Seroquel with Ambien

[Warmaded]

Hey there everyone, I have been using Seroquel for approximately the last 5 years or so in order to get some sleep. I have started anywhere at 200 mg or so (can’t actually remember) and approximately one year or maybe a little bit more time ago, I have went up to 300 mg. well then…. Right in that time, or somewhere around that time I have started to notice that I have started to eat more and more during the night, after I have taken the Seroquel dosage up and it is obvious that I have gained a lot of weight, since I was eating that much. I remember I felt hungry nearly all the time, continuously. Well, fast forward to like 2 months ago and I have cut my dosage back to like 150 mg because I started to realize that I am taking too much and because of that eating too much thing. In addition to that, there was no point for me to still take 300 mg at night because I was not getting the sleep through the night on that dosage and that’s why I got it down and I have switched to 150 mg, so I obviously was still not getting any sleep, in fact, I have not felt any difference… I was still not able to sleep through the night however it was not anything new for me so it was better to take 150 mg and not to sleep than take 300 mg and still not to sleep.

 

Also must add that since I have cut back on my dosage I have started to do whatever I can exercise wise (I am not able to do very much as I am a disabled veteran, that’s why it is all limited for me). however, I was still able to exercise quite a bit in my parent’s pool and so it did has helped me a lot. So well, by doing this and by changing my eating habits quite a bit (I am a firm believer that I managed changing it because I dropped the dosage down of Seroquel) I have already managed to lose 20 lbs.

 

To make it clear. I did have heard/ read etc. on the fact that Seroquel has a side effect of making you gain weight, so I am sure that for me it surely has done it because as I said, I truly put on a lot because I was eating a lot. But now, all of this is only my story and it doesn’t actually have much to do with the title I said. Well… that’s because I wanted to ask a question based on all my story. Question that I wanted to ask you peeps is… would it be safe in your opinion to take, like for example, 100 mg of Seroquel with for example 10 mg of ambien? Maybe there is somebody in a similar situation to mine and uses them this way? or maybe some of you did it in the past and knows what to expect and can tell me whether is this a good or no so good idea to do it? as I said, 300 mg of Seroquel doesn’t help me and besides it even gives me bad side effects so I can’t take that much, more than that would be already way too much. I know that there are situations when a combination of drugs (specifically a combination) even with less dosages can help much better than one single drug taken in big amounts. I would really appreciate if you could answer me this question because I would really like to take both of them like that. I have to say that I have put a lot of thought into stopping the Seroquel totally before I am going to try the ambien, however I haven’t just put this question out of nothing… I mean… I have done a research on internet in regards to this combination of drugs and it does seems to me as there are a lot of people using both of them together. So I am really going to appreciate if some of you could help me with this by giving me some advice. Thanks a lot.

 

[Bedeencion1980]

Hello there, first off I wanted to say that it is truly very good news and that’s absolutely fantastic that you have managed to lose that weight and to feel better. That’s very well done and I congratulate you that you’ve started exercising (even if that’s only a little bit, that’s still very good) and that you’ve started a healthy diet. As you said, I also have read online stories about people taking those drugs together, however, I personally would still consult your GP firstly about this combination if it’s safe and if it’s safe specifically for you (as these are 2 different things). i have even heard of such people who were actually prescribed both of them by the doctor, however that’s under a doctor supervision and that’s because, from as much as I know, it is pretty easy to overdose on them and the amounts you are going to take it is, obviously, very important. I wish you all the best and hope you’re going to be fine. easy does it.

