No Coumadin for me!

[Gisele]

Hmmm,

Hmmm,

My first subdural bothered me for a couple of weeks. I couldn't bend my neck forward without pain and I couldn't shake my curls out from side to side without immense pain. (I didn't have these symptoms the second and third time around though) I really thought I had a sinus infection. The pain would wake me in the middle of the night however I still showed up at work each day and I was on my feet all day doing patient care. I don't know how I did it!

Subdural #2-headache 1 - 10 days. Some days worse than others. The past two days prior to going to ER I would wake up in the middle of the night. The morning I went to ER I had awoken at 4:00 AM and thought to myself, there is something definitely wrong here. The pain for all subdurals was on my right side as that is where my bleed was.

Subdural #3-I was in the hospital for heparin when a baseline 7:30 AM CT scan showed the bleed. I had woken up though at 4:00 AM with a headache.

In the second and third bleed the head pain worsened such much that I couldn't even open my eyes. Morphine wouldn't even reduce the pain and it hurt too much to even cry.

If you think that you cannot distinguish between a migraine and a bleed-go to the ER for a CT scan. What delayed me was I get migraines all the time, so I always assumed it was another migraine especially since my migraines have been known to last up to five weeks.

Please go get checked out. You don't want to take a chance. Please feel free to e-mail me with any further questions.

You are in my thoughts and I hope you are doing better today.

Gisele

 

[Gnusgal]

Thank you, Gisele. This morning the headache is less intense, but still lingering. Last night I was very tempted to head to the ER, but just HATE going there (as I know we all do). The only thing that really separated this headache from my migraines was that I had no aura beforehand, and it was just a bit more severe. The pain was one-sided, though, and VERY intense. Actually, I started to get the headache around 3:00 or so, and it wasn't until I was on my way home that it got so bad I was nearly in tears. I also have a cold right now, so I have been coughing quite a bit. Every time I would cough I though I would throw up. I ended up heading to bed around 8:00 because I couldn't stand the pain anymore, and sleep usually helps my migraines. I woke up several times during the night, but I'm not positive if it was coughing or my head that woke me. I'm pretty sure it was the coughing, though. At least, that's what kept me up, even if it wasn't initally what woke me.

I guess I'm just a big ol' worry-wart. These headaches have gotten to be every day, and when I went to my PCP for answers, he said he couldn't help me, and gave me the names of 3 neurologists. The one he recommended most (a headache specialist) didn't have an appt. available until January! The second one didn't take my insurance yet (they hope to by December). The third one had an appt for November 4th, which I took, since it was better than nothing. But I hate that I have to wait through another three weeks of headaches before anything will be done. The headache last night REALLY scared me, though, because it was so unlike my other headaches. If it gets bad again, I think I will head to the ER. At least then I'll get to see a neurologist...

Thanks again for your descriptions. It really does help to at least know what to look for and that I'm not TOO crazy for worrying.

 

[Gnusgal]

Well, I have decided to head to the ER. I don't necissarily think it's a subdural (I PRAY it is not), as about an hour ago my ear started hurting BIG TIME as well. I still feel as if I've been whomped upside the head with a baseball bat, but now my ear feels as if it is filled with air, or fluid, or something, so maybe it's just an ear infection? I hope so. My husband is at school right now taking a test, so I can't get ahold of him, instead I called my mother-in-law, and she is coming to get me. It will be awhile before I get to the ER, as I would prefer to go to the one my cardiologist is at, and that's about 20-30 minutes away (depending on traffic). In the mean time I will sit and wait for my MIL to show up. Please pray all I need is an antibiotic and some ear drops!

BTW- I checked my INR about 30 minutes ago, and it is 5.7! Please, Lord, watch over me...

Thanks for listening,

 

[Ross]

I should have been hexing you all week, I'm sorry I allowed your INR to get out of range.

Prayers are with you. Now get to the bottom of the cause and lets get you fixed up.

 

[Karlynn]

We'll be praying for you. I hope that your ER trip uncovers a logical, easily treated reason for your headaches.

When you mentioned your ear, I remembered a friend who had migrains, that eventually they found out was ear infection, ear sensitivity related. It was just strange that her ears were always the last symptom to appear, the migrains always arrived first.

Best wishes, keep us posted.

Karlynn

 

[Gisele]

Good luck

Good luck

I hope that all goes well for you in the ER and that you find out that you have a sinus and or ear infection and not a subdural. I don't wish that on anyone, believe me! Please post when you get home as if we don't hear from you we will think the worse (you know how we all are).

The feeling inside my head when I was at my worse was that of that my head was going to explode from the inside. When this happened I was already a patient in the hospital. It must be related to how much blood is seeping into my head. The more blood, the more of a pressure feeling.

Good luck, I will be thinking of you.

Gisele

 

[Gnusgal]

Well, God is watching out for me (sort of). It is not a subdural. However, it's not exactly an ear infection either.

