[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Experienced severe GI bleeding (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/23/2015 4:30:34 AM EDT
|
Experienced severe GI bleeding last week.
I post this to help put into perspective how fast a health issue can create a life threatening condition, completely out of the blue, and some things to consider and expect if faced with this sort of situation. Also, some strategies that might help survive the stay, personal and technical. 
Was working on the BO fork lift and noticed something cold in my pants as I was bending over, thought I had started a bit of diarrhea and as soon as I could went to the BR to check. What I found was some blood in my underwear and thru my pants. When I relieved myself, there was a lot of blood in the toilet. Thinking I may have had a hemorrhoid rupture, I went back to working on the F_L and a milling machine I'm restoring. An hour later I had a strong urge for a bowl movement and went and a lot more blood. Now I was concerned. Blood in the colon acts as sort of a laxative and makes it pretty hard to resist it coming out of you. Went home shortly after and after another hour, had another urgent bowl movement and lost a total amt of blood [not incl waste] by that time of maybe 1/2 or 3/4 liter. So I started considering going to the ER. Probably should have gone right then but I was curious and decided to give things a bit more time, but in any case planned to be at the ER before I was mentally compromised. Got my SO to cut open a plastic bag and line the bed but never got into it more than 5 minutes. Two more B-M's, each with more -mostly all- blood and the decision was made. Prepared and sent an email to my atty with various instructions for a worst case situation [suspected cancer as a probable cause], put a towel in my pants, removed all the unnecessary stuff from my wallet, gave guidance to my SO, we went to the vehicle and I drove to the ER. Half way there I called 911 and advised them I was enroute to the ER with an ETA and requested they give the ER a heads up. Surprisingly, the operator didn't ask a lot of stupid questions. 
Total blood loss by now was ~ 1.5 liter Got to the ER, was late at night and not busy, got checked in and needed to use the toilet again. Nurse provided a wheelchair and took me to the BR and placed a stool sample container on the bowl. I filled it about 2/3 of the way up with mostly blood. I was surprised when she carried it and wheeled me to the ER area, she sat it on the counter -gross. They asked a bunch of questions and opened two ports in my arm and started an IV. Shortly I had to have another B-M and the nurses brought in a portable toilet and gave me privacy and I pretty much filled another stool sample container. I was still pretty strong but could tell that I wouldn't be able to maintain any level of performance much longer at the rate I was losing blood. The ER doc came in and introduced himself, we chatted a bit, and I tried to memorize the names of all the various folks I was coming into contact with, and when able, engaged them in chat, how long have you lived here, just personal chit-chat to get to know them and them to get to know me. Everyone was very nice. I detected some uncertainty how to handle the situation a few times. After abt 1/2 hour I couldn't hold the blood any longer and they slipped a bed pan under me because I guess they figured I was too weak to use the chair-potty. By this time I'd been there abt an hour, and had earlier strongly suggested to my SO that she go home and get some rest because she might need it in the morning. They told me they were going to do a radionuclide scan to try to locate the location of the hemorrhage. To do this a blood sample is drawn and taken to a lab and mixed with a radioactive isotope and then re-injected into the patient. They had some sort of goof-up and we lost abt half an hour before they repeated the process, and then had to wait for the tech to operate the scintillator/photomultiplier scanning device. Meantime I was losing my vision, sort of like in an aerobatic plane when you pull abt 5 or so G's and hold the stick back and maintain that for a few seconds. I was concerned and prior to that I told them I was loosing vision and needed packed red blood cells like right now. I could tell there was some concern among the nurses by their body language and the doc didn't seem to be around. About the time my vision was starting to go from foggy to none, they hooked me to a blood transfusion and also a FFP bag and shortly my vision returned to what I considered normal. This lack of vision -and lack of RBC's repeated a couple times and each time I'd anticipate it and request another transfusion. I think there were abt 4 RBC bags and 3 FFP's in that period. Vitals, during this event, deteriorated to BP of about 35 over 20 [I may be in error] I was watching the monitors as best I could. Hematocrit dropped to 33%, lowest of the samples in that time frame I'm aware of, breathing was not too fast and pulse rate was rapid. I asked for the data and they were happy to advise me. Meantime I was chatting with them best I could and pretty good most of the time, except when I started fogging out. I can understand how folks die sometimes, they fog out and that's it, never know what happened. Good way to go. By that time I probably lost, we figure, abt 3.5 liters of blood. I'm abt 6' and a bit over 200#. Finally, they got the ducks in a row to do the scan to find where I was leaking. Then they wheeled me to the Radiological scan area, and stuck me under the sensor. Took an hour and they were nice to put the image monitor where I could watch where the radioactive hot spots were in my trunk area. I started fogging out a bit and had figured out by then to anticipate and start asking for RBC well before I blacked out ---to avoid potential vision and brain damage. It worked--
Well from this point --about 4 hours after I got to the ER, I could tell I was likely out of trouble unless there were some other issue like a heart attack from blood loss and low BP or something. About the time I was wheeled to the scanner, I had stopped having to expel blood and I figgered the vessel or artery had coagulated or something. In any case I stopped bleeding. Just in time, because they told me I had filled the bed pan I was lying on, to ~85% capacity. A couple times I felt very bad throughout my body like I was going to die but during the hour under the scanner I felt much better and spent maybe, IIRC, half the time chatting with the 2 nurses they had attending me, just sharing personal talk, etc., and watching the location of the radiation on the LCD. Finally the hour was up and they wheeled me back to ER area that I'd come from and I pretty much figured I was out of the woods. The shifts were changing then and another doctor talked with me and a GI specialist doctor came by too. The first doc wanted to put a port into my chest area with a tube into an artery or something and explained the risks to me. I said no, I'd prefer not. It was explained that it might be needed to get some meds in fast in the event of an unforeseen event. I said I still didn't want it. Then it was explained to me it was the protocol for the Standard of Care they provided. We started kidding around and I told them I really didn't care about arbitrary Standards of Care and didn't want it. I was asked why not, and I asked them to repeat the risks once more. 
