A change from Warfarin.....

[Lastec1]

I haven't posted for a long time but here is an update for those that might be interested:.

Dec 2014 I had Part 1 of the new Hybrid Ablation operation. ( inside of the heart ) . I had Part 2 in June 2015 ( outside of the heart ). I am happy to say that since then I have been AF free. I am a 68 yr old male who has been living a normal life since then with only one major blip?

In late September 2015 I was showing my grandson how to kick a rugby ball when not wearing the right footwear, slipped & banged my head on the grass, but thought nothing about it. I started to get slight headaches but not bad enough to take pain killers. After about 6 weeks I had to start taking Paracetamol to quell the pain especially before bed and I notice that if I shook my head it got worse. Early December I felt ill & almost travel sick & took to my bed. My wife blamed it on a diet I was taking ? That night I was so bad she called the out of hours doctor, who happened to be from Iraq & was a surgeon. He did some tests & advised I see a doctor 1st thing in the morning.

I couldn't raise myself out of my bed so asked doctor to call. They sent a young female doctor who after performing some tests said she would make a call & get back to me. Within an hour my wife took a call from her to say she had booked me in to have a brain scan immediately. She told my wife to get an ambulance straight away. As I only live a mile away from hospital, the ambulance staff told her that it would be quicker for her to drive me there & staff would be there to meet me........can you imagine what was going through my head, all thoughts of tumours & cancers etc. On arrival at A & E I was seen by a neurology consultant who took me for a scan.

I had to wait only a short time for him to tell me the result .... a brain bleed !! That had I left it any longer I would go to sleep & not wake up. By now as I had been on warfarin they told me they wouldn't risk the operation to release the bleed until they had reversed the warfarin effects but added that if push came to shove they would operate immediately anyway. The consultant stayed on duty just for me until he thought it was safe enough to operate. By this time al my 3 grown up children had arrived to confort me & my wife. Finally I was taken down for the op. A few hours later after recovery in ICU , I was taken back to the ward where my family were still waiting, to be given the news that everything was fine, the bleed had been flushed through leaving me with 2 holes in my scull which had been capped and closed over with staples. I felt instantly better & could wait to thank the consultant when he appeared with his team. I thank him profusely only to be told that it was 2 of his female colleagues who performed the operatio. They made nothing of it " we just drilled 2 holes & flushed the blood out and sealed you up again ????

I was told to stay off warfarin for 6 weeks which worried me a tad & when I went to see my GP who by now had received a report from the hospital. He said that the only reason I was prescribed warfarin was because it's cheap, and he was now going to put me on Rivaoxiban.

Conclusion: all is well with me and my wife & all my family have just returned from Christmas in Florida.

[jennydog]

Wow!!!

Very best wishes for a healthy 2017.

[BobD Volunteer]

A salutary tale if ever there was and a reminder that regardless of which or any anticoagulant we are on , ANY knock on the head especially if leading to pain or nausea be investigated as soon as possible. Glad you are now OK and thanks for sharing your tale.

[Hidden]

Amazing story, thanks for posting it. I've been put on Apixaban to reduce the risk of brain bleed so fingers crossed!!!!

[mrsg46]

Thank you for posting that very illuminating story, it certainly gives one pause for thought as although unusual it is obviously something all us warfarin users need to be aware of.

Very pleased to hear all is well now.

[jeanjeannie50]

Gosh what a story, thank you for telling it and making us aware! I'm so glad you are ok now . Good to hear also that your ablation was successful.

Jean

[Finvola]

Goodness - that was close! Thank you for reminding us that any bang on the head may potentially be dangerous. Glad you are well again and that the ablations worked so well.

[pottypete1]

Yes this is a very salutary tale.

I am on Warfarin and I have fallen twice and hit my head. I was in panic mode on both occasions for a while but luckily it was Ok. But it took a while for you to get a diagnosis didn't it.

I have mentioned before on this forum that I severed the artery in my hand last January and as it was on the "outside" they could see how much I was bleeding. It was a real drama for a number of hours in A & E.

So glad you are telling a tale with a good ending and we are not hearing about a worse case scenario.

Shows just how careful we must be.

Best wishes

Pete

[Lastec1 in reply to pottypete1]

Hi Pete, it was a slow bleed hence the time it took to get to the point where I needed pain killers. The alternative is a chronic bleed which wouldn't have such a good outcome. At first I was asked if I had a bang on the head & I said no because the fall was so insignificant but luckily my daughter had videod the fall & we all had a good laugh about it but they diagnosed from the scan that the slow bleed had started about 6 weeks prior to my admission so that fall was the conclusion? Easy done isn't it. So now I am very careful where I put my head ???

[pottypete1 in reply to Lastec1]

Goodness

I guessed it must have been very slow otherwise it would have given you even worse symptoms.

Well done to your daughter.

So pleased for you that all is well. We have a lot to thank our doctors for don't we.

Pete

[Hidden in reply to Lastec1]

Just after I was put on Warfarin, (in Jan. 16), I banged my head on a cupboard door and was so scared of the possible internal bleed that I went straight to my nearest A+E. I was apologising profusely for troubling them but the staff were insistent that I'd done the right thing - even though it turned out I was OK. Very glad you are OK now!

Pat.

[Plai]

So basically it seems the advice should be if you bang your head go and get checked out straight away but that a brain bleed doesn't kill you immediately. Also that the comment about apixaban being prescribed to reduce such a risk makes me feel better. Maybe I can still continue with my skating after all as that is the hardest thing for me trying to stay off the ice. I will go ahead and order my Crasche headband for protection. Sorry hijacked your post. I am so glad you are ok again now. Keep playing with the grandchildren. 😀

[Jamila123]

Hi

Oh how awful for u 🌺 So glad u feel better but i have a question?

When on warfarin and someone has a bleed

U can be given medicine to to reverse the warfarin bleed

However it was my understanding that Rivaoxiban drug if bleeding cannot be reversed there is no antidote

So if aomeone has a bleed thats it

Iam i right in this ? Just what i have read

Please keep well 🌺

[Lastec1 in reply to Jamila123]

Bob will help me out here I hope: the Dr told me that there is no antidote but rivaoxaban is only active for a shorter time than warfarin and therefore needs no antidote .

[Florence-Nightingale]

Lastec1

I can tell you that the effects of the new oral anticoagulant (NOACS) is 12 hours. Warfarin has the antidote of vitamin K. I myself chose to take Apixaban mainly to avoid all the blood testing that is required when taking Warfarin. According to recent research Apixaban is deemed as good as if not better than Warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke due to AF. I Hope this has been helpful to you.

[Ktomoph_]

This site is amazing! Your postings - complete with the awful things that have happened to you - have been an excellent learning curve.

I try to research as much info as possible to understand it all and be aware of the things to watch out for, but they are all in isolated circumstances.

Your experiences have put everything together as to what could possibly happen, including with the medication. Just thank goodness for your excellent backup team, your family.

I have had the first stage of the hybrid ablation and am awaiting the delayed second. I had understood that I would be drug free about 6 months after the second stage had healed. It appears that this may not be the case.

I am heartened and inspired to hear how your life is pretty much back to normal, apart from your fall causing problems. It has lifted my spirits!

Thankyou so much for posting your experiences.

[MummyLuv]

Wow, so glad you were ok, been reading posts tonight on hybrids and surgical ablation as having surgical next week and came across your old posts. How are you doing now? Hope you don’t mind me asking, was your left appendage stapled or clipped at the time of your hybrid, I’m just wondering why you were still on blood thinners, I am hoping the left appendage occlusion will mean not having to be on blood thinners anymore 🤞🤞🤞