When is it time to worry about hitting your head?

[Ovie]

At what point should I be worried after hitting my head while on Warfarin? I have consistent headaches and pains in my head, I get light headed and already have vision issues. Just a little bit ago I went to the restroom at a restaurant and hit the side of my head, not bad but still hit it good, then seriously 5 moms later I was in the car, and I was going to get up from passenger seat to the back to get my pillow (I'm traveling) and I hit the top of my head pretty good on one of those damn gold down TV screens. So I hit my head twice in a matter of 5 mins. Other then the initial pain of hitting it the second time, i feel fine other then a minor feeling of where I hit it. Should I be concerned? Should I go to the hospital? I'm just curious, I'm usually good about hitting my head, but I guess not today. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[T-Money]

Hi.
Let me tell you, I've been there. Numerous hits to the head of varying degrees. I have not had any brain bleeds including the time my son hit me full force in the face with a toy sword that caused internal bleeding in my eye. I've been doing this for almost a decade now and I've had lots of accidents like you describe. Every time I feel that thud (I have a hard head), I still freak out and worry just like I did right when I started Coumadin. You are not alone. Hang in there.

I tend to get more worried about these things when my INR is out of range. What was your INR last time you had it checked? When I have these things happen, I wait 24 hours and re-evaluate. From what I have read, when you have a brain bleed, you know it.

Here are a couple of thoughts. Call your cardiologist and let them know what happened. They can give you guidance. If you are seriously stressed and worried about this, go to the emergency room and tell them that you are on Coumadin and tell them what happened. They will likely do a CT scan of your head which will give you a definitive answer.

I hope everything works out well for you. I'll be praying for you.
T

 

[Bina]

If it was me, I would call my doctor to discuss and check that the INR is in range. Good Luck.

 

[Ovie]

Thanks, I'm going to head to the doctor later today. Also apologize for all the typos, I was on a cell phone typing it out. My INR was fine and actually haven't had to really change it much the almost 2 years I've been on it, the thing that has me worried is I did drink quite a bit ( for my standards these days ) the previous 2 nights, so not sure if it's gone up risking the chance of bleeding. Guess I'll find out, thanks for commenting.

 

[ski girl]

I got hit in the head full force by a kayak in the surf zone (it was picked up by a large wave and smashed into me). I saw stars, and I had a heck of a lump. This was a MUCH harder hit than you could possibly get if you just banged into something. I had to paddle back to where I started, about half an hour, then find the only ambulance guys in the town (another hour), then get to the teeny town hospital where I had to walk the hall (singular) trying to locate any medical staff. All up it was probably two hours from when I got smashed in the head to when I got any medical attention, and there was no concern.

My INR would have been around 3.0 at the time. It was a great learning experience - we're not that fragile. The following day I smashed my shin on my spiky mountain bike pedal (first real cut on warfarin) while landing a jump and simply mopped up the blood and rode another hour.

Don't stress.

 

[clay_from_nj]

When is it time to worry about hitting your head?

I think that as soon as you start hitting yourself over the head, you should consider professional help. What? That's not quite what you meant? Oh well, never mind then.

 

[TheGymGuy]

I am with ski girl, these sounds like light bumps. If you feel concerned call your doc. Also, stop hitting your head, the voices are not going anywhere.

 

[Ovie]

I never hit my head, I know it's not something I want happening a lot, and have avoided it for almost 2 years, so I guess it was just a question more on really how fragile are we? Ill use Ski Girl as an example for every time it happens, you're always on here talking about falling off bikes and crazy stuff.

Clay, I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Gail in Ca]

When I actually had a brain bleed I had a severe head ache, the worst I had ever experienced, the night before I saw a doc in urgent care. I mentioned this to her, but at the time didn't know it was a sign of a possible bleed.

I was freaked out some time later when I hit my head so hard outside while getting my mail. I got a goose egg and I bruise was forming. I went to my pcp, but it was nothing to worry about.