Warfarin symptoms and conditions

I'm a 47yo female & sorry for putting this as a reply to another post - new here:

Gosh.. glad I found this place - have been taking Warfarin for AF for about 2 weeks now and have been slowly sliding down hill. Thing is you just never know when to contact a doctor hey.

My symptoms, bloating, weight gain already, light headed, blurred vision, have had numbness & tingling in right arm and leg, and now I'm slowly getting colder and colder, and have a high sensitivity to light. Just started my monthly cycle and it's literally flooding, and I have an awful pain in the left hand side of my neck - it's sharp and unbearable at times. Some days when I'm driving home from work I feel I should pull over, not sure what my body is going to do to me next. I lack concentration, am crabby most of the time (and was picked up on that today at work) - and very emotional.

I don't like this at all - at what point do I mention any of this without seeming like a whinger?
I have a physical job, which has been reduced to 'light duties' due to the risks at the moment, which I'm grateful for. Today I bumped my thumb only slightly and it swelled up in a bloody lump - the blood has disappeared but the swelling is still there together with 'loose' skin where the originally larger swelling was. Everything seems just so weird.. I don't feel like ME any more - I want ME back :((

I am a 48 year old female with a-fib. I am not overweight...just started falling apart since now I am menopausal. I've been on Warfarin for 6 weeks. My INR has hardly moved. I'm now on 8 mg and have my INR test on Monday. I started at a 0.9. Now I'm at 1.20 and have been there for three weeks in spite of upping the warfarin. I've not changed my diet except to exclude greens and green tea when I began the therapy. Everything else is consistent.
I just started exercising again a week ago. Something I haven't done in five years since I lost my sister. I bought a Total Gym and enjoy it. It has helped me get some energy back, has helped alleviate some of the mental fog, and has lowered the incidence of anxiety attacks. (I've been getting anxiety lately...since the mental fog and memory lapses...that bothers me since I love to read and write and the mental fog seems to be taking the joy out of it now.) The reason I decided to start strength training again is because of the joint pain I have been experiencing lately. I didn't have it before warfarin. I do now. Only one joint, though. The strength training does help, but every once in awhile, that sharp pain comes back to visit. It's just a little less now.
I plan to tell the doctor that I have begun strength training again. Not just because it's good for me and my heart, but it seems to help with the side effects of menopause and warfarin...without adding another drug like an antidepressant.
Warfarin...I believe is a life saving drug. BUT, I have to do my part too.

BTW, if I didn't have triple thick hair, I would complain about hair loss. Right now, it's a non issue for me. Just saves money at the hair dresser.

I cannot get a good hard erection since I started to take warfarin I had a mitral valve replaced and I have been on warfarin since 2003

I'm a 70 year old male, never had health issues but 9/30/09 had blood clots in my lungs that nearly finished me had not I had on hand DMSO which my wife applied liberally to my chest while I writhed on the floor gasping for air. By the time the ambulance got me to the hospital all symptoms gone, never returned. Quit warfarin after a week. Feeling fine. Check out the research of Stanley Jacobs, MD on DMSO and keep it handy. It does dissolve clots without side affects.

I have been on Warfarin for three months for a DVT in my femoral vein. I get some headaches, fatigue, feel cold, tired and have gained weight. I am a fit middle aged male, back at the gym now and cycling. I eat a balanced low fat high fiber diet, but still cannot shift the weight. I have been a depressive for most of my life and although manage without drugs have resorted to Valium to help me sleep, as insomnia has also been a significant side effect. I do not sit around, drink excessively or eat like a pig, so where is the weight coming from? My GP's seems ambivalent and it took five weeks to diagnose my DVT after my complaining about Phlebitis and pains in my groin. Not a happy bunny.

Been on warfarin for three months for DVT left calf. I got to this site looking up fatigue associated with the rat poison. I've also experienced increased sensitivity to sunlight both directly on my face and extreme sweating from doing lite work. I also have a constant ringing in my ears and memory seems to be worse. My dad also takes this medication and doesn't have any of the same symptoms. I will deal with it for the time being rather than have my calf swell up like a cantaloupe.

I have been on Warfarin for 3 months.Fatigue, poor memory and definite increased sensitivity to heat and sunlight. I've always worked outside and this summer has been unbearable.I sweat profusely from average activity. I asked my dad who is also on warfarin if he felt tired or noticed the suns heat on his skin and he replied no. Of course my
Dr. said he had not heard of these symptoms. another side effect is ringing in my ears.

