Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.

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I need some help from the ladies please..!!

JennaviveBebelicious
JennaviveBebelicious
Hi everyone.. A bit of a gross subject matter here but I am massively in need of advice..! I've seen posts about periods on Warfarin but I've got a bit of a specific queary.

Basically, I've just had my first period post warfarin start yesterday.. and it is HARSH!! Heavier than anything I have experienced in the past! I was on BC before my PE and so my periods were light/non existant for the longest time.. making these last two days quite difficult to get to grips with!

If I wasn't doing anything at the moment I wouldn't mind, would just stay curled up watching films making hourly trips to the loo.. but on sunday and monday I am going away. I'm off to london to sightsee and watch a band. My boyfriend says that If I'm that bad is there really any point in going, but this PE has taken so much of my life off me the last month I refuse to let it take away something I have been looking forward to for so long!

Does anyone have any advice or stories about going away or holidaying whilst on such heavy periods..? Any advice you can give my would be greatly appreciated.. I'd love to know how you have all coped with being away from home with it! Its all a bit Raaaaaaaarrr at the moment..!! I'm finally starting to feel 'normal' ish after me PE and now this hits me!
RetiredNavy02
RetiredNavy02
Okay, I'm a guy but I'm wiling to contribute in what little way I can. Here is a link which has some good info:

http://fvleiden.org/ask/88.html

This information comes from one of the leading blood clot specialists here in the U.S. and one of the biggest advocates I know for our patient community.
deleted_user
deleted_user
this is an old 'trick" but it does work. you know how, when you have cramps..a heating pad feels soooo good...okay..so here is the trick...place an ice bag on the belly where the uterus is...it stences the flow of blood. give it a try you will be surprised. oh and 20 mins. on 20 mins. off.
hope this helps.
things do get better..stay on this site..these people here are the BEST.
blessings,
becky
deleted_user
deleted_user
You need to see a doctor about these heavy periods. I ended up with iron deficiency and others on this site have too. It can result in the need for a blood transfusion. I thought it was merely inconvenient too at first. The hospital said that more than 6 full pads a day meant a trip to the women's hospital for me and I was already taking iron tablets.The short term solution was for me to take Provera which is an HRT that supresses your periods. Long term, I now have a Mirena which is a progesterone only, IUD. The progesterone is only released into the uterus, not the blood stream like oral HRTs so the clotting risk is less. I have lighter periods than I had before warfarin and they will gradually disappear. I am putting up with daily spotting which will last a while, but it beats any of the alternatives. You will not feel normal for long if you go on like this. Haemoglobin levels below 100 are symptomatic and resemble the symptoms of a PE. You will only know the difference in that you will be SOB on exertion with anaemia but even when resting with a PE!
lakotajo2
lakotajo2
Being a younger woman on Warfarin is NO fun. My dr said that since I was already on Warfarin and theraputic that I could take BC to stop my period rather than risking a dangerous bleed. I took 3 pills the first 3 days, 2 pills the next 3 and 1 for three days. While it isn't a long term solution it can work short term. Good luck, I know how hard it is.
Jo
LauraLu
LauraLu
For me it's just really obnoxiously heavy the first day, but tapers off. Hopefully by Sunday you'll be good to go, otherwise try a tampon + pad for extra protection. If you're still experiencing a super heavy flow by Sunday, make an appointment with your doc. Like Bickie said, there may be other options for you, but you don't want to risk anemia from heavy monthly bleeding.
Still, don't let it blow your day on Sunday.
rmb
rmb
Yeah, I was on BC pills before the PE and would have my period for one day and it was very light. It was like that for 20 plus years. Now, I have it for 7-10 days and the second and third day are usually the worst, but then it's ok. I'm on a copper IUD so that makes your periods heavier.

Personally, there's no way in hell I'd let my period stop me from doing anything and I don't care how heavy it is or how crappy I feel. Oh, hell no. You pack a ton of tampons, where a sanitary napkin incase of leaks and you have fun. Does your boyfriend have his period, because why is he getting all pouty about it??

And I agree, if it stays heavy see your doc.
JennaviveBebelicious
JennaviveBebelicious
Thanks for your advice guys... I think I'm gonna wing it on sunday and see what happens.. maybe buy some handbag sized wet wipes to make me feel a bit better each time I need a loo trip..! Gonna be an interesting day! So far I've been to the loo about 3 times since waking up 5 hours ago..!!

I use a Mooncup rather than tampons and usually it holds more liquid than a tampon.. but still everythings seeping through within 2 hours max..!

Gonna have to buy super super plus everything and have the most menstrually prepared handbag in all of london!! :P

@Rmb, My other half was just meaning that he didn't want me to be worrying about this and in pain all day so he suggested not going as an option (an option he'd much rather not do given he's as psyched about this band as I am.. :P) So he was just trying to offer not going up as a suggestion just in case I felt really off about it and didn't want to say is it ok if we don't go.
rmb
rmb
I didn't mean to be hard on your guy. Actually that was sweet that he was concerned. My loving spouse would tell me to suck it up and quit complaining!
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