Apparently a blood vessel somewhere in my sinuses burst (which caused the initial headache, so I'm told, and would explain the bloody nose as well). Because of my high INR the bleeding continued and the blood went into my ear. The blood pooled up not only in my outter ear, but also my inner ear, which is causing all the pain.

When I got to the ER I was taken back very quickly (I guess there are some advantages to being a "critical" patient). When the doc saw the blood behind my eardrum he assumed it was probably due to my sinuses (since I have some congestion and drainage), but of course played it safe and did a CAT scan. By the time I got to the ER the pain was SOOOO bad I was begging for morphine. When I finally got it, it did very little good. Barely took the edge off the pain. As they discharged me, the nurse was baffeled by my claim that my pain was at a 7 (at 10 when I first came in) after so much morphine. But let me tell you, it certainly was!

Anyway, I was told to hold my coumadin for two days, then talk to my card before restarting it. I expressed my concern about holding doses for that long, and the ER doc claimed it was not a problem if my INR went low for a little while, just so the bleeding can stop in my sinuses/ear. But I'm still not comfortable and I don't know what I should do. My card is not on call this weekend, and I would really like to talk to her about this. I don't want to have my INR drop significantly, but I also don't want the bleeding to continue... My bloody nose seems to be lessening, also, which leads me to believe that perhaps the bleed is over?

As for the pain, amazingly enough I have not had any of the pain med the ER doc prescribed just yet, and I'm feeling better. As soon as I got home I tried to eat a little (I hadn't eaten since breakfast), but just didn't have the energy, so I went and lied down in bed. I slept for an hour and a half, and when I woke up the pain was significantly less than it was before. I don't know if the morphine finally kicked in, or if the pressure in my ear is lessening. I had been hearing a lot of popping in my ear before I went to sleep, so I'm thinking the pressure has lessened. The pain meds he prescribed are VERY strong (the pharmasist said "Wow, you must be in a LOT of pain," when she saw what I was prescribed.) so I'm not sure if I shold take them for the little bit of pain I have now. But at the same time, I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain either... I hate making decisions like this...

Anyway, thanks for the prayers, they seemed to have done the trick. Gisele, thank you so much for your help and information. I know it couldn't have been easy for all of you to sit at your computers and wonder if another one of us was going through such a terrible ordeal, or if all would be okay. I'm sorry to have put you all through the worrying, but I also thank you so much for being here! I will keep you updated.

 

[Ross]

Main thing is to get the bleeding stopped. If you have to hold 2 days and bottom out, so be it. Your not going to clot over night, but I wouldn't hold any longer then necessary. Why take chances.

Thinking of you and glad your o.k. otherwise.

 

[Nancy]

Gosh Niki-

What a problem! I hope from now on everything will be getting better and nothing more like that ever happens.

best wishes.

 

[Gisele]

Thank goodness

Thank goodness

I am so relieved that you are OK. I know it was very painful for you, but at least you should improve quickly. I am glad I am not the only one who morphine doesn't work for. My first time in the ER they gave me two injections in my IV. My pain didn't budge a bit. The same happened in Boston too. I am begin inning to wonder the the hospitals are using watered down morphine (just kidding). Nike you know what worked better than morphine for me? Demerol. Go figure...........it's not as potent, but worked for a little while to reduce my headache.

What did they send you home on? Oxycontin? Just curious as for the pharmacist to pass a comment it must have been pretty powerful stuff. Boston maintained me on oxycontin the second time around. I didn't go home with a Rx of this as this is very dangerous stuff. In fact the local drug stores do not stock this as there are numerous robberies of pharmacies specifically for this drug. If you have an Rx you have to wait 24 hrs to get it filled so they can order it for you. This med is a heroin based drug with a time release coating. The junkies scrape off the coating to get a quick high. With the coating for a short term the drug is safe for pain relief.

I hope you are feeling better today. Get some rest and don't push yourself. I will lend you my tiara until you are better....

 

[Gnusgal]

Well, I woke up this morning feeling SOOOO much better. I think the blood must have drained out of my ear overnight, because I can hardly tell anything was even wrong yesterday! My left ear is still a little muffeled, but other than that, no pain. Yippy!

My cough, however, seems to be getting worse. It makes me wonder if the blood drained into my lungs instead of my stomach, where it should have gone. Well, not really, but my cough has gotten much deeper than it was yesterday.

I am now trying to figure out if I should skip tonight's dose of coumadin. Since the bleeding that drained into my ear seems to have stopped, I don't really like the idea of bottoming out... What do you guys think?

Thanks, all, for your kindness and support. I don't know what I'd do without you!

 

[Guest]

First, Oxy-Contin is not made from heroin. It is actually a codeine derivative. Heroin is made from morphine. They all come from the opium poppy.

Gnusgal, it is rather troubling that you would have a worse cough after taking a pain reliever. They are also cough suppressants. There is a possibility that you have bleed into your lungs instead of your stomach. It is a small but real possibility. Your main problem is the bleeding. You have to be sure that this is stopped before you resume your warfarin. If you re-start the warfarin too soon, you run the possibility of returning to where you were before.

