Posterior Nosebleed - You DON'T Want One...

[ekpolk]

 Originally Posted By: JHZR2

Yuck! . . . but braveness, inconvenience, etc. makes one think twice - it has for me in the past. Glad the wife made you go. So, I suppose that the ER really only cares about causing it to stop, right? Did they give you any indication of how/why it started? I suppose the ENT doctor will look around and verify this, but was there some notable, understood cause, say high BP with an anneurysm or something similar that is the compelling reason? I assume you are sleeping propped up so as to not choke on any clots that may still be in there?

Oops, forgot to answer this... Yes, mega yuck factor -- especially now that I've been trying to get my car cleaned up. I tossed the shorts and shirt I was wearing into the washer by themselves, cold water only. Within a minute, the water swishing against the glass looked like cranberry juice. ER folks were great (Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola). But you're right, they just stopped it and left cause questions for the ENT. High BP seems to be a leading cause, but mine's normally low-normal. It did shoot up when the doc hammered the spike (called a "Rhino Rocket" as I've now learned) into my face. Sleeping -- ha! Coincidentally, we had just gotten a new puppy the day before. So I'm just sort of propping up on the couch and waiting the two or three hours until she whines to go out again. Here she is, all pound-and-a-half or so... Wasn't going to be sleeping well anyway...

 

[ekpolk]

OK, back on topic now. This is what you look like with a "Rhino Rocket" jammed up your nose. Hard to describe the feel in words, but imagine that there's about three more feet you can't see, inflated firmly against every square millimeter of your nasal cavity. My nose is not nearly that wide in "real life". . .

 

[Gary Allan]

Hmmm..must be like that tracking thing that Cohagen had put in Quaid's upper nasal region. Was it as much fun getting it out? DaHammit der Cohagulation! Just let me breath in dah-air!

 

[ekpolk]

Gary: That's priceless. That face is how I felt when it went in. It's still there -- not good, but I'm not bleeding either. Tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., the ENT will decide whether to pull it or leave it. Can't hardly wait.

 

[Gary Allan]

Ooops ..I thought the extraction had already occurred. So much for timing I certainly hope that it's easier on the extraction than the insertion. Good luck

 

[addyguy]

BTW, your dog is the cutest thing I'm seen in a while!

 

[Pablo]

 Originally Posted By: addyguy

BTW, your dog is the cutest thing I'm seen in a while!

I skipped all the bloody parts and settled on the pooch pic.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

"...I was minding my own business..." never bodes well for me.

 

[Win]

That's really scary, glad you're OK. Thank goodness it happened on the ground.

 

[ekpolk]

This morning's appt with the ENT got pushed off to early afternoon. Just back. He decided to yank the thing out of my head. Not as bad as the miserable insertion, but still nothing you'd want to do on vacation. Imagine someone pulling a lawnmower starter rope -- all of it -- out of your nose. Never knew there was that much room up there. Wow. And then, it started bleeding again. What a nightmare. At least the doc managed to get it stopped quickly this time. Upside: I get a week at home on no-stress rest. Downside: I have too much going on at work to take a week off! The doc asked me for a detail of what I'd done in the hour or so before Saturday's blood-fest. That included buying a new Genie screw-drive garage door opener at Home Depot (lightning fried our last one...). Doc informs me that if I'm dumb enough to try to install it in the next week, the next instrument he'll use on me will feel like a screwdrive going straight into my sinus cavity. A nice thought.

 

[Tempest]

Glad you are feling better and hope all works out OK.

 

[opus1]

Wow. Glad things seem to have settled down. On the lighter side, a friend of mine told me once that bleeders get priority in the ER. He did sheetmetal work and tended to get cut now and then, and made it a point to not try to stop the bleeding and not be careful where he bled once he was in the doors in order to avoid the wait....

 

[Gary Allan]

 Quote:

Doc informs me that if I'm dumb enough to try to install it in the next week, the next instrument he'll use on me will feel like a screwdriver going straight into my sinus cavity.

I'd say he gave you his position on it in no uncertain terms. So, you get to screw off ...and there's nothing you can do about it. Look at the bright side, you have much more time for BITOG.

 

[ekpolk]

 Originally Posted By: opus1

Wow. Glad things seem to have settled down. On the lighter side, a friend of mine told me once that bleeders get priority in the ER. He did sheetmetal work and tended to get cut now and then, and made it a point to not try to stop the bleeding and not be careful where he bled once he was in the doors in order to avoid the wait....

Thanks. As for the latter thought, your friend is bravely creative... Trust me, if I'd had control of the blood-faucet, it would have been OFF long before I got to the ER. Come to think of it, it'd have been off before I splashed half of my car's interior with bright red. When I tried to fasten my belt today, I had to spray some WD-40 into the latch -- the blood in it was making the thing stick. Despite my cleaning efforts, it's everywhere in there. Yech. ========================================================

 Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

... Look at the bright side, you have much more time for BITOG.

Gee, why do you think I've been posting so much the last few days.

 

[farrarfan1]

Glad to hear you're doing well.That had to be scary, even for a tough, grizzled old Marine.

 

[ekpolk]

 Originally Posted By: farrarfan1

Glad to hear you're doing well.That had to be scary, even for a tough, grizzled old Marine.

Evening FF, nice to hear from you. Yes, no two ways about it, it was very scary. Over dinner tonight, my wife (who was with me for all but the time it took to park) informed me of two details I had missed in all the excitement. Sounds like I was much more "out of it" than I understood at the time. I missed them ordering two units of blood (in case they couldn't stop the flow, not used) and most ominously, a crash cart. I remember the cart being there outside the door when I left, but I never connected the dots and realized it was there for me. Kudos to my better half for staying cool despite hearing and seeing this.

 

[moribundman]

What are they going to do prevent the same thing from happening again? Are they going to ligate or cauterize the artery in question?

 

[ekpolk]

 Originally Posted By: moribundman

What are they going to do prevent the same thing from happening again? Are they going to ligate or cauterize the artery in question?

It's such a mess up there right now that the doc can't really see. There was so much blood trapped when the "Rhino Rocket" (they actually call it that, at least informally) was placed that -- well, you get the idea. It'll take a few days to clean out. I'll go back in about ten days for a follow-up exam, treatment plan, if any, after that. I have to "take it easy" in the meantime. I'm very much looking for some answers.

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, I hope that the clots aren't providing the tire patch. I imagine that you've provided your ENT specialist with something other than whining allergy suffers and broken nose fixes. Depending on the practitioner, he could welcome the exercise. That's why he's paid the big bucks.

 

[RacerE7773]

 Originally Posted By: XS650

EK, I wish you a speedy recovery. I was getting some really strange mental images of what a poterior Nosebleed might be until I read your explanation.

So was I.