I've got some medical issues, and I'm on coumadin (a blood thinner), but I've never been prone to nose bleeds. That is until Monday night. I was in the emergency room for a nosebleed that litterally poured for an hour. And I've had 2 since then. It has me really scared that there may be something seriously wrong with me. I can't see my Doctor til Monday afternoon, but whats kind of scaring me is thinking it could happen while I'm sleeping. Today I had to apply pressure to both sides of my nose for an hour before it stopped. If it happens while I'm asleep, will it stop on it's own? Okay... somebody tell me it's probably nothing because I'm honestly a little scared right now.

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Marsha,
I'm no medical expert, but maybe its a good idea to call your Dr's office and have him paged. This sounds like something he/she would want to know about. At least he/she can direct you on what to do, even if it's to go back to the ER for treatment when it starts up again.

He's on vacation til Monday. I already called.

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If it happens while you are sleeping, I would think you would wake up because it would drip like post nasal.

My DH is on a blood thinner as well and in the winter he gets lots of nose bleeds because it's so dry. Put a humidifier on, boil some water and get some saline for your nose, all of that will help.

It's not a big deal and it really just looks like a lot of blood. You'll have trouble clotting too I believe that's why it lasts so long. Correct me if I'm wrong about that someone?

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nosebleeds were very common with my father. He was on coumadin for heart disease... he never had them before taking them. did you check your effects of the drug.. nosebleeds should be on there.

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also wanted too add to put some vaseline up there to help clot

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Thanks you guys, you're definitely making me feel better. I just figured since I'd been on coumadin for around 4 years already, it would have happened before. But... it has been awfully dry here, I've noticed that. But I didn't think of it as a cause until flipper mentioned it. I think we'll get a humidifier this weekend.

Does anyone know if a headache is normal after the bleeding finally stops?

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my grandpa was on the same meds and had the same problem with nosebleeds. He also would bleed forever if he cut himself on the hand or something. A humidifer helped a bit

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I have never been on that medication, but I did have really bad nosebleeds, believe me an hour is nothing, I have had them for several hours at a time, requiring medical attention, etc. One time it lasted so long that I had to have my nose packed in the ER and wear bandages for a day or two until it stopped. I still get small nosebleeds ocasionally if the air is really dry in the house. Ice pack or cold cloth on the back of the neck helps it stop, also pressure across the top of the lip right under your nose. Don't ever tilt your head back for it, you can swallow it and then it can make you sick, either nauseated and/or throwing it back up.

Somebody should be covering his practice in case of emergency....no??

When you were in the ER did they check your PT/INR? (bloodwork) to make sure your coumadin level is ok?

One of my clients is on Coumadin, and last year she had terrible nosebleeds. The Dr. told her also to do the humidifier thing and use saline spray. Apparently the added moisture helped and she didn't have any nosebleeds this winter. You should avoid blowing your nose, as that could start it again.

Did they take a ProTime test when you were in the ER, or have you had one recently? They may need to adjust your Coumadin dosage. The Dr. may also ask if you have been eating differently lately. Foods that are high in Vitamin K - spinach, green (especially leafy) vegetables, and maybe alcohol - can affect the dosage you need to take. My client has her ProTime done once a month when her levels are stable, and as often as once per week, when they are out of whack.

If it bleeds in the middle of the night it will stop bleeding on its own. It could be from change in climates too. When I was little we went to florida (from PA) and I had terrible nose bleeds where I would wake up in the morning and their was blood covering the whole pillowcase and part of the bed. We actually came home a week early because my nose wouldn't stop bleeding and the doctors said I would have to have my nose packed for it and my dad wouldnt allow that (I guess it hurts)

Definately need to get your PT/INR checked as stated above. This is your bloods clotting factor. Your coumadin may need to be adjusted. I've been working in cardiology for 15 years. This is a common occurance with coumadin patients. If it continues or gets really bad make sure to have an H & H done to check your red blood cell count. If you bleed too much you could become anemic. It doesn't clot because of the coumaden and can take forever to clot with that med. As stated above also make sure your diet hasn't changed lately. That really affects your coumadin levels. You can do a google search for foods high in vitamin K (NOT potassium) and get a list of foods you should avoid while taking coumadin if you don't already know. The humidifier should help with the really dry nose that leads to the nosebleeds in the first place. I know if they are really bad, they can cauterize the vessel that is bleeding. Good luck through the weekend. If it gets bad again, go to the ER.