 

[iKenny]

We all know very well that Seroquel it is an antipsychotic drug and to be honest, I am feeling as if it can do more harm than good and I am not sure if that’s an good idea overall to take it at all. and I’m not saying this because ‘I heard’ or anything, I have been on it for approximately one year or so and to be honest, my life has changed in a really bad way which is why I would recommend everyone to stay away from it. yeah, Seroquel does help you to sleep as it knocks you out, it has helped me to sleep, however there are also some other medications that are designed to help you to sleep so there’s no need to rest to this antipsychotic because then again, it is an antipsychotic, take something easier for sleep. I am not very sure but it does seems as if the doctors are feeling much more comfortable by giving this drug due to the fact that it is not a benzodiazepine so they are afraid. Benzos for sleep, into my opinion, are a lot much better than to use Seroquel which is antipsychotic and it has way too many side effects. I have no idea why those people are thinking of Seroquel as something ‘safer’ when in fact, benzos, although not safe in general if not taken properly, they are still having much less side effects in my opinion. But if we think for a minute, anything that is taken NOT properly then it has side effects. but we are now talking about what’s better from the worse. This is why I am now here, I would stress for people using this drug for sleep think otherwise. I would recommend you to talk to your doctor and to tell him that you are not feeling comfortable by using that medication for getting sleep, especially when that’s true and you are truly not comfortable since it doesn’t give you the benefits of sleep and it does give you side effects. what’s the point of using it further then? From as much as I can see from your post, the only problem that you actually have is sleep, and you do not have any other mental issues, therefore I do think that you need to tell your doctor that you want a medication that is going to help you with sleep, and with sleep only, since you don’t have any other needs or problems.

 

I honestly think that it is the perfect time for those doctors to finally wake the f*ck up and to finally start giving the right medications for the right conditions and to stop being worried about the fact that it might look bad for them and have a bad impact on their reputation which means that they must give you a benzo for sleep as it can help you more. In the end of it, you are the one dealing with problems which means that you are the one who needs help, definitely not those doctors who are just interested in money and reputation this is why I really think that those doctors needs to wake up and to finally start doing their job properly!

 

[angelicabad]

Well, you nearly said it all yourself when you wrote this part:

 

Well, fast forward to like 2 months ago and I have cut my dosage back to like 150 mg because I started to realize that I am taking too much and because of that eating too much thing. In addition to that, there was no point for me to still take 300 mg at night because I was not getting the sleep through the night on that dosage and that’s why I got it down and I have switched to 150 mg, so I obviously was still not getting any sleep, in fact, I have not felt any difference… I was still not able to sleep through the night however it was not anything new for me so it was better to take 150 mg and not to sleep than take 300 mg and still not to sleep.

</p><p> </p><p>That’s because as a sleep aid, a higher dosage of Seroquel is not going to make it any more effective. It is not that kind of drug which works better if taken more. Seroquel, in fact, taken in higher doses, from as much as I heard, can work the other way around making you energetic etc. Seroquel is given in low doses for getting sleep, getting higher doses either does absolutely nothing for sleep (as you noticed yourself) or it might even work as an energy booster (not sure if this is true though) so I definitely wouldn’t recommend anyone going on higher doses because the risk of getting side effects (or maybe them worse) on higher doses is definitely possible and getting higher. That’s the first part I wanted to say. The second is about this one, your questions:</p><p> </p><p>

Well… that’s because I wanted to ask a question based on all my story. Question that I wanted to ask you peeps is… would it be safe in your opinion to take, like for example, 100 mg of Seroquel with for example 10 mg of ambien? Maybe there is somebody in a similar situation to mine and uses them this way? or maybe some of you did it in the past and knows what to expect and can tell me whether is this a good or no so good idea to do it? as I said, 300 mg of Seroquel doesn’t help me and besides it even gives me bad side effects so I can’t take that much, more than that would be already way too much.

