My father is 97,super alert, drives, and he and my mother live in their own home. Three years ago my dad had a pace maker installed( this was his first hospitalization!) and was placed on coumadin. He has a recent history of easy bleeding and wounds that do not heal easily. 4 weeks ago, he fell at home, opening a wound on his elbow, has been hospitalised for loss of blood(2 pints) and for the wound on the elbow. The wound gradually healed, but his whole arm became involved with swelling and another wound formed on his wrist. Things were looking so bad that there was talk of amputating his hand. He was placed in a rehab facility and his hand, arm, and elbow are almost healed. As part of this ongoing therapy, he has been taken off coumadin for the entire period. This makes sense to me, since I believe that he would be bleeding uncontrollably with these wounds. My dad is becoming very agitated that his coumadin is not being given to him and is making demands (he is a retired military man and used to giving orders) on the rehab staff to put him back on coumadin. My mom and I are trying to calm him down-- he is convinced that he will have a stroke without this med.My mom has been trying to contact his gp and his heart doc for clarification, but they tend to blow her off. What do you think?( He has been either in the hospital or rehab for this entire 4 week period)
Pam; Quite a dilemma! I think you should persevere in getting a well-informed opinion from your father's cardiologist. If, as I suspect, he/she recommends keeping off the coumadin and risking a thrombotic stroke (instead of risking a hemorrhagic stroke), get this in writing and carry it to your father. If resumption of coumadin is proposed, make sure the necessary monitoring tests are available at the rehab facility. Good luck!
My father is 93 and had been living in an apartment, aslo driving. He wemt into the hospital to have a procedure done on his back, and was put on cumiden, and went into rehab at a nursing home. He has become very confused and now is going into a nursing home for long term care. I think the cumadin has made him go down hill mentally.
Quite a dilemma! I think you should persevere in getting a well-informed opinion from your father's cardiologist. If, as I suspect, he/she recommends keeping off the coumadin and risking a thrombotic stroke (instead of risking a hemorrhagic stroke), get this in writing and carry it to your father. If resumption of coumadin is proposed, make sure the necessary monitoring tests are available at the rehab facility. Good luck!
My father is 93 and had been living in an apartment, aslo driving. He wemt into the hospital to have a procedure done on his back, and was put on cumiden, and went into rehab at a nursing home. He has become very confused and now is going into a nursing home for long term care. I think the cumadin has made him go down hill mentally.