I'd gotten right after the test three and a half weeks ago. I'm sure they mean well. And my GP is a nice guy.