So that doc was a little butt hurt, and said she could tell I was usually in 'control' but I was their patient now, and eventually told the nurse to note I refused their 'Standard of Care'. Nonetheless we got along fine. She visited w/ me later and we talked. Now don't misunderstand, I treated the doctors with the greatest respect and complimented them how much I appreciated their professionalism. Same with al the nurses, each one I tried to memorize their names and get to know them all a little bit. I think we enjoyed talking with each other while I was in the hospital, I met a lot of folks, medical staff to janitors, and enjoyed them all. The nurse who discharged me told me she told another patient that 'her friend was leaving' and that made me feel good. The other patient she said told her he wanted to switch places with me. 
Well, they told me they saw I had stabilized and were going to take me to the ICU for a room. I closed my eyes and laughed to the nurses who were transporting me the ride was sort of like flying IFR, but too soon, we got to the room. Man, it was beautiful, with all the latest stuff and everything. Thanks Obama!
One of the nurses, I remember when she was wheeling me to it made the comment that ---You seem to have a lot of confidence. I don't know why she said that, but it made me feel good too. I realize now I was running on adrenaline most of the time I was there, got little sleep in the ICU, one of the nurses said, folks don't get much sleep here. He was right, considering all the tubes and hoses, etc hooked to me the ~27 hours I was in ICU. The clock in the room was the slowest running clock I think I ever saw. As soon as I got in there I called my SO and let her know I was still alive and expected to be so for a while longer. She was pretty relieved.
The first RN in the ICU was a great guy and we had a lot of commo abt his family, politics, etc, he had my mind set pretty much. He was a contract RN and traveled around. [Later I gave a good ref to the GI doc for him] The GI doc came in and I was fully aware and we talked and he said what I experienced, most folks who do so, they never experience it again in their life. He thought the issue was associated with diverticulosis. Then the ICU doc came in, gave me a lecture on Standards of Care, I made my points, and asked when could I go home. I was just getting into a good conversation with the contract RN, telling him a bunch of technical stuff, and then they pulled him for something more critical likely, and sent me to another room that had less stuff in it but was impressive. With another slow clock... All the time I'm hooked to a monitor with EKG [I think] O2 saturation, pulse and breathing rate and BP. Everything was essentially fine. Yay. So then I started getting hungry and they wouldn't let me have ANYTHING, in case the bleeding restarted and they had to scope me. I'd been in the hospital about 6 hours by this time. Now it was a matter of waiting, I told my new RN I was going to get the biggest pizza in town and a McD's sausage biscuit when I got out -and did. Met a lot of great folks and have the greatest admiration and respect for the RN's and their assistants, male and female. One of the assistants was a young Hispanic girl and she told me that her favorite sister was abt to grad from high school. She said her sister was probably going to amount to a lot, because she was assertive -and that she [the nurse] was 'timid'. I laughed and told her she certainly wasn't timid [she had given me a lecture abt not unhooking a couple tubes when I had to desperately take a leak, and there was no urinal within reach, I called her ---but she had to go to a different area to find one -she said. Later in the day when they allowed clear liquids, I ordered some sort of fruit ice and the girl and I talked abt it. I told her I'd order one for her to try before her shift was over. Naturally she refused. I ordered 2 anyhow later and 2 spoons and some stuff to drink and when she came in I said, hey I got an ice for you and an extra spoon. She looked all around and I said well, just try it. She did, and said that was sweet of you. Later before she got off her shift she shared her career plans with me and they prolly are better left unsaid as far as the hospital is concerned. During the day, I started negotiating with the docs to get out of there, and surprisingly, was reasonably successful, and my new friend RN discharged me after abt 33 total hours and I walked out of the ICU with my SO. 
With a whole new appreciation and respect for hospitals and the folks who staff them.
