Last Monday I had to take George to the ER. He began having pain in his lower right abdomen Saturday evening. It continued to get worse. I wanted to take him to the ER Sunday evening. "I'm not going to the ER." By Monday evening he had hard, swollen spot to the right of belly button. The pain had intensified.
So - conversation -"George get in the car I am taking you to the ER." "I am not going to the ER." "Pick one - option A you get in the car and I drive us to the ER - option B I call 911 and they carry you there." He got in the car.
Because he was post bariatric surgery there was no waiting around. Within an hour he had a contrast CT Scan. Good news - no problem with the sleeve - no twisting, no slipping and no leakage. Bad news - a large hematoma in his right abdomen.
The large ab muscles are incased in a membrane. The blood was collecting between the muscle and the membrane, putting pressure on both the muscle and the abdominal wall. There was no bleeding in the abdominal cavity.
Lots of blood and blood product infusions. Stopping the bleed (Dr. described as an ooze) was a problem because of the Coumadin.
We came home Saturday. George is on Lovenox shots 2 x daily. He sees his Cardiologist Thursday to come up with a plan to get back on Coumadin. Tricky business. Trying to thin his blood enough to avoid a clot in his artificial aortic valve but not start another bleed.
Good news - he starts eating pureed foods tomorrow
He is not in a huge amount of pain. Going from a seated position to standing and from standing to sitting is painful. Getting out of bed is tough. He is not on any narcotic pain meds. He is taking the maximum dose of Extra Strength Tylenol. Unfortunately he can not continue taking Tylenol for an extended period of time. Liver damage. Because of his blood thinners he can not take any other OTC pain meds.
We will have to deal with that later.
The prognosis is 4-5 weeks of a lot of pain. 10 - 12 weeks for the hematoma to be absorbed back into his body.
We are working through this one step at a time.
- ElizabethB
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I'm sorry to hear that. It is a problem with coumadin. You need it to thin the blood to prevent clots, but if you get sick or have surgery you have to weigh the risks of stopping it and possible having a stroke or knowing when to restart it to prevent a bleed somewhere. Not to mention the danger of falling down.
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- rainbowgardener
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- ElizabethB
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I forgot to update.
George is doing great.
His Dr; told him to expect weeks of intense pain from the hematoma.. Did not happen. He took Tylenol for a couple of weeks then nothing.
He is still on a strict diet but at least he can eat real food - soft but not pureed.
We have an appointment with our bariatric team on the 10th. His portions will increase and he will be able to add red meat to his diet. IF they don't bust him for not following his daily exercise routine.
George has been working from home and making day trips to call on clients. He is a Business Development rep for a major pipeline construction company. This week he made his first out of town trip.
Today he went fishing with one of his buds.
The lump of the hematoma is still visible but slowly decreasing in size. It will take several months for his body to fully absorb the coagulated blood.
Steady weight loss. 1 lb. per day average.
George has done the up and down weight loss thing with diets. He has clothes in multiple sizes. He is punching new holes in his belts and I will have to do some alterations this week.
All is good on the home front.
George is doing great.
His Dr; told him to expect weeks of intense pain from the hematoma.. Did not happen. He took Tylenol for a couple of weeks then nothing.
He is still on a strict diet but at least he can eat real food - soft but not pureed.
We have an appointment with our bariatric team on the 10th. His portions will increase and he will be able to add red meat to his diet. IF they don't bust him for not following his daily exercise routine.
George has been working from home and making day trips to call on clients. He is a Business Development rep for a major pipeline construction company. This week he made his first out of town trip.
Today he went fishing with one of his buds.
The lump of the hematoma is still visible but slowly decreasing in size. It will take several months for his body to fully absorb the coagulated blood.
Steady weight loss. 1 lb. per day average.
George has done the up and down weight loss thing with diets. He has clothes in multiple sizes. He is punching new holes in his belts and I will have to do some alterations this week.
All is good on the home front.