Need a virtual hand hold , husband vomiting blood

[Justmeeeindie]

Still frazzled so sorry if this is all over the place husband has been constipated for around 10 days doing usual things laxative tons of water lots of fibre , he went to a&e at my insistence on Tuesday early hours as he was awake all night crying in pain, I’ve never seen him in as much pain and vomiting profusely
he went to a&e waited 4 hours to be basically fobbed off , they felt his stomach said it was just constipation told him to continue laxatives at home .

today he woke up around 11 in agony he vomited it was dark like coffee which in retrospect should have been warning sign anyways he tried to get back to sleep then shouted me not much later from bathroom , he was vomiting loads of bright red blood (no exaggeration there was a lot) and passing in and out of consciousness eyes rolling the lot , he passed out atleast 8 times whilst I was on phone to the ambulance , he peed himself at one point .

I was terrified I’m still shaking ambulance came pretty fast(20mins ) but he’s been waiting in ambulances at a&e for over 2 hours now .

I'm stuck at home with the kids , there off school (hand foot and mouth ) thanks to the two year old .
I don’t know what to do right now , I genuinely though he was dying , he kept saying he was and I had to calm him down telling him he will be fine all the while thinking he was actually dying .

no idea yet what’s actually wrong but I’m thinking bowel blockage (which I suspected on Tuesday hence making him go to a&e) or ulcer .

don’t know purpose of this post just need to let it out , the waiting on update is torture .

Hi OP. Thinking if you all, that sounds very scary. Is there anyone that can watch your children while you go and wait with him?

Waiting on my eldest getting back from college to sit with them .

Oh wow, that is a lot for you especially as you can't be with him. As PP has suggested, I hope you can get someone to sit with your DC so you can go to the hospital.
Good Luck

That's good. Your poor husband, it's very worrying but he's absolutely in the right place for help now. Is he well enough to text/call you to keep you updated?

Sending hand holds and love ❤️

Oh my goodness your poor husband. You must be terrified and yes, I can understand why you thought he was dying. Hopefully, the paramedics can keep him stabilised, until he's seen in A&E. I suspect you are probably correct, a blocked or twisted bowel - he will require immediate surgery if it is. Do you have anyone close by, family or a friend, who can look after the children, so you can go to the hospital? Or someone who can go to the hospital for you? Sending you a hug ❤️

That must have been very frightening for you both, I hope they xcn find the cause and stop the bleeding soon. Are the paramedics keeping you updated, can you speak to them or your husband.

My mum vomited what the doctor called coffee grounds, very dark blood, but she was dehydrated and hadn’t eaten for a while. It is related to the stomach so was not her bowels, in your husbands case it could be an ulcer I guess.

I hope that you manage to get to the hospital soon, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to remain at home after seeing your husband so ill.

i have tried calling couple of times paramedics have answered told he’s ok just tired and sleeping he’s not vomiting anymore thankfully 🤞🏻 .
Just hoping he gets in soon they ca find out the cause .

I keep replaying the event over and over at one point the call operator asked me if I could access a defibrillator and if not she would talk me through cpr if needed as soon as she said that my stomach sank , she was great though very reassuring , never been this scared in my life , kids thankfully weren't fully aware of what was happening , they know situation but thankfully didn’t see how bad it was.

Sorry to hear about this, OP. It does sound a bit like bowel blockage or an ulcer - I hope something gets sorted out quickly, but it may need you to be there with him to push the medics.

Have you got neighbours who could look after the children till your oldest gets back? Does he or she know they need to get back quickly?

Just called again to check and he’s still in ambulance that’s been nearly 3 hours since they got to the hospital .
And yes I think your right , he’s too weak to push anything .

she’s aware of situation but she’s autistic (perfectly capable to watch them ) but she’s not grasping the urgency iykwim . College is around hour and half away and she’s apparently on way home so hopefully not much longer .
I contemplated neighbours but only ones in are very elderly (95 year old one one side and couple in 80s other side and he has dementia ) I’d be concerned about passing on hand foot and mouth too them too 🤯.
My Parents live ten mins away but typically they are on holiday till Monday .
il get some stuff ready for him and head up as soon as daughters back

Oh god, you poor thing. What an awful, awful experience you've had. It's horrendous having to go through that kind of thing with a loved one.

There are so many different things that can cause those sorts of symptoms and the chances are it will turn out to be something that can be relatively easily dealt with, but I know how horrible it is when you're just sitting there waiting for answers. Sending all my best wishes.

Hand hold here Op, I went through the same with my Mum - it was so traumatic and the smell will never leave me after all of these years, I hope you get to be with him soon 🙁

He’s finally in after 4 hours waiting .