</p><p> </p><p>Very well, yes, I personally did have used them both together (as said by my doctor) and I have not noticed any difference to be honest, not sure that you are not going to see any differences as well, but that’s the way it has worked for me. go talk to your doctor first, that is the best advice. And yeah by the way, it will make you gain weight. Seroquel always does it to almost everyone. Few people doesn’t report weight gain on Seroquel.</p>

 

[Warmaded]

Hi there everyone once again and a lot of thanks for all your answers, I really appreciate it very much. Very well, I should mention the fact that my doctor does know very well that I did had a bad experience in the past with the ambien, and so he is not going to prescribe them to me and I know it. in regards to the benzo part, well, he does give me a script of Xanax, he prescribed Xanax to me 1 mg 3 times per day (3 mg per total). Well, as far as the Seroquel tho I am doing my best to work my way off of it, however I really do not feel like it would work out if I have told him that I have stopped from using the Seroquel and have started to use the ambien (that’s even if I have said that they were from many years ago when I have been prescribed them by the same doctor so I was not very sure if they are as they should be). anyway, my plan now is that I am just going to ween myself off the Seroquel (I am not very sure but I think that it should not be very hard to do so) and after that I am going to take the ambien. Been thinking for a while and been doing the research so I do not actually feel like mixing these 2.

 

[velma198]

Hello there OP, I do have quite a bit of experience and so I will try to help with whatever I can. Well, first off I should say that I did have been prescribed Seroquel and that’s for the last 3 years now or so, and I’m at a dosage as high as 600 mg a day. However I need to tell you that I am not for sleep on them like you are, I am taking them for some other health reasons, taking them along with some other cocktails of various flavors (if you know them: SSRIs) and currently, I am being tapered of the Seroquel, I am now down to 100 mg at the min. and that’s without the feeling as if I am missing them or anything in that matter. in fact, I can tell you that (at least in my opinion) I am feeling much more better for it and that’s because I am having a more clear headed feeling and that’s why, I now just cannot wait until I am going to be completely off of them since I think that I will be much better. As they are saying, everybody is absolutely different when it comes down to medications, however personally for me, I just would not ever touch them ever gain. Again, we are different and that’s the way I am feeling about them, I have no wishes to ever use them. Please understand me right, no offence to anybody, maybe for some it works wonders, however not for me as it is putting me in a veggie like state, that’s the way I am feeling, like a veggie brained person. Generally, this is a very potent and serious medication and one should think of it as such. As in regards to the weight thing that’s a very good thing for you, indeed – well done. I saw someone saying that few people do not gain weight on Seroquel, well, it seems to me that I’m one of those few people because I have not gained weight from as much as I saw, thankfully. As for the part of ambien (or ambien with Seroquel doesn’t matter), I have never been on ambien and that’s why I just cannot comment very much on this part… however I can tell you that I did have been on a lot of other medications alongside this Seroquel, like for example the zopiclone it is one among many others that I have been on. But never on ambien. Whichever the case, as it has been said earlier by someone else, it is better for you to talk to your doctor. In the end, I am not a medical professional (not a doctor or whatever) but I just know my body and I know that tapering off of the Seroquel, for me, is making the things much more better in any way. if you are planning to taper off of it then I hope that’s going to be the same for you too.

 

[DonnaAKyle]

Well, it does seems as though this Seroquel is being prescribed alongside some other drug or drugs and it is really is all about the dosages so I think that this is where you need to pay attention to. It is working very well as an anti psychotic with the pregabalin, however from my personal experience – it is being used as a sleep aid, tho I am not sure and that’s why I do agree with other people out there saying that you need to talk with your doctor firstly and find out what he is going to tell you.

 

[Warmaded]

Thank you very much for answering and welcome on the thread velma198. I do perfectly understand what you are trying to say and that’s especially on this part:

 

I am being tapered of the Seroquel, I am now down to 100 mg at the min. and that’s without the feeling as if I am missing them or anything in that matter. in fact, I can tell you that (at least in my opinion) I am feeling much more better for it and that’s because I am having a more clear headed feeling and that’s why, I now just cannot wait until I am going to be completely off of them since I think that I will be much better. As they are saying, everybody is absolutely different when it comes down to medications, however personally for me, I just would not ever touch them ever gain. Again, we are different and that’s the way I am feeling about them, I have no wishes to ever use them. Please understand me right, no offence to anybody, maybe for some it works wonders, however not for me as it is putting me in a veggie like state, that’s the way I am feeling, like a veggie brained person