|
|
EXPY37,
Glad to hear that you are doing well. Losing blood like that is no joke. Back in 2007, my Dad went through the same type of ordeal. He lost about 2/3 of his blood volume. He never really got back on his feet after that. Had problems with his hemoglobin being low. Then this past 2/12/15 it happen again. Because of his past issue with it, he was admitted to the ICU. Early 2/13 he started having problems breathing and then his organs began to shut down and he passed away. If it every happen again, DON'T WAIT, get medical help. Vulcan94 |
|
Quoted:
EXPY37, Glad to hear that you are doing well. Losing blood like that is no joke. Back in 2007, my Dad went through the same type of ordeal. He lost about 2/3 of his blood volume. He never really got back on his feet after that. Had problems with his hemoglobin being low. Then this past 2/12/15 it happen again. Because of his past issue with it, he was admitted to the ICU. Early 2/13 he started having problems breathing and then his organs began to shut down and he passed away. If it every happen again, DON'T WAIT, get medical help. Vulcan94 I'm sorry for your loss Vulcan. That's good advice. |
|
Quoted:
I'm sorry for your loss Vulcan. That's good advice. Quoted:
Quoted:
EXPY37, Glad to hear that you are doing well. Losing blood like that is no joke. Back in 2007, my Dad went through the same type of ordeal. He lost about 2/3 of his blood volume. He never really got back on his feet after that. Had problems with his hemoglobin being low. Then this past 2/12/15 it happen again. Because of his past issue with it, he was admitted to the ICU. Early 2/13 he started having problems breathing and then his organs began to shut down and he passed away. If it every happen again, DON'T WAIT, get medical help. Vulcan94 I'm sorry for your loss Vulcan. That's good advice. Thank you for your kind words. Something kinda weird happen after he passed. Exactly one week after he had passed, I had to spend the night with an inmate in the ICU of the same hospital. Got to thank them for all of their efforts on my Dad's behalf. Vulcan94 |
|
Quoted:
Thank you for your kind words. Something kinda weird happen after he passed. Exactly one week after he had passed, I had to spend the night with an inmate in the ICU of the same hospital. Got to thank them for all of their efforts on my Dad's behalf. Vulcan94 Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
EXPY37, Glad to hear that you are doing well. Losing blood like that is no joke. Back in 2007, my Dad went through the same type of ordeal. He lost about 2/3 of his blood volume. He never really got back on his feet after that. Had problems with his hemoglobin being low. Then this past 2/12/15 it happen again. Because of his past issue with it, he was admitted to the ICU. Early 2/13 he started having problems breathing and then his organs began to shut down and he passed away. If it every happen again, DON'T WAIT, get medical help. Vulcan94 I'm sorry for your loss Vulcan. That's good advice. Thank you for your kind words. Something kinda weird happen after he passed. Exactly one week after he had passed, I had to spend the night with an inmate in the ICU of the same hospital. Got to thank them for all of their efforts on my Dad's behalf. Vulcan94 If you don't mind, what ages did your Dad experience the bleeding? |
|
Quoted:
If you don't mind, what ages did your Dad experience the bleeding? Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
EXPY37, Glad to hear that you are doing well. Losing blood like that is no joke. Back in 2007, my Dad went through the same type of ordeal. He lost about 2/3 of his blood volume. He never really got back on his feet after that. Had problems with his hemoglobin being low. Then this past 2/12/15 it happen again. Because of his past issue with it, he was admitted to the ICU. Early 2/13 he started having problems breathing and then his organs began to shut down and he passed away. If it every happen again, DON'T WAIT, get medical help. Vulcan94 I'm sorry for your loss Vulcan. That's good advice. Thank you for your kind words. Something kinda weird happen after he passed. Exactly one week after he had passed, I had to spend the night with an inmate in the ICU of the same hospital. Got to thank them for all of their efforts on my Dad's behalf. Vulcan94 If you don't mind, what ages did your Dad experience the bleeding? He was 74 when he first experienced it in 2007 and 83 when he passed. One other thing, for the last 4 years he was having to undergo kidney dialysis, so that had alot to due with his passing. Vulcan94 |
 Glad to hear you're still on the right side of the grass, so to speak.
Let me throw this out for consideration: As you're no doubt aware, there are highly competent medical professionals and there are shade-tree mechanic medical professionals. It is a good idea to keep someone with you to act as a patient advocate, whether parent, spouse, adult child, or friend. The more fluent they are in "Medical Speak" the better. Doctors and nurses make mistakes. There's a possibility of miscommunication. Different specialists can inadvertently wind up working against each other. A patient advocate can ask questions (WHY being the most important one) and speak up for you when something doesn't seem right - especially when you can't. As a patient, you're usually not in any position to chase a doctor down the hallway either - figuratively speaking - to get a clarification on something you don't understand. Just something to think about. |
|
Thank you all for the well wishes. I'm doing fine and it took a day or so to get enough pizzas, BBQ, and sausage biscuits in me to feel like I was ready to re-take on the world.
Oh I forgot ---donuts.
God, that shit tasted good! Issue was--- Rectal bleeding. Location not determined due to delay in getting scanned -by then the bleeding stopped. GI doctor say's this sort of issue is normally Diverticulosis related and doesn't reoccur for most folks. I have no idea why this is so. Interestingly, the morning of my release, my vision, let's say when looking at the color LCD of the monitor, showed the characters as a weird jumble of lines and I couldn't focus well on them. When I drove home vision was fine. When I looked at the bathroom scales LCD, the numbers looked like a bunch of fine lines that didn't make sense. Digital displays are rescanned and refreshed at some frequency, maybe 50 Hz, and I suspect it was due to lack of sleep or running on adrenaline. Might make a good research project. In any case, I expected the vision issue to resolve and by the next day it had. When I was being released from the ICU, the RN removed the IV's from my arm and left the room so I could put on the clothes my SO brought for me. I was hopping around putting on my socks and suddenly noticed blood all over the floor.
OMG -I checked to see where it was coming from and it was my arm where one of the IV's had been taped. Not my rectum.
I could see them telling me I couldn't leave so my SO and I frantically got paper towels and cleaned up all over the floor before the RN returned. Another thing that happened was that when I took off by underware to change them and get dressed to leave, they STUNK of rotted urine. I had no idea. 
The next day I went to urinate and OMG the pain. Thank goodness for my fish.
|
|
Quoted:
Glad to hear you're still on the right side of the grass, so to speak.
