Rammy's Ramblings

[greybeard]

@greybeard My Mom is a retired lab tech, so she is very familiar with the drugs he is on. She is the one who requested the coumadin instead of the Pradaxa they wanted to put him on.

Can't blame her. Coumadin has been around a long time and is generally safe...as long as you don't take too much. Warfarin was the old standby as a rat killer for years and years, killing by allowing blood to seep into the brain and generally causing other natural bleeding to not stop.
In all mammals, (and presumably other animals as well) the body develops minor hemorrhages constantly, particularly around the joints and the skin surface, but the blood quickly coagulates and the hemorrhaging ceases rather quickly. Warfarin, Xarelto and other anticoagulants interfere with this natural process and that's why you see so many elderly people with purple skin bruises. It's a tradeoff..relatively minor bleeding instead of having a potentially fatal or debilitating stroke. It is not unusual for healthy people's urinalysis to show very minute quantities of blood in their urine. It is usually not enough to be visible to us, but it's there.

He doesnt has any heart problems other than they found some fluid around his heart

Did your mom say why they put him on blood thinners if he doesn't have heart/circulatory problems?

I've done the pressure sock thing too, after they harvested the vein from my calf for a quad bypass, tho my cardiologist explained it was important to get the full length thigh high sock to keep the blood moving completely back up my leg and not just move out of my calf and pool farther up. (I had previous significant tissue damage in the same leg from a venomous snake bite a few years earlier, so I was more prone to blood pooling in that thigh, calf and foot)

I do hope your father does better on the coumadin and heals up fast.

 

[Rammy]

They put him on xerelto because of the blood clots in his legs. He is on the new meds now. He is hopefully going to do better on this. Guess we will see. Ordered him some stuff from arnicar for the bruising in his arms and legs. He has bandages on to keep him from bleeding more and scratching it. My brother is coming down to help in a few weeks. With his training as a nurse it will be a big help to my Mom.

 

[Baymule]

My husband takes Metaprolol (sp?) and he has what he calls "old man bruises" that he hates. If he uses the Arnicare on a new bruise, it fades away faster.

 

[Rammy]

If Dad would let me take a pic of his arns, you would think someone beat him or something. He is on the new stuff now and the bruising cream from that site you gave me is on its way. He keeps saying his body tells him different even though he is in remission. All we can do is keep him comfortable. Mom is doing her best but I know its taking its toll. I just keep hoping for one more day each day.

 

[Mike CHS]

Make him comfortable and let him do whatever he thinks he needs to do.

 

[greybeard]

My husband takes Metaprolol (sp?) and he has what he calls "old man bruises" that he hates. If he uses the Arnicare on a new bruise, it fades away faster.

Interesting..is he taking any blood thinners, including an aspirin?
Metaprolol is not a blood thinner. I was taking it until April 21. It's a beta blocker, usually prescribed for cardio patients to open arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, and reduce pain from angina, as well as reducing high blood pressure.
Easy bruising is not one of Metaprolol's known side effects.

Metoprolol is generally well tolerated. Side effects include

• abdominal cramps,
• diarrhea,
• constipation,
• fatigue,
• insomnia,
• nausea,
• depression,
• dreaming,
• memory loss,
• fever,
• impotence,
• lightheadedness,
• low blood pressure,
• cold extremities,
• sore throat, and
• shortness of breath or wheezing.

Possible serious adverse effects include

• slow heart rate,
• Raynaud's phenomenon,
• hepatitis, and
• increased insulin resistance.

Metoprolol can aggravate breathing difficulties in patients with asthma, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema.

Raynaud's phenomenon can cause skin discoloration but is almost always limited to extremites such as fingers and toes, with occassionally affecting a person's nose skin. I used to get it when it was really cold out, that's about the only time it happens. It's a temporary thing, as blood flow is cut off to that area, the skin turns real pale, the fingers/toes get cold, then as blood returns, the skin turns blue, and the skin feels hot. The discoloration goes away in anywhere from minutes to a couple of hours.
Here's what it looks like:

 

[Baymule]

No, he's not taking an aspirin. He didn't get these bruises until he started on the Metaprolol. He started on Metaprolol after his heart surgery.

 

[greybeard]

No, he's not taking an aspirin. He didn't get these bruises until he started on the Metaprolol. He started on Metaprolol after his heart surgery.

Lots of metoprolol questions and answers here.

 

[Baymule]

thanks!

 

[Rammy]

Hey @Bills Vs Beaks

Tee Hee!!