… for my Easter Sunday.
Firstly, I want to wish everyone a belated-ish Happy Easter or other Spring Festival celebration. This post should have happened earlier, but Stuff got in the way. Mainly Red Stuff.
Some of you know I’ve been have a lot of nosebleeds. It was an excessive amount (18 since Christmas), and I got it treated recently, and for 17 days, all was well. I could stop obsessively carrying around face-cloths, or wearing dark clothes that wouldn’t show stains.
And then today it all went horribly wrong. Suddenly, as I was quietly preparing some lunch, it started pour again. After my nose had been bleeding hard for an hour, I got the Husband to drive me to the hospital, together with my large plastic container of evidence. It continued to pour as they got me set up and did observations. It poured into two ‘sick bags’. It got all over my hands and the black t-shirt I’d changed into once it had got all over my pretty pink and white Easter shirt. All in, it poured for 3+ hours.
So anyway, I then had a very, very unpleasant procedure to insert an inflatable compression dressing up my nose. It’s called, amusingly (not), a Rapid Rhino. Stop laughing. It’s not funny. Well, OK, it is a little bit funny, but only a bit.
The dressing is about the length and diameter of my little finger when deflated, and much thicker when inflated. They pre-soak it in saline, to make it slide in more easily, I suppose, but it also makes saline drip down your throat and face. It has to go all the way in (which feels like someone’s poking the back of your brain. Which hurts.) It feels… deeply unpleasant. Painful. Invasive. It stops you breathing properly. It also stops the endless bleeding, particularly once it’s (painfully, of course) inflated.
Not happy…
But best of all? You get to walk out of there with the tubing dangling out of your nose, for all the world to point at and laugh! No, you can’t cut that off. They need it to deflate the dratted thing when it’s time for it to come out.
That happens tomorrow lunchtime. If it doesn’t start bleeding again, hurrah! I just have to wait for an emergency appointment with the ENT specialist who cauterised my nose last time. If it does… I get to do the whole thing over again.
I’m tired, slightly anaemic and sore. If at the beginning of today you’d offered me the option of a quiet day with carrot cake and chocolate vs lots of extra laundry, lots of inconvenient red stuff and having my nose packed with an inflatable tube, I’d have gone for the cake and chocolate.
But nobody asked me. Happy Easter, y’all.
talltalesfromchiconia 
It all sounds very un-cake and chocolatey, poor you. I hope the rhino continues to do its job until tomorrow lunchtime, and that the specialist will have some ideas for more permanent solutions.
I’d say the experience was the archetype of un-chocolateness. However, it is of course marginally better than spending my life in a permanent state of leakiness, so I’ll try to count my blessings!
oh dear, doesn’t sound like much fun at all !
Fun… not. Interesting? Well, it got me out of doing the washing up! I wouldn’t mind so much but it’s rather painful to wear this contraption. Still, it saves the clothes.
What an unhappy experience! As if you haven’t already been through enough up to this point. It would be lovely if one of those oh-so-educated physicians could come up with a reason this is happening instead of just trying to band-aid it time after time. Of course, that might not be happy news either now that I think about it. {sigh} I hope all this took place after your lovely family gathering.
It did indeed happen later, and they do have an explanation (telangiectasia), and thought they’d fixed the problem with chemical cautery. Sadly, it looks as if I need a second round of that.
Oh, oh… poor you. Doesn’t sound like happy Easter that. I hope it will stop and you’ll feel better soon…. no laughing here at all.
Thank you, that’s so kind. It feels as if a mouse has run up my nose and got stuck there, and its tail is still hanging out!
Oh sweet pea, not in the least bit funny, and you have my total sympathy. Hugs, and more hugs, xxx. Mouse you are in charge of the hugs.
Mouse says there will no hugs forthcoming until there is bacon. He has no heart, that dog. He got all the love when he had a thorn in his poor paw, and now when the Staff has a sore nose, there’s nothing. Nothing!
Oh Kate, how awful. Sending my love XX
Thank you, much appreciated! Fingers crossed the ‘extraction’ doesn’t lead to more claret down my shirt.
Oh my gosh! I am so sorry for you. Sending you prayers.
I am feeling a bit sorry for myself, but I try to remember there are so many much worse off than me. 5 hours till I can have it removed!
If I were you, I would be feeling a tad low, myself. Hugs to you!
Hugs gratefully accepted!
Oh, dear Kate! Not the best Easter. Will be thinking of you and praying your tomorrow has good news.
Oh, thank you! Such a bore, and this contraption is a bit painful to wear…
Hope you have better news & all discomfort is gone!
Instant relief once the thing was out, but no news on an appointment yet.
Hmmmmm. . . . . . . Keep the faith, dear❣️
Newsflash: noon today for re-cautery. O joy…
Second time perfect.🤞🤞
Ouch and horrid and yuck and flippin heck!!! Big hugs bounding their way to you across the miles – huge leap over the Equator – boiiyyynnnng! Wishing you well for tomorrow. ❤
Oooh, bouncing hugs! Thank you!