Let me throw this out for consideration: As you're no doubt aware, there are highly competent medical professionals and there are shade-tree mechanic medical professionals. It is a good idea to keep someone with you to act as a patient advocate, whether parent, spouse, adult child, or friend. The more fluent they are in "Medical Speak" the better. Doctors and nurses make mistakes. There's a possibility of miscommunication. Different specialists can inadvertently wind up working against each other. A patient advocate can ask questions (WHY being the most important one) and speak up for you when something doesn't seem right - especially when you can't. As a patient, you're usually not in any position to chase a doctor down the hallway either - figuratively speaking - to get a clarification on something you don't understand. Just something to think about. You know, considering many of us will wind up in the ER vs. being swept out to sea when the -fill in the blank- erupts/quakes/sun blows up/etc --this REAL SURVIVAL INFO above you posted is so important vs so much of the stuff posted here all the time. An advocate sometimes is critical to have and was one of the things I asked my atty to get for me if things deteriorated in the email I sent him, because my SO isn't good at this. In retrospect, the advocate was needed the minute I walked into the ER. I wonder if I hadn't been proactive requesting certain treatment, if I would be here or at least fully functional? I'd suggest making plans to have a couple advocates for you and yours in case the need should arise and you can bet your bippy, out of the population of us, it will. |
|
Quoted:
You know, considering many of us will wind up in the ER vs. being swept out to sea when the -fill in the blank- erupts/quakes/sun blows up/etc --this REAL SURVIVAL INFO above you posted is so important vs so much of the stuff posted here all the time. An advocate sometimes is critical to have and was one of the things I asked my atty to get for me if things deteriorated in the email I sent him, because my SO isn't good at this. In retrospect, the advocate was needed the minute I walked into the ER. I wonder if I hadn't been proactive requesting certain treatment, if I would be here or at least fully functional? I'd suggest making plans to have a couple advocates for you and yours in case the need should arise and you can bet your bippy, out of the population of us, it will. Quoted:
Quoted:
Glad to hear you're still on the right side of the grass, so to speak.
Let me throw this out for consideration: As you're no doubt aware, there are highly competent medical professionals and there are shade-tree mechanic medical professionals. It is a good idea to keep someone with you to act as a patient advocate, whether parent, spouse, adult child, or friend. The more fluent they are in "Medical Speak" the better. Doctors and nurses make mistakes. There's a possibility of miscommunication. Different specialists can inadvertently wind up working against each other. A patient advocate can ask questions (WHY being the most important one) and speak up for you when something doesn't seem right - especially when you can't. As a patient, you're usually not in any position to chase a doctor down the hallway either - figuratively speaking - to get a clarification on something you don't understand. Just something to think about. You know, considering many of us will wind up in the ER vs. being swept out to sea when the -fill in the blank- erupts/quakes/sun blows up/etc --this REAL SURVIVAL INFO above you posted is so important vs so much of the stuff posted here all the time. An advocate sometimes is critical to have and was one of the things I asked my atty to get for me if things deteriorated in the email I sent him, because my SO isn't good at this. In retrospect, the advocate was needed the minute I walked into the ER. I wonder if I hadn't been proactive requesting certain treatment, if I would be here or at least fully functional? I'd suggest making plans to have a couple advocates for you and yours in case the need should arise and you can bet your bippy, out of the population of us, it will. You're not kidding about the advocate. My wife went through a health crisis with her aunt. Everyone from her doc to the ER docs to everyone else was just fiddle farting around. Nobody willing to do anything. If it weren't for my wife, her aunt would have probably died at home. |
|
Quoted:
Damn. That was close. Glad you're still with us. I'm assuming that, without ER care, you would have died. Wonder if there's any last ditch first aid that could be employed if a hospital was not available. Quick Clot up the keester???? (only semi joking) My thinking exactly. IIRC, this sort of thing happens to about 400 folks in a population of 100,000, so it isn't uncommon. My RN friend told me someone was admitted shortly after me with a similar issue, but wouldn't go into detail per HIPPA. I posted a link to early blood transfusions a couple days ago. It might be possible using modern knowledge and modern basic equipment to do this. My SO and I have the same blood types, and we both donate blood regularly. I asked what the outcome would have been without treatment and the RN said I would have died. Considering I was paying attention to the monitors and my reactions, I would likely have gone further into shock and without intervention, not recovered. In the field, once you black out, if there isn't someone there, unless you are very lucky, its probably all over. If this were to happen in a SHTF environment, I would elevate my lower extremities, start drinking fluids, hope the material in my colon helped to keep me rehydrated. Maybe replace them by the rectal path if I were able. As I lost blood, BP would fall, reducing pressure on the location of the ruptured vessel helping to allow clotting. In the instance above, my BP dropped very low IIRC and after it did, I think I stopped bleeding. In addition, [check out the howling in the recent topic of supplemental O2] supplementation with O2 would likely be essential as well as the ability to easily monitor vitals. There's probably clotting factors to consider but who would be likely to have any? There's probably more things to do expediently, and maybe a survival type doc could suggest some. Thank goodness for ER's and staff. |
|
Quoted:
Damn. That was close. Glad you're still with us. I'm assuming that, without ER care, you would have died. Wonder if there's any last ditch first aid that could be employed if a hospital was not available. Quick Clot up the keester???? (only semi joking) no, there really isn't. in this case, luckily, it was a self resolving problem, we hope. but that was with the support of multiple transfusions to buy his body time and additional platelets to help bolster the clotting process . if the abdominal bleed is due to trauma, surgery to repair the damage is the only "cure." quick clot up the ass is just going to plug the outlet, most likely it won't reach the bleeding site. if it does, then you'll likely have a bowel impaction or rupture, which come with their own dangers. even iv saline would just have diluted what blood was still circulating. without a hospital, he'd be dead. with a hospital, he could still have been dead. |
