anticoagulation - warfarin

xander2009

New member

Hey there everybody here… is here anyone who has ever has/ had to do with the anticoagulation routine? I would obviously like to talk to you and listen to your opinion/ recommendation or whatever else you might have to say in regards to this. so well, I have been told a long time ago that I might have to do it so here that time has came as now it is not optional and I have to do it or I am risking to get a stroke which is not the best scenario for me (I have already had 2 mini strokes with, gladly, no permanent damages on me). well, the actual problem it is that I am living with a torn aorta and now my carotid artery  has dissected, they have given me heparin during the time that I have been in the hospital (and they gave me that at a high dosage) and this has turned me into a raving lunatic. They have had to call my wife and to unplug me from it and to give me some lovenox from to keep from leaving the hospital AMA, the vascular doctors told me that my dosage is at the lower end of the spectrum that can help and that’s why I am guessing (but only guessing) that it is more mental. I am getting really really worried and concerned about cuts, falling all the crazy sh*t that could have happened… in addition to that, it has not actually help my last admission to the hospital from the ER the guy who has been next to me has been bleeding from the Coumadin from his bladder… the doctors then did has put a catheter in, however that has only made another problem as it has started to clot in there and so the doctors have put running water and has told him that it would not stop until it would be fully clear… yeah, I do know very well that there is a reversal medication in case it is being needed and you know… the penalty in case that number is going to be way too low is self administered shots in the stomach… anyway…. I am going to stop whining here… I just don’t know how I am going to explain all of those bruises on my derriere from the girls at the snooty’s from the last night…

 

I am sorry for going off topic and for starting to talk nothing… thanks very much for listening and for letting me whine here… I appreciate this. 

 

General000

New member

I do know what you are talking about… not from my personal experience but there’s my friend that had to be put on the anti coagulants not so long ago since he has had deep vein thrombosis and has found out that he is having a very rare genetic disease… the hospital doctors has decided to put him on the warfarin for a while at least to see how it is going to work for him but that stuff has screwed him up very much! Not trying to scare you or anything, but that’s what my friend has experienced and so I just share his experience and I want you to be very careful.

 

After that, he went to a top hematologist who has scripted him Rivaroxaban instead as this is a novel anti coagulant medication… not sure if I should recommend you to talk with your doctor about this medication or not… but my friend has got a lot much more help from Rivaroxaban than Warfarin.. it is working a lot much more better without getting those horrible side effects he got with warfarin. In the end, I think that it might be worth to at least mention about this to your doctor… maybe my friend got so much help from Rivaroxaban than Warfarin because he has another problem than you do so maybe warfarin for you will be better. I don’t know… anyhow, the thing is that I don’t actually know how expensive this thing is… I am not living in the US and here, from as much as I have heard, it is not so so highly expensiv, however I have heard that in the US things tend to cost a lot much more than elsewhere.

 

But then again, not sure what your problem actually is as my friend has found out that he’s suffering from a very rare genetic disease after he has been suffering from deep vein thrombosis and that’s how the doctors put him on he warfarin. I said that my friend got screwed up because he has got side effects and so he has got into a depression because of this… but then later, after he has got a recommendation to go and visit a top doctor who might help him better he ended up with that medication Rivaroxaban… as I said, a novel anti coagulant drug which, at least for my friend, it has been far much more tolerable. Since he has been put on this one, he has stopped to complain so so much. That’s why, at least talk to your doctor about it and see what they are saying (in case you would see that it is not so horribly expensive as I heard that it might be). in case you really want it and it is really expensive there then you might get it from other countries if you would be able because again, in USA from as much as I know they are more expensive.

 

xander2009

New member

Thank you very and very much for your reply, I really appreciate very much that you tried to help. In the beginning I have been thinking that I’m the only one who uses this drug, but then I’ve searched a bit and I saw many others taking it. from as much as it seems, it’s going to be a pain for me as I have to be checked 2 times per week (so far it is not being stable, but still..) thanks for the recommendation of that medication though… I am going to check it and see maybe it would be working fine for me. I have to mention here that I have done fine on the warfarin as it has been the heparin that has made me feel so ‘bad’ as I have explained earlier… but you are definitely right… the price of the medication is very important… or at least very important for me as I am not a billionaire… like for example the lovenox it is very expensive! And very! That because only a weeks worth shots it is more than 1000 bucks!! For a week!! now imagine yourself how much I must spend for a month etc… I can’t just afford it…
At least thanks goodness for the insurance… also, could you answer me… is your friend on it for life? Thanks very much!