Had a mitral valve replacement with pigs valve in September 2008. Told I needed it and would feel much better. Two weeks later had Atrial Fibrilation and was put on warfarin together with bisoprolol (beta blocker). Was cardioverted in December but am still on Warfarin 7-8mg to keep my INR at between 2-3. I experience such awful side effects, that seeing thig site proved that it was not all in my head.
Symptoms, hair loss, bleeding gums, painful legs, weight gain, fatigue, headaches, blurred vision, tender skin, depression etc. etc.
I feel depressed and wish I hadn't bothered with the operation, as I feel worse that before!

I'm so thankful for this forum as you really do begin to believe you're going crazy when every health professional says that warfarin is not the cause of weight gain since the start of your treatment. Whether it's the actual drug or how it interacts in your body or the cause of taking your warfarin, obviously based on all the testimonials here and on other sites, there ARE side effects that they are not willing to admit to. Or, they simply have not done the research or surveys to clinically support this. Regardless, while I hate this weight gain, I feel a little better knowing that I'm not imagining it. I work out 5-6 days a week and watch what I eat and still the weight creeps on. Siigghhh

I'm 48 and had a PE 4/2/09. I entered this site looking to see if hair loss was a common side effect to the Warfarin I've been taking and, lo and behold, not only do I now have an explanation for my thinning hair but the acne, the joint pain, WEIGHT GAIN (UGH!) and gas / bloating. The powers that be have decided that the cause of the PE was my Yasmin birth control pills (a huge law suit going on for Bayer now - the producers of Yasmin, Yaz and one other one) and put me on the Warfarin for 6 months to life - we'll see about the 'to life' part on 10/02/09. I think regardless, I'm going with 'Tannabo' and trying the Nattokinase once I'm done with the Warfarin. Thank you for this 'enlightening' website and everyone's input!

I am a 40 year old female. I found out 3 years ago that I have factor V. I've been hospitalized for 17 PE's. I was being treated with coumadin, plavix, lovenox. My INR will not stabilize. The doctor has now put me on 30mg. of warfarin a day. and my INR still sets at 1.2. My side effects are awful. I feel tired, week, cold, weight gain, but most of all the terrible headaches. The doctor says it has nothing to do with the warfarin. I stay depressed and now losing hair. I've taken my doctors advice and I'm going back to the cancer center where they are more experienced. I feel like I'm dying everyday and its not in my head. I do believe its side effects. And if its not moving my INR than to me it seems useless to take such a high dosage. Its a catch 22.

I am 57 years old, male, and active, and have been on Warfarin since 1987 post Aortic Valve Replacement. I was quite happy with the dosage up till 2001, when I had an episode of TIA due to a malfunctioning thyroid and when my heart rate went down to 30 bpm. Since then, I have also been on a daily dosage of thyroxine, just enough to get my TSH up to normal levels.

Since then, I have a creeping condition of body aches and back pain, which has now, after 7 years, become chronic. This does not seem to alleviate with change from the Eltroxin from Glaxo, to Thyronorm from Ranbaxy. I have now accepted to live with this sometimes-chronic pain.

I tried some experiments with my dosages of the medications, and so I reduced my Warfarin to 5mg from 8mg. Within a week I was plagued with cramps and aches, and I got scared and went back to my old dosage.

Has my body, my heart, my arteries, adjusted to the thin blood over this time since 1987? Due to this thinning of the blood, will the detection of constriction of arteries and veins be more difficult? And consequently the detection of angina pectoris and atherosclerosis? Or can it be just old age catching up?

If any of you are on a similar combination of these two drugs and with similar symptoms, I would appreciate a line.

Hi All, Hope everyone is holding up well. I've been on warfarin for year and a half now and like most of you i find it has changed my life a lot. I'm only 22 and i hate taken warfarin. I have gained weight and feel depressed. The thing that scares me the most is that i was sick at the weekend and i found there was blood in my sick!!! Has this ever happened to anyone before as it scared me a little.

I am a 40 year old female and have been on warfarin since september 08 when i developed a blood clot in each lung.Doctor's reckon it was caused by my Crohns disease.I had also given up smoking 9 months before and was feeling good about myself but since starting on the warfarin i feel OLD and FED up with everything,6 weeks after starting warfarin i started getting tired all the time, my head doesn't feel like mine, i feel depressed all the time,i get strange pains in my head,my shins feel weird almost numb,can't concentrate,vision feels weird,excruciating pains in my joints to the point i couldn't walk and WEIGHT GAIN like you wouldn't believe and my whole body generally swollen.I thought i was going mad until i found this website THANK you to everyone xxxxxx

Hi, I wanted to update my experience with Warfarin, I changed to Coumadin and have had much less severe side effects.

