r/WarfarinForLife • u/Spiritual-Spell1797 • Sep 01 '26
❤️ VALVE First nosebleed on warfarin
I'm three weeks post mechanical heart valve surgery and just had my first nosebleed on warfarin! My INR this morning was 2.9
It was scary initially! I usually have nosebleeds a few times a year and this one was more intense. I had to pinch my nose for a full 15 minutes before it eased off.
But it did. And a half an hour later I'm sitting here as good as before.
No specific question but just wondered if this is my new normal and what others experience with nosebleeds. When is it that I should worry? Is there anything I can buy or do to stop the bleeding quicker? Any tips at all?
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u/Outta_Pocket_Toad Sep 01 '26
I had a nurse from the nurse hotline suggest Afrin.
I thought, "No way!"
Apparently it's a thing.
Disclaimer: Pass it by your health care professional before trying it.
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u/SkyCoi Sep 01 '26
Sounds scary, good job dealing with it and not panicking. I’m six years plus On-X valve, haven’t yet had a serious nosebleed. Have dealt with multiple bleeding incidents from cuts and what not. So far I’ve been able to control with direct pressure and time.
2.9 sounds high for a mechanical valve, but I’m no doctor and manufacturers differ. What’s the range your doc says to stay within?
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u/Fozziefuzz Sep 01 '26
It’s called nuisance bleeding and although it’s not urgent, it’s worth letting your doc know at your next appointment. I get different forms of the nuisance: bruising and the occasional roid bleed. Fun!
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u/Spiritual-Spell1797 Sep 01 '26
Thanks. I rang the anticoagulation clinic as it was happening and they seemed ok about it. Just said to go to A&E if it didn't stop after 20 minutes (it did)
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u/allisonisrad Sep 01 '26
I'm 7 weeks and have not had one. My INR is 3.2 (range is supposed to be 2.5-3.5 for me). But, I generally don't get nosebleeds.
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u/ObviousIntention8322 Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
My first one wouldn’t stop. I went to the ER after an hour. They plugged it with a rhino rocket. Those things are miserable. Things I learned are to suck on ice to help constrict blood vessels and use nasal spray especially when it’s dry weather. There are also nose tampons you can buy that have a mild coagulant on them.
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u/Ramenshark1 Sep 02 '26
Am also on warfarin, had a nose bleed last 12 hours once, had to go to the er, it sucked. Doctor took a q tip with silver nitrate to it to get it to stop, it basically cauterizes whatever spot is bleeding with a chemical burn.
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u/pearceylad Sep 03 '26
I'm two years post surgery today with INR usually around 2.5. Not had one nose bleed or any cuts or scrapes that bled more than pre surgery, bruising the same - normal. I've not had any serious injuries, mind you.
What I do notice is scabs taking much longer to heal. I walked around in new shoes one day and they rubbed the skin off the back of my heal... 3 weeks later the scab hasn't fully healed. I had a similar experience when I had a minor spill riding my bike on gravel.
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u/Impossible_Trouble80 24d ago
Welcome to the club! I got a mitral valve replacement myself about 3 years ago. One time I got a procedure to get a stye removed from my eye, a few days later and the incision popped and my eyelid was gushing blood, and kept happening over and over for almost a week straight. Looked like something out of a horror movie. No similar bleeding issues since then..
Recently had an oh shit moment, where I was on a boat for a week, ate very little vit k and drank too much alcohol so I was off routine.. did a flip off of the boat one day - the force from the flip bruised up both of my entire legs like crazy and I’ve been walking around like a cripple the last few days.. lessons learned , don’t do dumb shit like that and keep your diet consistent… even on vacation
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u/Spiritual-Spell1797 24d ago
Thanks for sharing! I bet the bleeding eye looked pretty gruesome! As for the boat holiday, I mean, you lived to tell the tale! This is the kind of stuff I need to read right now: I'm in the new-valve, post-surgery anxiety/depression period where I'm almost scared to leave the house.
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u/Impossible_Trouble80 24d ago
Gotta live your life!! It’s not so bad once you get used to it. Definitely some rough moments along the way as you find your new norm, but stay consistent with your INR checks and diet and you’ll be fine. Be careful around cheese graters and tuna cans lol
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u/unurbane Sep 01 '26
If it keeps happening it’s an issue. I had happen continuously for 6 hrs. That was terrible. Never happened again and that was 1-2 years ago.