AIBU to claim Mumsnet saved my life this week?

[Ruralbliss]

So I remembered reading live threads where the OP was bleeding heavily (menstrual) and was enquiring what to do and the general MN collective was "Call an ambulance NOW" and the following day the OP said "Blimey good job you told me to get seen as became a life threaten situation and hospital staff fixed me!"

This week the exact same thing happened to me - I had trusty Mirena removed mid-June then after three weeks of very heavy bright red bleeding on Monday the flow became unmanageable, heavy cramps etc
I saw my GP at 10am as an emergency who prescribed Tranexamic acid to cease the bleeding but by 4pm I was changing super plus tampon and pad EVERY 5 MINS but felt confident that surely the meds would work

When I could no longer manage the flow at all and just sat on the loo like a scene from a horror film passing huge clots as well as blood I remembered MN wisdoms and called 111 to see how much blood I could loose before becoming a worry.
I was already worried but when they said I needed an ambulance ASAP and it arrived within minutes I knew I'd done the right thing.

I was minutes from losing consciousness and almost certainly have ebbed away on my own as kids were staying at their dads.

Thanks to MN I went against my own warped logic of better to keep stiff upper British lip than bother anyone and thankfully this saved my life.

The cause still unknown but gynae and I both think a perfect storm of Mirena magic being removed and wonky perimenopausal hormones not remembering which off switch to flick.

Thanks Mumsnet I don't think I'm BU to suggest precious threads informed me and help to save my skin

Hi Rural yes I remember reading that thread and it had stuck in my mind.

I'm so glad that you are ok, must have been really frightening for you. Sounds like you were really brave.

Glad your OK op..

Glad your ok OP and I hope I never have to use this advise but am making a mental note

Wow. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

That's weird, a few of us have had it recently. The one you mentioned wasn't my thread but I was hospitalised as well recently when it suddenly exploded.

Glad you've been seen to and are on the mend :)

We'll have to all wave at each other from our hospital beds!

Glad you’re been looked after & wishing you a speedy recovery op.

Glad you got help op.

I had similar happen to me but my uterus was perforated. It does happen sometimes with coils.
Did they check you for infection as well?

Hope you're feeling better

I'm glad you are Ok now. Hope they are following up with tests and e.g. ultrasound to check Mirena hasn't caused any damage or something being removed.

Glad you're ok, I also experienced very severe bleeding for a several days, and it got to the point where I was getting breathless walking upstairs.

I ended up collapsing with the husband calling 999. I then needed several blood transfusions to sort it all out over a number of days (I kept bleeding!).

So yes, please take heed. Severe bleeding is not to be messed with and is life threatening!

Oh my God. I had no idea that could happen.
I have always heard that the Mirena coil was fuss free and dependable. Can they shift about as well?
Glad you took care of yourself. What a horrible experience for you.

Glad you’re ok, OP. I remember that thread and I remember a poster scathingly telling the OP not to waste precious resources calling an ambulance for a heavy period. I led the OP had listened to that person she would have haemorrhaged to death. If she had attempted to drive herself, she would no doubt have caused a potentially terrible accident. It’s why I really worry about the people who overstate the virtue of never calling an ambulance or bothering the hospital or froth and bluster about idiots calling 999 unnecessarily. Yes, someone who calls the emergency services for hiccups is a dangerous fool, but it’s equally dangerous to discourage people from seeking help - in so glad that you and the previous poster called an ambulance and were safe.

I really do love MN and spend far too much time on here

I was just thinking earlier today too that being about to name change means I can contribute but remain properly anonymous (I'm not famous!)

Glad you're on the mend @Ruralbliss

This is putting me right off the coil!

Glad you’re ok op.

I remember that thread. I’ve learnt so much from MN too.

Glad you’re ok

I can’t remember the exact thread. However not coil related but huge fibroids. My ds was with his dad and I was at my parents. I bled hugely over 48 hours. ( about 30 satsuma sized clots) .
My dad called an ambulance. My veins had collapsed.
My haemoglobin was 49; should normally be between 120 & 150.
I had 4 pints of blood transfused. Apparently a HB of 40 is “ not compatible with life”.
So I was half a bag of blood away from dying. Sobering.

Blimey! Glad you're ok OP.

Thank goodness you're ok. If we were losing that much blood from anywhere else there'd be no question of seeking help but because it's wimmins ishoos some people think we should quietly sit in a corner and bleed to death

Hope you get sorted long term OP.

Even as I read the title of your post I had a flashback to those other posts (I think there was more than one).

Glad you're ok, OP.

For anyone who hasn't a clue what we're talking about, we've had posters (in the last year or two?) who have described having extremely heavy vaginal bleeding which they assumed was 'just' over-active menstrual bleeding but in fact turned out to be 'actual' blood haemorrhaging out of their body. Without hospital intervention they would have continued to lose blood, with potentially fatal consequences.

It's a sobering thought to realise just how dangerous on occasions our biology can be to us. Well done OP for being assertive and putting yourself first!

Are you talking about my thread when I had Sepsis? It was a while ago now but I'd been bleeding all day and it got so heavy I was bleeding through a tampon and double pad ever 30 mins. Mumsnet actually did save my life that day as it did yours. I had to have the thread removed because it got picked up by the Daily Mirror. here

I'm so glad you called for help OP, having been in your situation I know the temptation to just not bother about it all too well! Well done and dont be afraid to ask for psychological help afterwards too, it's a horrific experience and you may struggle with it.

For anyone still wondering, I'm absolutely fine! I had to have some counselling for PTSD because I couldnt get over the fact that if I hadnt started the thread and had just gone to bed as planned, I'd have bled to death in my sleep. I'm ok with it now, the what if isn't as scary and I'm getting there slowly.

Sorry to hijack OP and get well soon

Wow.

Glad you are ok now

Some of these stories are sobering. Women’s health is so far down the agenda and we aren’t even taught how our bodies even work. Gynaecology as a branch of medicine is not taken seriously enough.

The gp sending you away with some tranexamic acid was terribly irresponsible. It appears even they don’t understand how your body works. Women bleeding profusely and wondering whether to call 999. Yes is the answer.

We are taught that period blood is a finite ie the thickened lining, which is fully contained within our uterus at the time of menstruation and sloughs off every approx 28 days.

However this is wrong. Blood continues to enter the uterus via arteries and blood vessels during menstruation. Uterine contractions start the process of sloughing off uterine lining. However these contractions also stem the blood flow to the uterus and end the period. If the uterus cannot contract properly for some reason it struggles with this process.

Therefore if the blood flow doesn’t stop or gets too fast for the woman to replace the blood, women are literally bleeding to death through their uterus.

Our body is programmed to break down clots from menstrual bleeding so in some ways our body doesn’t help itself from bleeding to death.

We only get clots when the body cannot handle the amount of much blood the uterus is pumping out. Tranexamic acid works the opposite way by stopping the body from breaking down blood clots thus stemming blood flow.

Gosh, you must have been so frightened. I'm so glad you are feeling better now and thank god you got help when you did x