Oh, misery! I hope it works and you’re finished with nosebleeds forever!
Amen to that! It’s extremely messy and tiring.
Hope the next cautery works for you. And that Mr. Mouse is being a dutiful nurse. 💜
Mr Mouse is confining his nursing duties to sniffing at me and stalking off. I suppose I should be grateful he doesn’t want to ‘wash my face’…
I am so sorry! I hope you can keep your feet up and your head propped comfortably, and you can find some great TV series to binge-watch! (But nothing too emotional — probably crying or laughing too hard would not be good either!)
I’ve discovered that smiling is actually quite sore! But it’s OK, I’m having fun watching a series on regenerative agriculture, which doesn’t prompt huge amounts of laughter. And I’m off in half an hour to have the thing out – hopefully for good!
Oh, I am so sorry. That sounds very painful AND you get stuck with a mess as well. What a way to spend the holiday!
Yes… Still, the laundry is done, none of the stains were permanent and with luck this monster will be out of my nose very soon.
From your lips to God’s ears!
Re-cautery tomorrow at midday! He was listening, apparently…
That sounds very nasty. Hopefully it will have worked for you.
The bleeding was a total pain, since it would stop, and I’d start to clean up and then it would promptly start up again. Now that the plug has been in my nose 24 hours, it’s time to get it removed/changed out. Hopefully it’ll hold till I can get an appointment to have another cautery.
OMG !!!! This is so not good 😢
I’m so sorry
I’ll call in a bit ♥️
… timing impeccable, as always! I’ll let you know how the removal/changeover goes.
I will call you tomorrow
Try and rest ❤️
That’s not going to work! But I’ll talk to you soon 😊
I am hoping that by now you have the dreaded rhino out of your nose, and that the bleeding has stopped. What a horrible experience. ~ hugs ~ (big ones!)
Still there for another hour. I’ve never had a scenario where it just would not stop, and hope never to again!
I would hope that no one would point and laugh at seeing a clearly medical item on your face, if they do then they aren’t worth your attention. Definitely not a fun experience to say the least but hopefully it doesn’t start bleeding again. One thing’s for sure, you’ve certainly earned a load of discounted Easter chocolate when the stores open.
Thing is, it looks exactly as if a small creature’s tail is sticking out of my nose, so even I can see it looks funny! But no, I don’t suppose anyone will actually point and laugh. I have had two squares of sugar free dark chocolate, and am content 😊
Oh no… that sounds bloody awful… no pun intended. Once it’s sorted treat yourself to a rainchecked Easter celebration.
That is a very apt description. I think it was all the extra laundry required that made me the most cross. Two sets of clothes, bathmat, dishcloths, face cloths, tea towel, whatever I grabbed to mop up with. All straight into a bucket with Vanish, and it did the job. No permanent stains 👍
Our daughter had a catastrophic nosebleed when she was 12 that resulted in an emergency room visit and, eventually, cauterization. The bath towel she had soaked until it was dripping was thrown away. Yes, too much information. But, she lived. People don’t really understand how serious a bloody nose can be.
Exactly. You get so tired and washed out afterwards, your blood pressure drops, you’re terribly thirsty. I’m now looking at my second cautery in the space of a month. Luckily, as an adult my blood volume is greater than a 12 year old, your daughter’s situation was a lot more dangers. It doesn’t take much… These Rapid Rhino things can save lives, even if they are really uncomfortable to wear and painful to have installed.
I’ve looked up the “t..word” sounds bl**dy awful (excuse the pun( and the contraption looks like a “tampon on steroids with too much attitude”
must healing hugs from across the ditch…
Your description is apt. It’s out now, and I’m walking around gingerly, head in air, no bending allowed, no heavy lifting, no hot drinks. It doesn’t take much to break a small scab open, apparently.
Crikey the after care sounds dreadful. It’s so easy to forget because we naturally do those things like bending…virtual hugs
I know! I can’t count the number of times a day I bend over to pick things up, put them away, put on shoes, etc. Hot drinks, meh, I can manage with out, but the bending! And it’s the most important thing, too.
Fingers crossed!
Exactly! Since no-one knows why it did that in the first place, I’m convinced it’s all a matter of chance rather than cause and effect. We shall see.
Oh, Kate! I won’t complain about my quiet and lonely Easter after reading this. I understand. My son has had nose bleeds most of his life. As a teenager, it got so bad the the ENT decided to cauterize. Unfortunately, they burned a hole through his nostrils. People think he was a cocaine user. And he still has massive nosebleeds. They come at the worst times and are draining on the body. At 54, he works hard to keep air moist enough and do anything else to stop the bleeding. Fortunately for him, it’s never been as bad as you have it. Anyone that would poke fun at you needs a good punch in their nose. It does look painful and lets hope they figure this out. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. Love and hugs, M
Cold packs on the nose helped me, no lifting, no bending, no hot drinks while it’s in progress, but that device is extremely effective, and apparently they’ll allow frequent bleeders to instal their own after a while. Can’t say I’d have the guts to do it, but needs must. It works. Thanks for the hugs, don’t squeeze too hard! xxx
Makes me feel a bit queasy, but at least it stopped the bleeding. Fingers crossed it doesn’t start again.