</p><p> </p><p>That’s true and absolutely no offense taken. Everyone is different as you said so people can feel differently. But I do feel as you, I am in the exact same way (which is why I said that I perfectly understand you) as far as not feeling as if I am missing anything and in addition to that, I am also having a much more clear headed feeling. That alone is enough, but I also benefit by tapering as I said earlier, by the fact that I do not binge eat anymore at night and in fact, this is the reason why I have had the desire to get off from it completely, but the clearer head feeling comes as a bonus. Plus just the feeling that I do not take it anymore is good… taking something daily makes you feel (at least makes me feel) as if there’s something wrong. Tapering off (and especially when I will be completely off it) would make me feel finer… better… healthier. About the veggie brain… I didn’t even realized that I have this feeling until I started to get off it and started to feel better.</p>

 

[Bedeencion1980]

Well… yes… you said: That alone is enough, but I also benefit by tapering as I said earlier, by the fact that I do not binge eat anymore at night and in fact, this is the reason why I have had the desire to get off from it completely, but the clearer head feeling comes as a bonus. And that’s true. I personally have been told that Seroquel does do that (hopefully you’ve been told too), am talking about binge eating, and what they are calling now is ‘sleep walking eating’ or something in this matter.

 

[iKenny]

A while back I have went to a sleep clinic and the doctor has said that she does gives her patients Klonopin for getting sleep, however does not give them any more than just 2 mg for the sleep in order to avoid side effects and especially dependencies. Of course I have asked her what she does in case 2 mg is not enough (because it is obvious that not everyone would benefit from 2 mg) and she said that if it doesn’t help then they just try something else, but doesn’t go higher. However, as for me personally, the klonopin did has worked for the sleep issues as well as for the anxiety and I consider myself very lucky because of this it is definitely a double win for me because of this. I mean, it is a double win for me because it helps me with both, sleep and anxiety. Whichever the case, Xanax doesn’t work well or enough, maybe other things won’t as well (like my klonopin or whatever), however as I already said it earlier, please look into using something else for sleep instead of the Seroquel because it is too risky, IMO, to go with that one. As said, yeah, Seroquel does help with the sleep most of the people (since it’s such a serious and potent drug), however just remember that in fact, it is not a sleeping medication, and in the end, I guess this does counts! It is obvious that doctors does know this very well, so I one really hate it when they are giving this medication to patients for sleep, trying to avoid being scrutinized and asked why they decided to give a benzo to the patients. I think that Seroquel should be given only with people with serious mental health issues (as it was originally designed for).

 

[Ben M]

Hello OP, what has made me write this is the part of your second post as I have something to say about it:

 

Very well, I should mention the fact that my doctor does know very well that I did had a bad experience in the past with the ambien, and so he is not going to prescribe them to me and I know it. in regards to the benzo part, well, he does give me a script of Xanax, he prescribed Xanax to me 1 mg 3 times per day (3 mg per total). Well, as far as the Seroquel tho I am doing my best to work my way off of it, however I really do not feel like it would work out if I have told him that I have stopped from using the Seroquel and have started to use the ambien

</p><p> </p><p>So, because of the fact that you are being scripted 1 mg of Xanax T.I.D. from your doctor then I really do not think that there should be any problem that could arise to prescribe the ambien since Xanax it is much more ‘potent’. I understand he refuses to give you ambien because you said that you had a bad experience with it but I thought… was there a bad maybe ‘one time only’ type of experience that you have told your doctor about with the ambien that might not have been the best idea to do?? Maybe something happened which is why you had such an experience but there indeed are sometimes when if you are telling them about those one time reactions (or experiences etc.) that you had then they might assume that those types of things are occurring all the time if you are going to use ambien and that pretty much doesn’t really matter what you are saying afterwards. I, exactly as you, have been on 300 mg of Seroquel for approximately one year or so. But then I couldn’t resist to be on it anymore so I had to stop. That’s because it has caused me to go through some breathing issues and I have been eating absolutely everything that I could find in the house. That was a very big issue. I was afraid to go to market as I couldn’t resist the temptations. The hungriness was really really bad as I really got to the point where I really ate everything that I just found in my house. As in regards to the ambien it also makes me a little bit hungry as well when I am using it (which is happening like 95% of the time or so), however I can say with 100% certitude that it is absolutely NOTHING similar like the darn Seroquel made me feel. The hungriness isn’t anything near to that. But besides the fact that I was pigging out, it was also not helping me with sleep at all… maybe this is going to be at least a little bit helpful to ya.</p>