I too am on warfarin for life. I was diagnoised with lupus anti coagulant after they found a clot in my right leg. I was having no symptoms in my leg ,went to the er for hurting in my chest and left arm. was started on lovenox shots 2 times a day and coumadin. I too am experiencing joint and muscle aches and dizziness and feel extremely tired all the time. But I thank God every day they found my clot before it moved. And that they found the clotting disorder. I hope you all get better soon .. God bless you all. P.S. This medicine scares me very much, But so does the alternative!!!!!

After reading these posts I am more confused than before, because my experience is so far very different. I was diagnosed with DVT about two weeks ago and now take Coumadin daily; the Lovenox injections have been discontinued. The reason I'm so confused is I now feel the best I have in 5 (five) years.

Before being placed on the anti-coagulants I had memory and concentration issues that were progressively getting worse and greatly affecting my job, and had daily headaches. I had joint pain that made it difficult to get up after sitting for awhile; they felt constantly inflamed. I felt fatigued all the time and my muscles hurt like I had really pushed them; I just didn't have any strength, and had muscle cramps. I was constantly yawning and found my jaws hurt from clinching my teeth, subconsciously trying not to yawn. I was extremely sensitive to physical touch, even hugs hurt. I also felt extremely depressed and cried almost daily. My lips and left cheek tingled, as well as other parts of my body. Plus I would get the feeling of sudden pressure in my head (different from a headache) like it was going to pop off, and I my eyes didn't seem to track what I looking at and had difficulty in remembering or comprehending what I just read.

About 6 (six) days after starting treatment it completely changed and these symptoms are essentially gone. I have talked with my doctor and pharmacist and they are baffled. I am concerned this change, while welcomed, may indicate an underlying condition that is not yet diagnosed. Has anyone ever heard of such an impact from starting Coumadin treatment?

I have been on Warfarin since October 20th of 07 after being bedridden for 3 weeks in excruciating pain in my hip/butt which kept me from moving & i'd drag my left side of body from my waist down, into our bathroom in excruciating pain unable to turn to flush a toilet or stand for more then a minute. I begged my primary doctor to "give me an mri as my back was in so much pain with the hip/butt". I had been getting epidurals for what doctor assumed was a herniated disk.i was in a wheelchair now & my husband took me several times to E.R. AND THEY SAID "WHY ARE YOU CRYING IT'S ONLY BACK PAIN." I labored more & more just to breath. I couldn't get my breaths. "Frightening" finally Then, I walked myself into the local E.R. and told them "I think I have a clot in my lung because I don't have a cold or a bronchitis & I've been in bed so much I believe it is a clot." It was two clots in my right lung. My lung hurt a little more each day I recall I went about two weeks gradually having more & more difficulty getting my breaths. I was hospitalized and then my primary wanted NOTHING to do with my care when E.R. doctors called him.local hospt. took care of me & the clots resolved. I am still on warfarin for coumadin. I really do have a memory problem I fear now, "short term", especially now after 2 yrs on this med. Also, Last time I went in the sun I was so wiped out exhausted like it beat me up. I am afraid to go back to the beach. I get headachs also and one time when my INR. went up over 3, my ankles got these little red spots and also on my chins of both legs like blood specks showing thru the surface.Still there but not as evident. My avg. INR is 2.4 I feel most comfortable at.I try to maintain. Back in 1998, I got two clots in my left leg after a botched knee surgery to repair a torn cartledge and awoke with an in place fractured knee cap.. two weeks later horrible pain in my left leg revealed two clots one at ankle to groin in my vein=d.v.t. and the other at the side of my knee in artery to groin when the tornaquat was.

I am 26 years old. I've been on warfarin for almost eight years. I wish I had seen a site like this eight years ago when I started on warfarin (after DVT and P.E) I may have had some insight into the hellish two years that were to follow: hair-loss, depression, weight-gain. But I attributed all this to stress (it was pre-med varsity and I was under a lot of pressure academically).
Anyway, now my life is more settled, I eat right, exercise furiously 5 times a week...but I have digestive problems. Bloating, gas, overall discomfort in my stomach almost every night. I've cut out milk, wheat, coffee...nothing.
But tonight I started thinking...could it be the warfarin?
Does anyone experience or know about possible side-effects of warfarin on the digestive system, and does anyone have some useful advice????