 

[Gnusgal]

I actually never ended up taking any of the pain Rx. (which is hydrocodone) I was feeling so sick to my stomach when I got home yesterday I didn't want to make it worse by taking the med, since the pharmasist told me it could make me more sick to my stomach. So I went and laid down and went to sleep instead. When I woke up, I was feeling better and worried about taking such a strong pain Rx when the pain wasn't as bad. I decided I'd take it if I couldn't get back to sleep, but I did get to sleep. This morning the pain in my ear is virtually gone, though I am getting a small headache again. The pharmacist told me the med would probably make me sleep, but I have a LOT to get done today and don't have the time to sleep off the med. I think I can manage without the drugs.

Anyway, I will do as you suggest and not take my coumadin tonight either. I will be calling my card first thing in the morning to find out what she wants me to do. I will also call my PCP about getting some antibiotics for this cough/cold I have. I now wish I had done so earlier in the week.

Thank you, Al, for your dose of reality. You are SO appreciated on this list.

 

[Guest]

Will work for nice comments!

I'm not as concerned about your cough since you did not take the medications. Also the fact that you feel like getting a LOT done today speaks volumes.

 

[Karlynn]

So glad to hear you are doing so much better. We can "hear" the relief in your words. Take care of yourself.

Karlynn

 

[Gisele]

Oxycontin

Oxycontin

I must be getting my meds confused. There is one drug up here in the Boston area that is targeted for its' heroin high after the time released coating is scraped off. Could this heroin high be achieved from a codein med? I could ask my husband as he would know (it's his job to know).

Is Hydrocordone generic for Percocet or Tylenol #3?

Al, we are always learning from you..........thanks!

Nike-keep an eye out for that headache. At least your INR must be going down-so that is a good thing. Take care

 

[Gnusgal]

Well, I broke down and took one of the pain pills. I started getting very depressed over my situation, which made me cry, which made my head hurt more. Unfortunately, I took it on an empty stomach (though I did try eating a pickle), so now my stomach is cramping. I have sent my hubby out to bring me food (we haven't made it to the grocery store). Hopefully that will help.

And Al, it's not that I FEEL like getting a LOT done, it's that I NEED to get a LOT done. I have to send progress reports tomorrow morning, and need to finish grading test papers along with assignments I got behind on after being sick. Plus I am in a graduate level class and have assignments due on Wednesday which I've barely started on. I actually haven't gotten any of it done yet, which is adding to my worry. I just don't feel focused enough to concentrate on what I need to get done. Maybe my husband can help me with the grading...

Some days having heart problems just becomes too overwhelming and I just can't help but break down and cry for awhile. I know God isn't supposed to give us anything more than we can handle, but some days I'm just not sure I can handle it anymore. It seems like every time I turn around I'm getting smacked in the face with MORE health concerns and it just frustrates me. Why can't a cold just be a cold and that is it? Why does it have to turn into blood behind the ear and an ER visit? Why can't I go for a significant length of time without getting hit with something else? I feel like I'm fighting a battle with my body and my body is winning (or is it loosing, just to defeat me?).

Anyway, I really appreciate everyone's support. You make things like this a little easier to handle becuse I know I'm not alone. I sometimes wish I could reach through the computer and give you each a hug.

Thanks,

 

[Karlynn]

Oh, big (((((((hug)))))))). We all feel your pain, truly. We've all cried those tears of frustration and of fear. 12 years post op and I still have my tears from time to time. So if you feel like crying, then cry. Make it the good kind, where you need a lot of kleenex and your cheeks get all wet. The stress of holding it in isn't good for you either.

When I feel overwhelmed I do some breathing. All I try to think about is the breath in, and the breath out, reminding myself how good it feels to be able to do that. I even say "breath in" "breath out".

You've had a tough time and it is so very frustrating. Hang in there and keep venting here. We do understand.

Karlynn

 

[Nancy]

Hi Niki-

Joe's been in those dark places and so have I on the spouse side of things. It can be so overwhelming, and it makes you ask Why? Why?, after all you have been through, do these things keep happening, time after time. You need to let those feelings develop a little to let them vent, but after you have done that for a short time, you need to kick butt, and give yourself a good talking to. Project ahead, see that there will be good days ahead, look at this as something temporary, hard, but temporary. Put one foot in front of the other and just take it one step at a time.

Make sure you keep close contact with your doctor, express your frustrations to those close to you, and above all, NEVER GIVE IN, AND NEVER GIVE UP. Your body has amazing healing properties. It will all get worked out, eventually.

 

[Guest]

Gisele,

You are not mixed up. Oxy-Contin is a terrible form of addiction. It is what Rush Limbaugh is fighting now. (A liberal is someone who feels sorry for Rush.) Over the years several things have been referred to a "drugstore heroin". This is the latest.

Gnusgal,

My bet is that the worst of this episode is over.