KristyW
Well-known member
This has been a trying and difficult 10 days. Last Wednesday, November 28, I had a total abdominal hysterectomy for a large fibroid tumor. The surgery went well although it was difficult, and all was going as expected. I was released on Sunday November 1st, one day late due to oozing issues. Sunday night and Monday were completely uneventful. I was instructed to continue with my warfarin and augment it with Lovenox shots twice a day.
Early Tuesday morning, November 3, I started experiencing pretty severe abdominal pain. It came and went, so I delayed going to the hospital. About 9:00am I couldn't stand it anymore. I called my Dr again (left a message earlier), and he said, "Come right in." my husband took me to the Dr. about 9:45am. The Dr. examined me and said that he was direct admitting me to the surgical floor for observation. All was going ok. I was still experiencing pain, but there was no obvious reason for it. They conducted an ultrasound and found that I had fluid collecting in the bottom of the pelvic cavity. We were on the wait and see plan. There really was nothing they could do, but wait for whatever this was to show itself.
My mom stayed with me until 7 and my husband stayed until about 8. About 9:30 I started bleeding and things got interesting. The Drs. and nurses were trying everything they knew to stop the bleeding without going back in. By 5am, we knew there was no choice. I was headed back to surgery 8 days after the first one. The surgery lasted about 1 hour. The Drs. found a large hematoma (blood clot) between the skin and muscle. That was what was causing all the pain, but not life threatening. They didn't find any other reason for me to be in the condition I was in, other than I was oozing blood & not clotting like they would like.
Back in the recovery room the bleeding still wouldn't stop. The tests came back that my INR was 1.6. They had packed and repacked the vagina to try and stop the bleeding, and they gave me many blood products prior, during and after surgery ( 4 units fresh frozen plasma, 4 units of Cryoprecipitate, 2 units of platelets 4 units of packed red blood cells). Finally, the bleeding stopped. I think were were on the verge of going back to surgery for the 3rd time. I was very, very scared that I was not going to make it out of this alive.
Finally, I was able to go back to the surgical floor to the care of the wonderful nurses and nursing assistants. I can't say enough about all of these fine people. They are the heart and soul of hospitals.
The Drs. and I have all learned something from this. Many would blame the warfarin for what happened to me, but that was not the call at all. The heparin was the culprit. We have together discussed that in the future maybe someone in my position should start back up with the coumadin and skip the heparin shots. I tried to get my Drs to not give me the lovenox, but you know how it goes..
I am thankful that I'm here with my children and my husband.
Kristy
Early Tuesday morning, November 3, I started experiencing pretty severe abdominal pain. It came and went, so I delayed going to the hospital. About 9:00am I couldn't stand it anymore. I called my Dr again (left a message earlier), and he said, "Come right in." my husband took me to the Dr. about 9:45am. The Dr. examined me and said that he was direct admitting me to the surgical floor for observation. All was going ok. I was still experiencing pain, but there was no obvious reason for it. They conducted an ultrasound and found that I had fluid collecting in the bottom of the pelvic cavity. We were on the wait and see plan. There really was nothing they could do, but wait for whatever this was to show itself.
My mom stayed with me until 7 and my husband stayed until about 8. About 9:30 I started bleeding and things got interesting. The Drs. and nurses were trying everything they knew to stop the bleeding without going back in. By 5am, we knew there was no choice. I was headed back to surgery 8 days after the first one. The surgery lasted about 1 hour. The Drs. found a large hematoma (blood clot) between the skin and muscle. That was what was causing all the pain, but not life threatening. They didn't find any other reason for me to be in the condition I was in, other than I was oozing blood & not clotting like they would like.
Back in the recovery room the bleeding still wouldn't stop. The tests came back that my INR was 1.6. They had packed and repacked the vagina to try and stop the bleeding, and they gave me many blood products prior, during and after surgery ( 4 units fresh frozen plasma, 4 units of Cryoprecipitate, 2 units of platelets 4 units of packed red blood cells). Finally, the bleeding stopped. I think were were on the verge of going back to surgery for the 3rd time. I was very, very scared that I was not going to make it out of this alive.
Finally, I was able to go back to the surgical floor to the care of the wonderful nurses and nursing assistants. I can't say enough about all of these fine people. They are the heart and soul of hospitals.
The Drs. and I have all learned something from this. Many would blame the warfarin for what happened to me, but that was not the call at all. The heparin was the culprit. We have together discussed that in the future maybe someone in my position should start back up with the coumadin and skip the heparin shots. I tried to get my Drs to not give me the lovenox, but you know how it goes..
I am thankful that I'm here with my children and my husband.
Kristy
in 92 now they think theres more