|
Quoted:
My thinking exactly. IIRC, this sort of thing happens to about 400 folks in a population of 100,000, so it isn't uncommon. My RN friend told me someone was admitted shortly after me with a similar issue, but wouldn't go into detail per HIPPA. I posted a link to early blood transfusions a couple days ago. It might be possible using modern knowledge and modern basic equipment to do this. My SO and I have the same blood types, and we both donate blood regularly. I asked what the outcome would have been without treatment and the RN said I would have died. Considering I was paying attention to the monitors and my reactions, I would likely have gone further into shock and without intervention, not recovered. In the field, once you black out, if there isn't someone there, unless you are very lucky, its probably all over. If this were to happen in a SHTF environment, I would elevate my lower extremities, start drinking fluids, hope the material in my colon helped to keep me rehydrated. Maybe replace them by the rectal path if I were able. As I lost blood, BP would fall, reducing pressure on the location of the ruptured vessel helping to allow clotting. In the instance above, my BP dropped very low IIRC and after it did, I think I stopped bleeding. In addition, [check out the howling in the recent topic of supplemental O2] supplementation with O2 would likely be essential as well as the ability to easily monitor vitals. There's probably clotting factors to consider but who would be likely to have any? There's probably more things to do expediently, and maybe a survival type doc could suggest some. Thank goodness for ER's and staff. Quoted:
Quoted:
Damn. That was close. Glad you're still with us. I'm assuming that, without ER care, you would have died. Wonder if there's any last ditch first aid that could be employed if a hospital was not available. Quick Clot up the keester???? (only semi joking) My thinking exactly. IIRC, this sort of thing happens to about 400 folks in a population of 100,000, so it isn't uncommon. My RN friend told me someone was admitted shortly after me with a similar issue, but wouldn't go into detail per HIPPA. I posted a link to early blood transfusions a couple days ago. It might be possible using modern knowledge and modern basic equipment to do this. My SO and I have the same blood types, and we both donate blood regularly. I asked what the outcome would have been without treatment and the RN said I would have died. Considering I was paying attention to the monitors and my reactions, I would likely have gone further into shock and without intervention, not recovered. In the field, once you black out, if there isn't someone there, unless you are very lucky, its probably all over. If this were to happen in a SHTF environment, I would elevate my lower extremities, start drinking fluids, hope the material in my colon helped to keep me rehydrated. Maybe replace them by the rectal path if I were able. As I lost blood, BP would fall, reducing pressure on the location of the ruptured vessel helping to allow clotting. In the instance above, my BP dropped very low IIRC and after it did, I think I stopped bleeding. In addition, [check out the howling in the recent topic of supplemental O2] supplementation with O2 would likely be essential as well as the ability to easily monitor vitals. There's probably clotting factors to consider but who would be likely to have any? There's probably more things to do expediently, and maybe a survival type doc could suggest some. Thank goodness for ER's and staff. fluids and elevating your legs, even with supplemental oxygen would have been piss in the wind. you were behind the 8 ball from the moment you felt the cold spot in your shorts. home blood transfusions can cause all kinds of nasty reactions and rejection. even a bag of o negative from a blood bank has its dangers, but at least it's been matched as closely as possible. |
|
Quoted: Glad to hear you're still on the right side of the grass, so to speak.Let me throw this out for consideration: As you're no doubt aware, there are highly competent medical professionals and there are shade-tree mechanic medical professionals. It is a good idea to keep someone with you to act as a patient advocate, whether parent, spouse, adult child, or friend. The more fluent they are in "Medical Speak" the better. Doctors and nurses make mistakes. There's a possibility of miscommunication. Different specialists can inadvertently wind up working against each other. A patient advocate can ask questions (WHY being the most important one) and speak up for you when something doesn't seem right - especially when you can't. As a patient, you're usually not in any position to chase a doctor down the hallway either - figuratively speaking - to get a clarification on something you don't understand. Just something to think about.  With staffing in hospitals the way it is, and the rise of shift working 'hospitalizes', having a competent adult with you 24/7 while in the hospital is very important. |
|
Quoted:
I am amazed that folks drop grandma off, hope for the best and wait for a call to come pick her up.
With staffing in hospitals the way it is, and the rise of shift working 'hospitalizes', having a competent adult with you 24/7 while in the hospital is very important. Quoted:
Quoted:
Glad to hear you're still on the right side of the grass, so to speak.
Let me throw this out for consideration: As you're no doubt aware, there are highly competent medical professionals and there are shade-tree mechanic medical professionals. It is a good idea to keep someone with you to act as a patient advocate, whether parent, spouse, adult child, or friend. The more fluent they are in "Medical Speak" the better. Doctors and nurses make mistakes. There's a possibility of miscommunication. Different specialists can inadvertently wind up working against each other. A patient advocate can ask questions (WHY being the most important one) and speak up for you when something doesn't seem right - especially when you can't. As a patient, you're usually not in any position to chase a doctor down the hallway either - figuratively speaking - to get a clarification on something you don't understand. Just something to think about.
With staffing in hospitals the way it is, and the rise of shift working 'hospitalizes', having a competent adult with you 24/7 while in the hospital is very important. So true. There are parts of the country where this isn't so bad and parts where the competency level, well sucks. The reasons are self 'splanitary.
My 'survival' plans took it into account a long time ago, and may have paid off last week. |
|
Quoted:
So, what was bleeding ? Was it a diverticulitis pookie that busted open ? If so, how did it close it self ? The doc thinks so. They didn't get their ducks in a row to get the radiological 'blood leak' imaging started before I beat them to getting the leak sealed myself.
