Guest guest Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 I guess I didn't make myself clear about where the blood is coming from. It is coming from his bowels. At this point he has received about 6 units of blood. I found out today that when he went in with the pneumonia they gave him blood thinner to keep from getting blood clots. That was the admitting doctor. They even gave him an injection in his stomach shortly before his colonoscopy with blood thinner!!!!! I was not there at the time or I would have asked what they were doing. Today his liver doctor did the colonoscopy and while they were doing the scope a nurse came to get me to sign the release for them to go into his stomach as well. They found that the lining of his stomach and colon are in such poor shape that with his blood so thin it was seeping. His colon was full of blood. The only thing they can do is give him medicine to thicken his blood and continue to give him blood. The doctor said that he has about 60% of the blood in his body that he is suppose to have. He said my husband is very sick. We will wait and watch. ---- abijann <no_reply > wrote: > I am quite concerned since he is losing soooo much blood. Alcohol > thins the blood, if he is still drinking it...this is not good. > > Aspirin and other blood thinning medication (Warfarin, Coumadin, > Heparin) can also thin the blood...when we talk about thinning the > blood, it means it doesn't clot as well. There are a number of > things that " MAY " be happening. The first one is that his platelet > counts have dropped down and his clotting times have become > prolonged. (cirrhosis itself causes a drop in platelets because > it doesn't make the clotting factors to cause the blood to > clot very well anymore). In other words, if he is not clotting well, > he will probably need replacement platelets, through a IV transfusion > to help him along. > > I'm not understanding the colonoscopy procedure being > done if the blood is from the urinary tract. > > Another thing that may be happening is that he has a kidney infection > or his kidney is being damaged. Kidney damage can cause blood > in the urine....but I never heard of this much. Some medications > can go toxic in the blood and cause damage to the kidneys. > > The third thing I can think of is a urinary tract infection, where > the bladder is irritated and they feel like they have to go to the > bathroom all the time and then, when there isn't any fluid left > in the bladder, the urgency to go is still there, and the capillaries > inside the bladder break open and bleed. This bladder irritation > can also come from having a foley catheter inside the bladder > for extented periods of time. > > It surprises me that they are doing this colonoscopy unless the blood > is coming from the intestines. Colonoscopy require a medication to > be taken which will cause him to completely clean out the intestinal > tract of any matter inside...he will lose fluid and need to > be on an IV drip to see that the fluid levels in his body > do not go too low. [ Fluid and electrolyte levels in the body > are very important to watch when someone is bleeding...if you > have ever given blood, you know that they provide cookies and > sweet drinks afterwards to keep people from becoming faint ] > People who have hemorrhoids in the intestinal track can bleed alot > from the rectum. It is like a varicose vein that is open and blood > can pass into the toilet when they have a bowel movement. > > This is all I can tell you. Please let us know how he is doing > and what they find out. Since he is in the hospital, he should > be monitored closely with whatever they do. If they know he > is bleeding too much, they will probably see that the blood > products he needs will be replaced before they do anything > that will put his life in danger. > > If a nurse told you this, I would check with his doctor and > see what he says and what they are doing to be sure he is > okay when doing the colonoscopy. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I went back and read some of the posts from the last few months. I cried. (The loss of my wife is still painful for me.) And I know how you must feel. I'm sure with all that is going on, it may be days before you read this, but I hope, you continue to find friends here. In time you may want to share, if so...I'm here. MaC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.