 

[Ben M]

And by the way, also wanted to add here, iKenny, that’s very and very well said up there. to be honest, there isn’t actually anything else that angers me more than those situations in which doctors are prescribing those anti depressants and anti psychotics for sleep disorders to people. You are definitely right on all of that and I am 100% on the side that these kind of things should not be given to people with sleep disorders but to people who have disorders as such like depression, psychosis etc. but yeah, this is only just another way that they do not have to script a controlled medicine substance and to put their arses on the line or something like this. that’s sad IMO. God forbid we are becoming dependent on a medication that it is helping us to improve the quality of our own lives. Could those controlled substances be addictive – excuse me ‘a risk or possibility of developing dependency, and that’s even when it is being used as is being scripted just over a period of time’ and that’s due to the fact that they are actually working for those people that are having some kind of severe and debilitating issues with either insomnia or anxiety or maybe even pains?

 

[iKenny]

oh yes, Ben M, you are definitely right on that one

And by the way, also wanted to add here, iKenny, that’s very and very well said up there. to be honest, there isn’t actually anything else that angers me more than those situations in which doctors are prescribing those anti depressants and anti psychotics for sleep disorders to people. You are definitely right on all of that and I am 100% on the side that these kind of things should not be given to people with sleep disorders but to people who have disorders as such like depression, psychosis etc. but yeah, this is only just another way that they do not have to script a controlled medicine substance and to put their arses on the line or something like this. that’s sad IMO. God forbid we are becoming dependent on a medication that it is helping us to improve the quality of our own lives. Could those controlled substances be addictive – excuse me ‘a risk or possibility of developing dependency, and that’s even when it is being used as is being scripted just over a period of time’ and that’s due to the fact that they are actually working for those people that are having some kind of severe and debilitating issues with either insomnia or anxiety or maybe even pains?

</p><p> </p><p>I also find it really sad when there’s a doctor who does know very well that some certain medication is going to help a certain person with whatever the health issue he/ she has and instead of giving exactly that medications, they just want to play it cool and safe due to the fact that it may only look bad on them because they are prescribing those… I hate when they don’t give what they know very well that they should because in the medical world they might be looked down because of what they give us, but that’s just such a… miserable thing… I personally consider myself to be a very and very lucky person due to the fact that my doctor is understating me and I consider myself so lucky as I do perfectly know that by far not all doctors are so understandable. With this doctor I know that I need to pay attention as I don’t want to happen the ‘you know what you had only when you lose it’ but I know what I have now… he does listen to me and actually listens when I talk, not the doctor’s pretending. And in addition to that, he’s a very good professional as well as he does knows very well how to control my pains, how to control my anxiety and now he also seem to do a very good job in control my muscle pains that I have by giving me a script of flexeril. But as I said, I know I am lucky… I do read those stories from those people that are having such a hard time to get whatever they need to get and I am honest when I say that this is bothering me very and very much! As it has already been mentioned, I am thinking that those doctors are being more worried about themselves more than they are about us. I wish you all the best and take care out there. </p>

 

[Warmaded]

Ben M thanks for answering, I really appreciate and even if that might not help me DIRECTLY, I am still that there are some really good ideas/ thoughts that might help me in the future. That’s why, I honestly want to tell you thanks for this post you’ve said as I really appreciate it very much:

 