My theory FWIW, is that as my BP was going toward zero, the broken artery or blood vessel was finally able to clot over and began to heal. Our bodies are finely tuned to protect themselves and I think this was the product of millions of years of evolution. OTOH, my mistake was not going in sooner, and giving enuf time to get the imaging done. HOWEVER, they may have wanted to do surgery if they knew where the leak was... With a whole 'nuther set of complications. 
I'm satisfied how it worked out, and that I was conscious to be my own 'Advocate'. |
|
Quoted:
The doc thinks so. They didn't get their ducks in a row to get the radiological 'blood leak' imaging started before I beat them to getting the leak sealed myself.
My theory FWIW, is that as my BP was going toward zero, the broken artery or blood vessel was finally able to clot over and began to heal. Our bodies are finely tuned to protect themselves and I think this was the product of millions of years of evolution. Quoted:
Quoted:
So, what was bleeding ? Was it a diverticulitis pookie that busted open ? If so, how did it close it self ? The doc thinks so. They didn't get their ducks in a row to get the radiological 'blood leak' imaging started before I beat them to getting the leak sealed myself.
My theory FWIW, is that as my BP was going toward zero, the broken artery or blood vessel was finally able to clot over and began to heal. Our bodies are finely tuned to protect themselves and I think this was the product of millions of years of evolution. decreased pressure probably didn't hurt, but i suspect the plasma infusion and replacing the blood volume helped more. any idea what your INR was? and do you take any blood thinners or have any known clotting issues? |
|
Quoted:
decreased pressure probably didn't hurt, but i suspect the platelet infusion and replacing the blood volume helped more. any idea what your INR was? and do you take any blood thinners or have any known clotting issues? Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
So, what was bleeding ? Was it a diverticulitis pookie that busted open ? If so, how did it close it self ? The doc thinks so. They didn't get their ducks in a row to get the radiological 'blood leak' imaging started before I beat them to getting the leak sealed myself.
My theory FWIW, is that as my BP was going toward zero, the broken artery or blood vessel was finally able to clot over and began to heal. Our bodies are finely tuned to protect themselves and I think this was the product of millions of years of evolution. decreased pressure probably didn't hurt, but i suspect the platelet infusion and replacing the blood volume helped more. any idea what your INR was? and do you take any blood thinners or have any known clotting issues? No. I do clot well. Crazy glue helps a LOT for modest/minor cuts, etc.
No blood thinners except the usual 81 mg aspirin tab every day at night, thankfully I decided not to take my night-time vitamins that night. No doubt the infusions of platelets and RBC did the trick. |
|
Quoted:
No. I do clot well. Crazy glue helps a LOT for modest/minor cuts, etc.
No blood thinners except the usual 81 mg aspirin tab every day at night, thankfully I decided not to take my night-time vitamins that night. No doubt the infusions of platelets and RBC did the trick. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
So, what was bleeding ? Was it a diverticulitis pookie that busted open ? If so, how did it close it self ? The doc thinks so. They didn't get their ducks in a row to get the radiological 'blood leak' imaging started before I beat them to getting the leak sealed myself.
My theory FWIW, is that as my BP was going toward zero, the broken artery or blood vessel was finally able to clot over and began to heal. Our bodies are finely tuned to protect themselves and I think this was the product of millions of years of evolution. decreased pressure probably didn't hurt, but i suspect the platelet infusion and replacing the blood volume helped more. any idea what your INR was? and do you take any blood thinners or have any known clotting issues? No. I do clot well. Crazy glue helps a LOT for modest/minor cuts, etc.
No blood thinners except the usual 81 mg aspirin tab every day at night, thankfully I decided not to take my night-time vitamins that night. No doubt the infusions of platelets and RBC did the trick. interdasting. curious about some of your lab values. the plasma they gave you also has various proteins, etc. that help things stick together for clotting. glad you're still with us. |
|
Expy;
Sorry for your ordeal... I admit to not reading the thread with a bright light, fine tooth comb, and a magnifying glass but... 1) If you see red stuff coming out of your backside, and your eyes are still open, the source is probably somewhere in your colon (probably left colon)... I saw no mention of anyone sticking a scope up you backside... <free advice - worth what you paid for it follows> If you haven't had a colonoscopy, find a Gastro you like and get one done. Yes, even this far after the acute event... 2) I don't like the visual changes you described... they don't sound obviously "serious" but they're also not exactly normal either... it could be related to the anemia or hypotension associated with your "event" but the symptoms occurred after you were treated, stabilized, & "on the mend"... <more free advice> at a minimum, log all neurologic symptoms and consider chatting with a neurologist and/or having an MRI scan of the mellon... just to be on the safe side... keep the faith... - R - |
|
Quoted:
Expy; Sorry for your ordeal... I admit to not reading the thread with a bright light, fine tooth comb, and a magnifying glass but... 1) If you see red stuff coming out of your backside, and your eyes are still open, the source is probably somewhere in your colon (probably left colon)... I saw no mention of anyone sticking a scope up you backside... <free advice - worth what you paid for it follows> If you haven't had a colonoscopy, find a Gastro you like and get one done. Yes, even this far after the acute event... 2) I don't like the visual changes you described... they don't sound obviously "serious" but they're also not exactly normal either... it could be related to the anemia or hypotension associated with your "event" but the symptoms occurred after you were treated, stabilized, & "on the mend"... <more free advice> at a minimum, log all neurologic symptoms and consider chatting with a neurologist and/or having an MRI scan of the mellon... just to be on the safe side... keep the faith... - R - Thanks! And thanks for the advice. This info is useful to all thinking folks here I think. Last scope was 5 years ago. The attending doc has a scoping practice and he and I discussed me becoming a new customer and I called his office today. I will keep an eye on the visual issue, but what do I know, I was running on adrenalin for 36 hours, had little sleep for a couple days and having worked for a long time without sleep, I've observed my eyes doing funny things. Will discuss it with my doc. I'd love to get a baseline MRI, but it's going to be tough to pull off I think, but I will try. |
|
Agree with Medikeighted on all accounts.
