First Major APS complication

[MaineERnurse]

Actually it is a complication from the Coumadin. I shouldn't complain since I have been on coumadin for my APS since 1989 and this is my first complication. But this one scared the crap out of me!

I had a cardiac cath done because I was having chest pain. I was bridging back to coumadin and was on Lovenox. The cath came out fine. Four days later I was back at work when I had severe pain in the groin site and the area swelled up. Long story short, my femoral artery perforated and I had a pseudoaneurysm. With the coumadin on board, I bled out into my thigh. Needed many,many units of blood. Had emergency surgery to repair the artery.

I bled 7 liters of blood into my thigh. So much blood that the skin couldn't stretch any further and it opened up. I still have an open wound in my thigh from it (12 weeks later).

For the first time since 1989 I am kind of afraid to be on coumadin. :( I have never been so frightened in my life before. I know that without the coumadin I can throw a clot and die but now I realize that with the coumadin I can have a complication and possibly die. :eek: I hate APS.

Jackie

[Mountain Man]

Jackie -

I'm suprised they put you back to Warfarin as quickly as they did; but, boy, you had a horrible experience. Thankfully, you made it.

When I've been off Warfarin (for Lovenox for when I've needed surgery), they've waited several days after the procedure to put me back on Warfarin, saying thay the healing should be largely completed before you try Warfarin, due to the paradoxical reactions you can get starting/restarting the drug. Even if you've been on Warfarin for years, you apparently can get a paradoxical reaction when you restart it. I'm not sure that's what you had, but it sounds like a possibility - paradoxical Warfarin clotting in the artery caused increased pressure that led to the pseudoaneurysm...

Just one more thing for all of us APS vicitims to remember...

At least you're OK.
Mountain Man

[MaineERnurse]

Yes...I am okay....and for this I am very thankful.

I do believe it was a combination of the warfarin and the lovenox...and the fact that it took them a while to reverse the warfarin that impacted the severity of my reaction.

But...It is behind me and I am on the mend. I have a wound in my thigh that is still healing (there was so much blood in my thigh that the skin just gave away).

Jackie

[kaylish]

A frightening experience for you Jackie and I hope that your situation is still ok for you. I also have APS and would like to ask others to join in and contribute their side effects and problems from having APS.

[Eyzrbrn]

How very scary for you. I am glad you are doing better now. I too also had a serious bleed following bridging. I told my doctors it was too fast. :eek:

[Footprints]

That does sound really scary!

I have a possible complication, always wondered about it. I'm only on aspirin, though, so I don't know if it was the reason or not. I had to have a lumbar puncture to check for signs of MS. I was on the aspirin for APS. Supposedly, there weren't any side effects of the lumbar puncture....I went home right after. But for DAYS after that, I could barely move. Every time I stood up I felt like a jumbo jet was landing on my head, it hurt so bad. Luckily my MIL was here because I was in bed, in the dark, the whole time. Finally, the neuro said (duh) that I'd need a "blood patch" because "for some reason" the puncture spot had not sealed. I had to go in again for *another* similar procedure, but much more barbaric because not only did they have to take blood out of my arm and put it back into my spine, but they had to put it in a precise spot (can you say fishing expedition using an xray machine?!)