Attila the Hun and me (almost!)

[Gary Crawford]

Ironically, Attila, although a savage warrior, did not lose his life in battle. He died in his own bed in 453 due to the loss of blood from what many believe to be a massive nose bleed. Now having said that and since I think I have finally gotten over this.I'll tell the story.Last Friday night,I was here reading posts when I let out a sneeze that left a little blood splatter on my keyboard.No big deal,it got it stopped right away.Saturday morning when I woke up,I noticed a warm wet sensation in my left nostrile,I headed for the bathroom where I profusely bleed for about ten minutes before I got it stopped.I was ok after that.I went to work and after I was there for about three hours,it started again,lasted about 15 minutes that time.I made through the rest of my shift,went home and a few minutes after I got home,It started again!!I had been in the bathroom trying to get it to stop when my son came in there to tell me that my daughter was at the neighbors house and had dislocated her knee and I had to take her to the ER!!I needed someone to take ME!!I had my son call my wife and tell her to close the store,come home to take us both to the ER.By the time we got there,my daughters knee popped back into place and my bleeding had stopped.She got x-rays and a knee support and they saw nothing they could do for me.I drove home and before we got halfway home,it started again,I pulled over and got into the passenger seat with a bucket and my wife drove us home.I went through this every hour or so all that night.Sun about noon,I arrived at a different ER,this time by the time the doctor got to see me,I was GUSHING!He ended up cramming this baloon type thing up my nose and it finally stopped.They did blood work and determined that I had lost nearly two units of blood!I was tols to keep that thing in for two days but Monday night,I pulled it out in my sleep.I wasn't bleeding anymore,so I thought things were O.K. About noon,Tuesday,I freind came to check on me and did one of those scare the s%$# ot you knocks on the door,and you guessed it,it started again!Back to the ER!Got it stopped,was given a nose spray to toughen up the inner walls of ny nore and sinuses.It's been two days now with no more that a drop or two!

 

[mj-hi-yah]

Bloody heck... that's some make me weak in the knees kinda story Gary...My first thought ~ OMG ~ Gary's been exposed to the virus from 24! Glad you're okay and your daughter too!

 

[Gary Crawford]

Thanks!

 

[shesulsa]

Wow!! So do you have any follow-up plans with this?

My son gets profuse nosebleeds once in a while, but it is once in a while. I had an otolaryngologist (eye, ear, nose and throat) scope out his sinuses and he said he just has very thin mucous membranes in areas and it's very delicate tissue, so allergy season could bring it on, high stress, dry heat, etc. He suggested that if it continues to be a problem they would cauterize the tissue surrounding the veins he can see close to the surface of the tissue in an attempt to actually build up some scar tissue to surround and protect the vein and help stem further rupture.

But I don't know what your specific situation is.

Don't forget to rehydrate and re-electrolyze - OFTEN!

 

[oldnewbie]

Do you have high blood pressure? Taking any meds that would thin your blood, or stop it from clotting? Severe Allergies?


Sounds like a real problem... don't wait to get it checked out.

 

[OUMoose]

Do you have Visions of the future when this happens? Perhaps things start moving about on their own or burst into flames? Have you made anyone's head explode?

 

[Gary Crawford]

This was a first for me.Yes I do have high blood pressure wich is usually well controled by medication,my BP did get unusually high during this episode 166/98,but the med I take is a beta blocker so it doesn't effect my clotting abilty,I've got an apointment to see my regular physician to see about adjusting or changing my med.

 

[Flatlander]

Best of luck to you Gary. Sounds like a bloody nightmare!

 

[Gary Crawford]

It's cool! I got it under control.I'm just glad it's over! It scared the crap out of me at the time!

 

[shesulsa]

If I may suggest, you might want to consult a cardiologist about your blood pressure medication - no disrespect to your regular G.P. but they might be more familiar with side effects and contraindications.

FWIW

 

[Gary Crawford]

Thanks for the advice,but my personal physician is not a G.P.,he is an Internal Medicine Specialist who is highly recomended.In fact I was referred to him by Dr. Gabe Mirkin.If you haven't heard of him...www.drmirkin.com

 

[shesulsa]

My bad.

 

[Zepp]

My nose has always been an easy bleeder, especially in the winter time for some reason. When I was in my teens it bled so frequently that I went to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist to have the exposed blood vessels in my nose cauterized (twice). It's a short term solution you might wanna look into if this happens again.

Glad you're ok Gary, and I hope it stays that way.

 

[Gary Crawford]

Shesulsa,not your bad,I appreciate your concern,yours and eveyone elses!