So, because of the fact that you are being scripted 1 mg of Xanax T.I.D. from your doctor then I really do not think that there should be any problem that could arise to prescribe the ambien since Xanax it is much more ‘potent’. I understand he refuses to give you ambien because you said that you had a bad experience with it but I thought… was there a bad maybe ‘one time only’ type of experience that you have told your doctor about with the ambien that might not have been the best idea to do?? Maybe something happened which is why you had such an experience but there indeed are sometimes when if you are telling them about those one time reactions (or experiences etc.) that you had then they might assume that those types of things are occurring all the time if you are going to use ambien and that pretty much doesn’t really matter what you are saying afterwards. I, exactly as you, have been on 300 mg of Seroquel for approximately one year or so. But then I couldn’t resist to be on it anymore so I had to stop. That’s because it has caused me to go through some breathing issues and I have been eating absolutely everything that I could find in the house. That was a very big issue. I was afraid to go to market as I couldn’t resist the temptations. The hungriness was really really bad as I really got to the point where I really ate everything that I just found in my house. As in regards to the ambien it also makes me a little bit hungry as well when I am using it (which is happening like 95% of the time or so), however I can say with 100% certitude that it is absolutely NOTHING similar like the darn Seroquel made me feel. The hungriness isn’t anything near to that. But besides the fact that I was pigging out, it was also not helping me with sleep at all… maybe this is going to be at least a little bit helpful to ya.

</p><p> </p><p>Well, what I want to say is that looking back now, it has obviously been a really bad idea to tell him about that. From as much as I have noticed, my doctor does not actually have any issues to prescribe anxiety medications as it is needed, and since I have always been tried to be honest about it, maybe he is going to want to give at least one try. We’re going to see..</p><p> </p><p>What I can say here is that I don’t actually remember the ambien to make me eat more than I was usually eating so I am not sure I can say that I had this side effect… whichever the case, it has been quite a while since so we are going to see, maybe I haven’t just noticed and if I would have been on it for a longer period of time I would have noticed it. anyway, I’m gonna see. But one sure thing is that I would be really glad to finally be off from Seroquel. I have to confess that I have not actually experienced absolutely any negative effects from reducing my dosage and so, I am planning to keep on reducing it until I am going to completely stop using it at all. I know that the last dose should be the hardest (I mean, when I would stop completely) but I thought that I am going to see/ feel some difference while I am reducing it, but as I said – I don’t. but since I’m here I want to ask you… have you experienced any negative side effects at all when you have went completely off from the Seroquel?? Thanks.</p>

 

[SWalcott]

Warmaded hey there. well, there are a few points that I am ready to share with you if you are really interested. So well.. first thing is… I cannot actually answer what it is good and what it is not good for you that’s because I am not a doctor let alone your doctor which is very important… all that I can do here, in my opinion, it is to offer the observations that I had through reading your posts. Another ‘point’ that I wanted to make here is that I personally did have seen Seroquel being prescribed alongside the ambien by doctors a lot! And that’s especially in the medical detox environments or even as an alternative to the ambien as it happened here (I mean, an alternative not only to ambien but to sleeping medications at all, to benzos as well as it (at least it seems so) to be considered to be having quite a reduced profile for getting abused (addiction) if comparing it with benzodiazepines or with the Z sleepers. So doctors prefer the Seroquel over ambien Z drugs or benzos, mostly only because it is not as addictive…
Well, there are some people who are describing a side effect of the Seroquel pretty much something similar to ‘munchies’ akin to marijuana munchies, and therefore the weight gain effect appears (and from as much as it seems the weight gain effect/ experience must be considered less harmful, at least in the medical world/ community (or whatever else), than reliance on safe and established medications like for example valium and that’s simply due to that absolutely horrible effect to them (I guess it must be considered the worst effect/ side effect etc.) – the *never should be said out loud* A word – Addiction. LOL. or at least that’s what it seems to me.

