G
Guest
Last summer I was diagnosed with diverticulosis after a bleeding episode that created anemia. Got it all straightened out and went on with my life. Have been taking iron (slow-release) every since. Fast forward to this summer. My husband and I were getting ready to move so I was busy getting ready for a garage sale and packing. Eating very poorly. Being post menopausal and having osteopenia and previously suffered a vertebral compression fracture I was behaving in a very reckless manner. I was lifting things that were way too heavy. Bingo - another compression fracture. For those who haven't experienced this it's incredibly painful. So, I contacted my PCP - had an MRI - and subsequently went in for a kyphoplasty. (Didn't do that for the first one.) Everything went fine, lowered my INR and did the whole bridging thing. INR promptly came back up upon restart of warfarin. I resumed my regular dosage and didn't seen the need for additional testing since I've been stable for over 8 years. I usually just test every 3 or 4 weeks - always toward the 3.5 mark (mitral valve).
I noticed some blood in my stool but ignored it since moving day was approaching. All of a sudden the horrific back pain resumes - looks like I've had another fracture. Ignore that and keep on packing. Because the pain was so intense I started taking naproxen at bedtime so I could get some relief in addition to the tramadol, gabapentin, and acetominophen I normally take. Moved over labor day weekend - two u-haul trailer loads and full cars - fortunately we had help loading and unloading. The last trip back to the old place was on Sunday (about 160 miles) - the plan was to take two cars and the remaining things would fit. An hour into the trip I phoned my husband who was ahead of me to pull into the Burger King at the next town. I knew I wouldn't be able to continue the drive - I was having too much trouble staying awake. So we parked my car and I rode with him to the old place. Once there we loaded up the car, I struggled to get some additional cleaning done and we left (had to leave some things behind since we ran out of room). By this point I was so weak that it took everything I had just to walk from the house to the car. We drove to the Burger King to retrieve my car but I was afraid of driving - especially since it was now dark - so we decided to get it on Monday.
Monday, Labor Day, we drove to Burger King and I was rested enough to make the one hour drive back to the new place but just barely. I recuperated for the rest of the day. Tuesday morning I decided I needed some medical intervention. Rather than go to the emergency room I called the local clinic ( this is a small town in northern Wisconsin) and got an appt with the nurse practitioner for 4:00 that afternoon. Made it to the appt and, of course, had to tell my story to the clinic nurse and then to the CNP. She seemed reluctant to believe that I knew anything about my own medical condition. Until they did the blood work. First did a fingerstick and the lab tech actually gasped. I asked how bad it was. She replied, I'm not really sure, our machine only goes up to 7.9. She also drew a venous sample for hemoglobin and hemocrit. Ultimately the hemoglobin results came back with 5.9. No wonder I was so exhausted! Their protocol for high INR is to repeat the test. Same results. The CNP was now a tad more compassionate and told me that they had already called the hospital and they were expecting me and did I want my husband to drive me or should they call the ambulance. We drove.
So, two units of blood in the ER along with a Vit K shot and then I was transferred to the bigger hospital 30 miles away where I got two more units of blood and a unit of fresh frozen plasma. Nine days later I was released from the hospital. Still dealing with the intense pain from the compression fracture but now have a wonderful doctor who is knowledgeable and compassionate.
So, the lesson(s) I've learned - when on warfarin DO NOT ignore abnormal bleeding. It's a sign that something is very wrong and has the potential to kill you. If you suddenly feel like crap get it checked out - it's your body's way of telling you that something is wrong.
I noticed some blood in my stool but ignored it since moving day was approaching. All of a sudden the horrific back pain resumes - looks like I've had another fracture. Ignore that and keep on packing. Because the pain was so intense I started taking naproxen at bedtime so I could get some relief in addition to the tramadol, gabapentin, and acetominophen I normally take. Moved over labor day weekend - two u-haul trailer loads and full cars - fortunately we had help loading and unloading. The last trip back to the old place was on Sunday (about 160 miles) - the plan was to take two cars and the remaining things would fit. An hour into the trip I phoned my husband who was ahead of me to pull into the Burger King at the next town. I knew I wouldn't be able to continue the drive - I was having too much trouble staying awake. So we parked my car and I rode with him to the old place. Once there we loaded up the car, I struggled to get some additional cleaning done and we left (had to leave some things behind since we ran out of room). By this point I was so weak that it took everything I had just to walk from the house to the car. We drove to the Burger King to retrieve my car but I was afraid of driving - especially since it was now dark - so we decided to get it on Monday.
Monday, Labor Day, we drove to Burger King and I was rested enough to make the one hour drive back to the new place but just barely. I recuperated for the rest of the day. Tuesday morning I decided I needed some medical intervention. Rather than go to the emergency room I called the local clinic ( this is a small town in northern Wisconsin) and got an appt with the nurse practitioner for 4:00 that afternoon. Made it to the appt and, of course, had to tell my story to the clinic nurse and then to the CNP. She seemed reluctant to believe that I knew anything about my own medical condition. Until they did the blood work. First did a fingerstick and the lab tech actually gasped. I asked how bad it was. She replied, I'm not really sure, our machine only goes up to 7.9. She also drew a venous sample for hemoglobin and hemocrit. Ultimately the hemoglobin results came back with 5.9. No wonder I was so exhausted! Their protocol for high INR is to repeat the test. Same results. The CNP was now a tad more compassionate and told me that they had already called the hospital and they were expecting me and did I want my husband to drive me or should they call the ambulance. We drove.
So, two units of blood in the ER along with a Vit K shot and then I was transferred to the bigger hospital 30 miles away where I got two more units of blood and a unit of fresh frozen plasma. Nine days later I was released from the hospital. Still dealing with the intense pain from the compression fracture but now have a wonderful doctor who is knowledgeable and compassionate.
So, the lesson(s) I've learned - when on warfarin DO NOT ignore abnormal bleeding. It's a sign that something is very wrong and has the potential to kill you. If you suddenly feel like crap get it checked out - it's your body's way of telling you that something is wrong.