All bleeding eventually stops, the trick is being alive when it does. I have had to code a guy in the ICU that had no central line and his peripheral line crapped out before I could get any code meds in. Another doc tried to get a femoral line and ended up breaking the damn guide wire off inside the guy. Had to give first round of meds down the et tube. Finally got a peripheral in the external jugular and then got a subclavian in him when we got a heartbeat back and could stop doing compressions. It was a cluster fuck. Glad it turned out okay for you, but just want to say that standards of care are not arbitrary. No one was "butt hurt" over your refusal to receive that care. They were just genuinely concerned for your well being. If I had two good peripherals, I might be okay without a central line, but seriously if you were touch and go like it sounds you were, I'd have pushed for the central line as well. And I make no apologies for that. Seriously though. GI bleed are bad shit. And will flat out kill you. Very glad you are okay, my advice is get scoped and do whatever follow up is recommended. |
|
Quoted:
Thanks! And thanks for the advice. This info is useful to all thinking folks here I think. Last scope was 5 years ago. The attending doc has a scoping practice and he and I discussed me becoming a new customer and I called his office today. I will keep an eye on the visual issue, but what do I know, I was running on adrenalin for 36 hours, had little sleep for a couple days and having worked for a long time without sleep, I've observed my eyes doing funny things. Will discuss it with my doc. I'd love to get a baseline MRI, but it's going to be tough to pull off I think, but I will try. Quoted:
Quoted:
Expy; Sorry for your ordeal... I admit to not reading the thread with a bright light, fine tooth comb, and a magnifying glass but... 1) If you see red stuff coming out of your backside, and your eyes are still open, the source is probably somewhere in your colon (probably left colon)... I saw no mention of anyone sticking a scope up you backside... <free advice - worth what you paid for it follows> If you haven't had a colonoscopy, find a Gastro you like and get one done. Yes, even this far after the acute event... 2) I don't like the visual changes you described... they don't sound obviously "serious" but they're also not exactly normal either... it could be related to the anemia or hypotension associated with your "event" but the symptoms occurred after you were treated, stabilized, & "on the mend"... <more free advice> at a minimum, log all neurologic symptoms and consider chatting with a neurologist and/or having an MRI scan of the mellon... just to be on the safe side... keep the faith... - R - Thanks! And thanks for the advice. This info is useful to all thinking folks here I think. Last scope was 5 years ago. The attending doc has a scoping practice and he and I discussed me becoming a new customer and I called his office today. I will keep an eye on the visual issue, but what do I know, I was running on adrenalin for 36 hours, had little sleep for a couple days and having worked for a long time without sleep, I've observed my eyes doing funny things. Will discuss it with my doc. I'd love to get a baseline MRI, but it's going to be tough to pull off I think, but I will try. It's easy to justify (and therefore get your insurance to pay for) an MRI on the basis of neurologic (visual) symptoms. If you didn't have any symptoms, they would deny it in a heartbeat... Strike now while the iron is hot...
P.S.: I have to agree with others, refusing the large bore central line was a tactical error. GI bleeding can change quickly from "slow" (or stopped) to "brisk". In the event of a big (re)bleed, it is hard to pour blood and blood produces in fast enough - even with the big bore central line... without one, the case turns into a chinese cluster f%#k (trying to quickly place a big central line in the middle of a disaster) and not uncommonly ends with them tying a string around one of your toes (with a tag on it) to remind you to say yes to the line in your next life...
|
|
Quoted:
It's easy to justify (and therefore get your insurance to pay for) an MRI on the basis of neurologic (visual) symptoms. If you didn't have any symptoms, they would deny it in a heartbeat... Strike now while the iron is hot...
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Expy; Sorry for your ordeal... I admit to not reading the thread with a bright light, fine tooth comb, and a magnifying glass but... 1) If you see red stuff coming out of your backside, and your eyes are still open, the source is probably somewhere in your colon (probably left colon)... I saw no mention of anyone sticking a scope up you backside... <free advice - worth what you paid for it follows> If you haven't had a colonoscopy, find a Gastro you like and get one done. Yes, even this far after the acute event... 2) I don't like the visual changes you described... they don't sound obviously "serious" but they're also not exactly normal either... it could be related to the anemia or hypotension associated with your "event" but the symptoms occurred after you were treated, stabilized, & "on the mend"... <more free advice> at a minimum, log all neurologic symptoms and consider chatting with a neurologist and/or having an MRI scan of the mellon... just to be on the safe side... keep the faith... - R - Thanks! And thanks for the advice. This info is useful to all thinking folks here I think. Last scope was 5 years ago. The attending doc has a scoping practice and he and I discussed me becoming a new customer and I called his office today. I will keep an eye on the visual issue, but what do I know, I was running on adrenalin for 36 hours, had little sleep for a couple days and having worked for a long time without sleep, I've observed my eyes doing funny things. Will discuss it with my doc. I'd love to get a baseline MRI, but it's going to be tough to pull off I think, but I will try. It's easy to justify (and therefore get your insurance to pay for) an MRI on the basis of neurologic (visual) symptoms. If you didn't have any symptoms, they would deny it in a heartbeat... Strike now while the iron is hot...