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My Mom she take coumadin a blood thinner for her heart so it can help the blood to flow though .When she have major operation she have to stop taking the coumadin aleast 7 days before the operation .she would bleed to much.I hope all is well with you.Please keep us up-dated

My DH is on this med because he has a pacer and for some reason he gets clots around it.

He has not had a problem with nosebleeds, however, and he has been on it for about 6 years. It's probably because it's so dry out though, like everyone else has said.


And I agree with the other poster. There should be someone there to cover your doctor until he gets back from vacation. They usually don't like to page them though because they sometimes get yelled at for it

His partner... I don't like him, and I don't trust him.

That's the first thing they did. It was 2.2 so it's right where it should be.

I've had a cold, so I've been sneezing and having to blow my nose a lot. That may have contributed. I got the saline spray. Also, we have a humidifier, it's old but I'm gonna see if I can figure out how it works because we didn't have it in the budget to buy a new one today. I try not to go too extreme with green vegetables, usually one serving a day, because I know it can affect the medication. I so rarely drink... and there's been no occasion to recently. I was due to have my level checked in a month because it was stable last time.

After watching how my dog reacts, I really believe if it happens during the night he will wake me up. As for the climate, we've lived in Missouri for over 2 years now. It's been the first winter staying in the basement, I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone for your replies to this thread. I was really sort of in a panic when I wrote it, and you've all managed to make me feel a lot better. Thank you so much!

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When you talk to your dr on monday ask him if the does need to be adjusted ? Also ask him, should you avoids some foods ( Ex; cranberry juice or eating cranberry products ) they can affect how ( Coumadin )warfarin works in your blood and may affect your treatment and dose.
Also the saline spray maybe the cause, or the reason, be sure to discuss this with your dr monday.

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The dose is fine. It was just adjusted a couple of weeks ago and tested at 2.2 in the emergency room. So it's good. I haven't had cranberry juice in probably at least a year. I only ever drink it if I get an infection or something. I'm also aware of the affects of too many green vegetables on the medication level, so I try to limit those to a cup a day. I didn't use the saline spray until after the nosebleeds. Mostly because the inside of my nose just felt so yucky at that point I had to do something. I have thought that it may be contributing to the bleeding, so I'm trying to only use that when I can't stand it anymore. I have to use the medication they gave me in the hospital, its not a spray... it goes in with a dropper. It's supposed to stop the bleeding. My appointment is tomorrow at 4:30. I just hope they don't actually have to cauterize (sp?) like they talked about in the ER.

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2.2 is great on INR.. my thoughts are you are just having some nosebleeds due to how dry it is.. and with any cut since you are on the big C you are going to bleed worse. Don't panic.. use the humidifer and saline spray.. and it will be ok...

Well, I went to the doctor yesterday. He seemed surprised that the ER hadn't done more to treat me. His first question was "why didn't they cauterize (sp?)". He said putting neo-synephrine in there and sending me home is not how he would have handled that. Anyway, what happened was the change in the weather totally dried out my nose and caused damage to one spot on the right side. It's that one spot that is the cause of all the bleeding. He said it's not nearly as bad as the coumadin is making it. So, I have to sleep with a humidifier on, I have to use those Breathe Right strips on my nose, and I have to put neosporin in there on the spot that bleeds. The really good news is, I haven't had a nosebleed in about 30 hours. I'm relieved it was basically nothing.

Thanks again for all the support in this thread. I've been really scared this week, and I appreciated having somewhere just to talk about it.

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