 

Traccept

New member

There are a lot of people who are being put on warfarin for their life and some of them are very happy with the effects they get while others, obviously, are not, either because they have side effects or because the medication itself doesn’t work. You need to take it for as long as your doctor tells you unless you have unbearable side effects. in case it is not going to be helpful the doctor would get you off it!

 

Suffes

New member

Hey there OP,

 

This medication Coumadin (warfarin) it is generally an accepted standard here and pretty much a lot of people take them. If you have had several TIA’s as you have mentioned in your post then this drug given to you by the doctor really does makes sense and it is logical that you have been scripted this drug. I wanted to ask you… what is your PT/ INR goal range?  Usually they are searching for a range that it is between 2.0 – 3.0 however that only depends on the condition and the physician himself. This drug it is a pain in the neck unfortunately due to the fact that, as you already know, I guess, it does require monitoring and has diet restrictions. And that’s, even though, those can be easier to manage than one might think, but I tell you – they key is the consistency. But I can tell you that as soon as your physician has you at the intended PT range, they are going to typically check you every month, once a month, until you are having at least 2 PT readings back to back that are within the good and normal range.

 

There are also other medications of course, they are called Pradaxa and Xarelto and these ones are some relatively new (especially nowadays) and may or they may not be indicated for your particular condition being treated. From as much as I know, these medications are usually being used in those patients that are suffering from A Fib, however the difference is that unlike the Coumadin, they are not being reversible. With the Pradaxa I am being most familiar with. This is a medication that’s extremely expensive, however at least it does allows you to eat whatever you like unlike the Coumadin and also, unlike the Coumadin it does not require you to have a constant PT/ INR monitoring. It has good sides and it has bad sides, pretty much as everything talking about medications.

 

There is also such as thing as Lovenox Sub Q (which is a low molecular weight heparin) shots and these are usually just used before, during or also after periods of immobility because of being hospitalized for whatever you would be hospitalized for. From as much as I know, this medication it is generally not being used as a long term medication, even though I can suppose that someone could do it. well, this drug is generally being used in order to prevent a patient from throwing a clot because of the immobility or being used in lieu of Coumadin prior to and shortly after a surgery as this one also is not requiring the PT/ INR testing either.

 

Whichever the case, there are millions of people out there that have already used and many of them still using Coumadin with great success over many years and to be honest I really do think that you are going to find that in case you are being able to manage your diet properly and consistently and to keep within your PT/ INR normal range (or goal) ratios then it is going to be much easier than you are thinking. Not trying to say that this is the way it WILL be, but there are just some chances it will. If, after a few months of keep using the Coumadin you are finding you are being unable to stay within your PT/ INR range repeatedly, then i think it would be a good idea for you to search for other options and I really think that this Pradaxa might be a better choice for you if your physician is thinking that the medicine is going to be appropriate for your condition. I’m in no way trying to say that Pradaxa is going to be a better option or that it is proper for you at all, these things should be said by your doctor and I only recommend you to pay attention to it and talk about it to your doctor in case you don’t get help. Most important here is that when you are using Coumadin, it is imperative that you keep your appointments for regular PT/ INR testing and to have a through understanding of the diet restrictions as this is very and very important. you do not need to avoid any foods, for example, however you are eating something like for example Brussel sprouts, or cole slaw, eat the same potion, same number of times per week.

 

Whichever the case, I am wishing you good luck and please, you should not ignore your physicians advices and recommendations. You can ask them something or recommend them something, but you still should listen to them and their opinion and if they tell you Coumadin then please stay on it. as inconvenient as this Coumadin drug can be, with a history of TIA’s, a stroke it is going to be a lot much more inconvenient for you. Really hoping you are going to be alright!

 
Top