 

And yeah, one last thing that I wanted to say here is… A position that I simply am not able to reconcile it is the medical professions position between (like for example) the benzodiazepines and the anti depressants. If there is somebody who is using the benzos on a regular basis then that person may very well become ‘addicted to that benzo’ (for those who don’t actually understand what this means – you are going to experience the withdrawal symptoms and stuff like this in case you are trying to simply stop using them and this is going to be a sign that you are being addicted on the benzos, and of course the ‘desire’ to take the benzo further). However on the other hand, in case there is somebody who is using an antidepressant (like for example the Effexor or Lexapro or Prozac or whatever) then the person should ‘ramp down’ gradually, otherwise the person may experience ‘unpleasant side effects when getting off’. I mean… not sure if you have got the point but the difference is obvious… you are going through the same with both but with one you experience unpleasant side effects while the other one gives you withdrawals making you an addict. I am sorry as I can see that I have went off topic here but this is really… sad to say the least.

 

[mazidontever]

Hey people, could you help me by answering one question? I must say that I am using 100 mg of the Seroquel for getting sleep and whenever I am taking it I am typically getting a 8 or maybe 9 hours of sleep at night which, as you can see, that’s enough. I have had sleep issues for a very long time and I have tried many other things besides Seroquel but they did not worked either they worked for a while and then stopped because of Seroquel. But with this one… I have been on the exact same dosage for the last 5 or maybe 6 years now and I have not yet developed a tolerance which makes me think that I doubt I ever would. However it is true the fact that it is increasing your appetite, be sure that it does as I have noticed it myself every time. in addition to that I believe that the higher the dosage is being increased then the more increased is your appetite. Therefore I think that everyone should try to be on as low dosage as it is possible.

 

Anyway, I already nearly forgot about my question, LOL before I have tried Seroquel I did have tried ambien. I think that anyone who has moderate sleeping issues went through ambien and that’s such a medication that it either works or not. Unfortunately for me it did not and I am not very sure why. My question is… (if you know or if it’s possible to know at all: can I find out why it did not worked for me?) should I try it again? Do you think there are any chances that this time it is going to work better? Thanks.

 

[Ashton]

Hey there, I am going to try to help as I do know a little bit of info on warfarin. Although I’ve never taken it myself, there’s my mother that has been on warfarin for approximately 25 or so years now due to her mitral valve that has been replaced with an artificial one and since, she needs her warfarin medication. Well, it is obvious that my mother does bruise more easily than normal people does. Like for example, she once has even walked into a bicycle and has had a handlebar shaped bruise for some weeks and we were of course sorry, but to be honest that was a bit funny, the bruise shape. Also, another example is that when she is cutting herself accidentally (of course), she is bleeding for a longer period of time than normal people do… however I have to say that this is not extreme and she has always managed it fine. I mean, by saying this I am not trying to scare you in anyway, I just try to tell you that there are such things like bruising easier and bleeding more. My mother has been tested at least one time per week (but oftentimes even more than this) for warfarin levels throughout almost all this time that she has been on it and this is the biggest problem that she concerns about. She says that there is not a bigger problem than this as this annoys her the most, more than anything else out there, and that’s particularly due to the fact that it never does seem to finally stabilize. Not so long ago she has resolved to get a home testing kit and this way it is going to be a lot much more easier for her.

 

Well, the biggest issue that she has had with it is being sure not to have anything that further thins her blood. My mother has had to argue for her life with ignorant hospital staff out there that wanted to give her aspirin and quite some years ago she has been admitted for severe internal bleeding due to a gel that she has used for some oral thrush. I tell you this because you need to be warned and always cautious of what are you using… but I’m quite sure that you are already aware that you need to check for that kind of thing anyway… however… I would just hate for anybody else to have to deal with that type of things… that’s really hard and really annoying…

 

I am really hoping a lot that you are going to get settled well with your difficulties and you’re going to be well.. it can be hard, but it doesn’t make it impossible, and I hope a lot that it is going to be easier for you.