I’ve been following these posts with interest. I was on Warfarin for 7 months. I’ve now been off for 2 months. During that 7 months I gained 15 pounds, going from 136 to 151. I’ve never weighed more than 140 pounds in my life. In the two months I’ve been off Warfarin I’ve lost six of those pounds and hoping to lose the other nine. I also feel better, more “hopeful” I guess I would say. Looking back on those 7 months I can’t say I was depressed... but I did feel blue, and now I don’t. Also I had lost a bit of hair, it seems I was picking up more of my hair from the carpet than my dogs hair! That has also stopped. I find it interesting that those side effects were never mentioned with the drug information and yet so many of us experience them. I guess I just wanted people to know that it’s not “in your head”. This drug has an effect on how your body works. I’m just hopeful that I never have to be on it again, and my thoughts go out to those that have to take it permanently. Keep writing in, it does help others.

I am a 53 yr. old woman who had aortic Valve replacement surgery in April 2007. I had a St. Jude valve put in and have been on Warfarin ever since. I usually go for a couple months with a steady INR and then, for no apparent reason, it goes out of whack and I have to adjust the level (with repeated doctor visits) to smooth things out. I have gained 20 lbs since my surgery, and cannot lose it, no matter what I do! I ride an exercise bike an hour a day, or walk a 3 mile route. NOTHING helps. I have recently said that if I had it to do all over again, I would choose a Bovine valve (even with the knowledge that surgery would probably have to be repeated later in life) just to be able to avoid the side effects of Warfarin. I have also experienced light-headedness, left sided chest pain, fatigue, coarse thinning hair, but by far, the worst is the weight gain!!

Hi, I am a 47 year old woman and started Warfarin and Lovenox June 29th as a result of blood clots in my left leg from knee surgery. I was able to go off the Lovenox July 4th (Yay!) because my INR levels were above 2. I thought the Lovenox was the cause of the nausea I experienced, but apparently that is not the case. I keep telling the clinicians at the Anticoagulant Clinic about the nausea and their response is that they haven't heard of it as a side effect. Thank you all for posting to this website, there is some comfort in learning you are not alone with these strange side effects. I also experience dizziness and have difficulty finding words. I think I will switch from Warfarin to Coumadin to see if the side effects are less, though many of you have written about weight gain ~ yikes. For those of you bruising with Lovenox I was told if the needle is dry when it goes in there is much less bruising. And to everyone my thoughts and prayers are with you. Oh yeah, I also have nerve pain in the bottom of my left foot, the compression hose do help website is ******

I have been on warfarin for 14 weeks. I do not enjoy taking this medicine! I am short tempered! I do not know if it is the medicine. It may be saving my life! I am gaining weight and at the beginning I was very tired. Now I am frustrated and upset frequently. My husband had a rare cancer removed from his stomach. I am not dealing with the situation very well. I do not have the stamina that I used to have to deal with a tough situation. I walk about 4.7 miles three times a week. I gained five pounds in the last five days. I also quit smoking in March. I love to run but I am unable to do it! I need to walk the majority of the walk. I am bloated all the time. I have a constant hunger! I have not been myself for a long time. I also found out that my thyroid is hypo. I have constant pain all over my body. My hip, shoulders, back and legs hurt. I wake up with the pain. I need to get used to the pain at 42 years old. I had a pulmonary embolism on march 27 of 2009 and they do not know why. My smoking is part of it but it does not explain everything!

I am a 46 yr old woman. After developing 3 DVT's in my lower rt calf after major foot surgery, I was prescribed Coumadin/Warfarin. My doses have fluctuated between 1mg to 7.5mg (I have just lowered my dose from 6mg to 5mg as my INR yesterday was 3.9). I have noticed a lot of the symptoms listed above (others comments), but have bumbled along. The symptom that is bothering is my mouth! I can hardly eat or talk - my lower jaw especially aches constantly and even despite using an extra soft toddlers toothbrush, my gums bleed profusely. I only read of one other persons symptom regarding teeth/gums/mouth. I know it sounds melodramatic, but my mouth aches as though I had mouth cancer!!! I can't wait to get off this rat poison! Good luck to all.

My husband was taking coumadin and developed an infection in his leg. He was ordered Bactrim DS bid. By the third day of the Bactrim, his INR was 4.7 and he was having mental status changes and vomiting. A head CT Scan showed he was bleeding in his brain from the interaction of the coumadin and Bactrim. He had to have 2 bilateral crainiotomies to flush out the blood from his brain. He nearly died. He has severe headaches and short term memory loss.