The quease is fully justified. So far, so good, but not bending is harder than it sounds!
oh boy – awful 😦 positive thoughts for you
Not fun, and the thoughts are appreciated!
hugs
Thank you! Much appreciated 😊
What a scary experience Kate. All that blood! Hoping it will be sorted once and for all and you never have to go through that again. xxxoxxx
I thought it was sorted last time, so hopefully tomorrow will be the final episode. So tiring, so messy… Anyway, fingers crossed.
That sounds horrible! NOT a good way to spend Easter Sunday. I hope that by now it has been removed and a permanent solution is on its way.
The Rapid Rhino is out, I had to stay in for an hour afterwards to make sure it wouldn’t break open again, and I have to not bend, lift or have hot drinks until the new cautery is done at lunchtime tomorrow. If that one doesn’t work, I think it may need surgery, so I live in hope!
Fingers crossed for you and big hugs
❤️
Oh my goodness. I don’t think I breathed the whole time I read your post. I’m glad to see, from the comments, that the awful nose tampon is out. (Awful analogy to follow.) Talk about a symbolic Easter bloodshed, although not quite the sort that takes place in some countries among believers who have themselves nailed to a cross… May your dear nose be resurrected!
In my case, it was the Great Easter Dribble, rather than a dramatic display of a superabundance of faith. If it had only announced its onset in some way, the sheer volume of laundry would have been reduced a great deal, which would have been welcome, particularly as I’m not allowed to bend over! Noon today sees attempt No. 2 at cautery, and I’m hoping this time the result will be more permanent. The Nose Will Overcome!
Gosh, Kate, what a slog. I hope they’re treating the anemia along with everything else. You must have been quite worried when the bleeding wouldn’t stop. I’m holding good thoughts.
The anaemia is temporary, but I need to drink plenty. It did get a bit concerning after the first hour. After the third, I was just very, very cheesed off! And tired. Had my second cautery today, several sites zapped. I feel rather as if I’ve been smacked across the nose, but it will pass. if it happens again, it’ll be time for surgery.
Oh, Kate! The last thing you need is another surgery. I hope the cauterizations work. My younger sister suffered from regular nosebleeds as a child. I remember her waking in the middle of the night with bleeds. She eventually had her nose cautereized a couple of times, but in her case it’s caused from blood vessels close to the surface. Good luck!
I’ll just have to cross my fingers and hope that was the last bleed and the last cautery… It seems I do have options for what they do once they have me on the table, so if it comes to it, I’d rather have the problem finally fixed.
Oh Kate! What an awful experience! Do they know what went wrong with the cauterising procedure? (Sorry if you’ve answered in the comments, there’s 73 of them and I didn’t read them all 😆) hope you get it fixed and are back on deck quick 💕
That last emoji was supposed to be 💕 … and I can’t work out how to fix it x
I’ll fix it for you…. Done!
They’re not even sure the bleeding came from the original spot. I saw the ENT doctor for an emergency re-cautery yesterday, and he said the original spot was well healed but there were other raw areas which could be responsible. He did three more places (ouch!), and said that if it bleeds again I’ll need to have surgery to fix it, but not to worry, there are lots of options. I have to keep my nostrils well lubricated with an oil spray, rest, no strenuous exercise or lifting or bending, etc. So, that’s pretty much the housework out of the question then, so it’s not all bad!
Blimey Kate, the things you have had to endure. Glad its out now and fingers crossed no more bleeding. Take care
It has been a bit much… But at least I got some sewing done.
Oh, that sounds absolutely horrible. I am imaging it as a deep Covid test with a thicker cotton bud that goes on forever. And it is already so horrible when it only lasts a couple of seconds.
It was pretty nasty. The sensation of something trying to force itself inside your head was the worst. I knew it would be painful, but I wasn’t ready for the sense of ‘wrongness’. Luckily (although that’s the wrong word!) that feeling was lost once they inflated the balloon, because then it just hurt a lot more!
I wish I’d gotten around to reading through my backlog of blogs sooner – really sorry to hear about this, Ms Rapid Rhino. Sure, the name made me laugh but who wants one of those shoved up an orifice? The cauterisation sounds even more fun. The ENT bloke sounds like he’s pretty switched on, so am very glad you’re in expert medical hands. But NO HOUSEWORK until you’re fully recovered. I have no doubt that the Husband, Mouse and all the chicks are being wonderfully supportive xxx
The No Housework rule is relaxed slightly now that I’ve passed the 3 day mark and the cautery is classed as stable and healing. All the same, I’m being cautious and squatting down more than bending over, which is better for my back and glutes anyway! I must say, now that I’m thinner, I’ve rediscovered a whole new flexibility which has proved extremely useful…