And already they are wanting to discharge him im fuming , they told him if blood tests are ok they will discharge him .

They haven’t even done anything else 🤯🤯 this is madness.

That would make me so angry, OP.

Do you think he might have a stomach ulcer?

What have they tested his blood for? Surely they need to establish what happened, the cause of the vomiting blood and make sure he can now pass urine and stools normally?

Sending supportive thoughts.

Surely they’d want to be confident they know what’s wrong and that it’s not going to happen again?

I’m surprised they aren’t at least doing some sort of scan or physical exam, not just bloods.

He needs a scan and endoscopy. Pretty normal to be discharged and come back for an endoscopy but I'd expect a scan to be done whilst he's in. If he's discharged, it's worth going to GP and see if they'll admit him through SDEC or SAU rather than a and e.

They are thinking it’s an ulcer but can’t put camera down incase it makes him vomit 🤯.

No scans been done , he seen dr that treated him on Tuesday and he apologised . But seems like he’s getting fobbed off again he’s not been admitted to ward he’s in a&e recieving so I can’t visit yet 😭.

Woudl an ulcer have him in and out of consciousness, and if so, how can they discharge him without a plan to avoid intermittent unconsciousness?

I wouldn’t have connected the two 🤯.
Im genuinely scared for him to come home , I can’t go through that situation again .

Here is a guidline of treatments/Investigations. Do you have anyone who can advocate for him
⚠️ 1. Initial Assessment

• A → Airway, B → Breathing, C → Circulation
• Vital signs: Check for hypotension, tachycardia, fever
• Assess for complications:
• Bleeding: Hematemesis, melena, hematochezia, low Hb
• Perforation: Sudden severe pain, rigid abdomen, free air on X-ray
• Obstruction: Vomiting, distension, inability to tolerate oral intake

🩸 2. Investigations

• Blood tests:
• Full blood count (Hb, WBC)
• Urea, electrolytes, creatinine
• Liver function tests
• Group and cross-match (if bleeding suspected)
• Amylase/lipase (if perforation or pancreatitis suspected)
• Stool test: For occult blood or H. pylori antigen (if stable)
• Imaging:
• Erect chest X-ray (for free air → perforation)
• Abdominal ultrasound or CT (if diagnosis uncertain)
• Endoscopy: Usually done after stabilization, for diagnosis and possible therapy (bleeding control, biopsy).

💊 3. Acute Treatment (in the ED) If unstable or bleeding:

• IV access ×2, large bore
• Fluid resuscitation: Normal saline or Ringer’s lactate
• Blood transfusion if Hb <7 g/dL (or <9 if cardiac disease)
• IV proton pump inhibitor (PPI):
• Omeprazole 80 mg IV bolus, then 8 mg/hour infusion
• NPO (nil per os) – no oral intake
• NG tube if vomiting or upper GI bleeding
• Call gastroenterology or surgery urgently for possible endoscopy or intervention

If stable, no bleeding or perforation:

• Oral or IV PPI: Omeprazole, pantoprazole, or esomeprazole
• Pain control: Avoid NSAIDs and opioids if possible
• Test for Helicobacter pylori
• If positive → Triple therapy:
• PPI (e.g. omeprazole 20 mg BID)
• Clarithromycin 500 mg BID
• Amoxicillin 1 g BID (or metronidazole if penicillin allergy)
• For 14 days
• Avoid irritants: NSAIDs, alcohol, smoking, spicy foods

🏥 4. Admission vs. Discharge

• Admit if:
• Active bleeding
• Hemodynamic instability
• Perforation or obstruction
• Severe pain or vomiting
• Elderly or comorbid patients
• Discharge with outpatient follow-up if:
• Stable
• No red flags
• Can tolerate oral meds and fluids
• Given H. pylori test and PPI prescription

🧠 5. Follow-up

• Review in 2–4 weeks
• Repeat endoscopy if:
• Ulcer was gastric (to rule out malignancy)
• Symptoms persist
• Ensure eradication of H. pylori confirmed by breath or stool test (after 4 weeks off PPI)

Sending hugs. What do they think the blood/coffee grounds in the vomit was? You can get a minor oesophageal tear from vomiting which can make you vomit blood, but that’s usually a diagnosis of exclusion/seen on endoscopy.

Sounds like he needs to see a specialist but whether it’s an emergency or to be done via gp depends on whether he’s stable or not, if an ulcer they can prescribe treatment but he won’t necessarily be admitted unless active bleeding, they should refer back to gp if discharging so they can arrange an endoscopy. My dad was vomiting blood and it was only an ulcer which was easily treated, he was pretty woozy but he doesn’t deal with pain or blood well, his endoscopy wasn’t in a&e it was about 2 weeks later (I presume 2 week pathway basically)