OK, will try to get an apt tomorrow. Just measured HCT, it's 37%. 35% when I left ICU, IIRC. Back on treadmill tonight and lifting my tire/wheel asm. |
|
Quoted:
HCT of 37 translates to a HGB of about 12. That's respectable but normal for you is probably an H&H of ~15/45 so you're still a few pints down... Eat meat or at least take a multivit with iron (just 1 a day) for about a month or 2. Yep, 3:1 ratio. I've been eating a lot of turkey the past couple days.
My HCT normally runs high and if I don't address it, it will run way over 50. I try to stay ~50% with certain techniques. When I had the issue my HCT was around 51.5% or so and I wonder if having a higher vs. a lower HCT would shift the odds in favor of the person having the sort of event we're talking abt? [Blood loss and recovery] |
|
HCT over 51!... you're special! Are you a heavy smoker? or do you live at high-ish altitude? or has anyone ever used the phrase "polycythemia vera" to describe you? (I already discounted the idea that you are a competitive athlete and are "doping" with epogen! LOL! )
Yes, riding a bit high-ish on your HGB/HCT may have some benefit in GI bleed cases (its better to start a bleeding episode with a HCT of 51 that with a HCT of 33)... but the terminal event in GI bleed cases usually results from low blood pressure secondary to rapid loss of blood and not usually from a just a low HGB/HCT... of course the combination of both is worse than either alone... You can get too much of a good thing though... it sounds as though you are aware that you don't really want a HCT over 52 or a HGB over 17. Higher numbers are associated with increased blood viscosity and subsequent problems as a result of the increased vicsosity... P.S.: I was talking about RED meat not that girly meat (turkey) - LOL! Red meat because it probably has more iron - something you need to make RBCs and something that you lost when you lost all that blood... |
|
Quoted:
HCT over 51!... you're special! Are you a heavy smoker? or do you live at high-ish altitude? or has anyone ever used the phrase "polycythemia vera" to describe you? (I already discounted the idea that you are a competitive athlete and are "doping" with epogen! LOL! )
Yes, riding a bit high-ish on your HGB/HCT may have some benefit in GI bleed cases (its better to start a bleeding episode with a HCT of 51 that with a HCT of 33)... but the terminal event in GI bleed cases usually results from low blood pressure secondary to rapid loss of blood and not usually from a just a low HGB/HCT... of course the combination of both is worse than either alone... You can get too much of a good thing though... it sounds as though you are aware that you don't really want a HCT over 52 or a HGB over 17. Higher numbers are associated with increased blood viscosity and subsequent problems as a result of the increased vicsosity... P.S.: I was talking about RED meat not that girly meat (turkey) - LOL! Red meat because it probably has more iron - something you need to make RBCs and some that you lost when you lost all that blood... Haha -I know... Still I like turkey fresh roasted from the grocery store. My SO has come down with a cold and I brought her a Wendy's burger tonight. I did eat a couple plates of BBQ and a bunch of ribs the day and after getting out of my day and 1/2 stay. Never smoked... Don't drink. Much. TRT. Old. |
|
Sounds like you did great.
It's always worthwhile to ask questions- why is this procedure being done, etc. 99% of the time a decent medical professional will take the time to explain what's going on. Show interest, don't be an arse about it and take the "please educate me here" route versus the combative route. Just because you read "Where there is no doctor" three times doesn't mean you truly know more than a doc of many years. However don't just assume everyone knows WTF they are doing. My boy got some crud when he was 2. We took care of him at home till he would not take any fluids in and brought him to the hospital. 4 nurses tried to get an IV on him and missed every time, finally an RN with a 20 year badge deal came in and got it. She left immediately afterwards. The other nurses were there with us. The drip set was fed through the little machine deal. The machine was showing no flow, beeping and as the other nurses stood around smashing buttons on the machine and giving it stupid looks, I looked, reached up and turned the roller lock on the drip set
Having a couple competent docs as friends to be able to run stuff by them if nothing else is extremely crucial. I've sat in hospitals and took pics with my phone of reports and texted them to buddies to get second opinions in seconds. Good luck with recovery, take it slow. |
|
It's all to the good the way things worked out for the OP
I have to wonder how it might have gone if he was not able to direct the need for transfusions and the like? I have a pretty firm rule that when stuff on the insides of me starts falling out I try to put myself in the hands of the smart folks at the hospital real quick
|
|
Quoted:
Glad to hear you're still on the right side of the grass, so to speak.
Let me throw this out for consideration: As you're no doubt aware, there are highly competent medical professionals and there are shade-tree mechanic medical professionals. It is a good idea to keep someone with you to act as a patient advocate, whether parent, spouse, adult child, or friend. The more fluent they are in "Medical Speak" the better. Doctors and nurses make mistakes. There's a possibility of miscommunication. Different specialists can inadvertently wind up working against each other. A patient advocate can ask questions (WHY being the most important one) and speak up for you when something doesn't seem right - especially when you can't. As a patient, you're usually not in any position to chase a doctor down the hallway either - figuratively speaking - to get a clarification on something you don't understand. Just something to think about. TRUTH.. Our rule is to never leave a family member alone in the hospital. I have had to ask RNs to wash there hands after picking up trash off the ground before changing dressings! Keep in mind they wear gloves to protect themselves not you. Glad your OK OP. |
|
Quoted:
Are some of you guys doctors? I'm impressed but have no idea of what you are talking about. As far as bleeding, if I start squirting a lot of blood like that I'm screaming all the way to the ER ASAP. No waiting for me. just a medically retired paramedic here. i believe a couple of the others may be physicians and at least one nurse, but i'll let them decide whether to out themselves or not. |