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I am a 49 year old male. I had my aortic valve and a part of my a...

Posted at 11:27 PM on Dec 07, 2008 by wrosend, #37154
I am a 49 year old male. I had my aortic valve and a part of my aorta replaced 5-1/2 weeks ago. The valve had a congenital defect and it was replaced with an artificial valve. I was able to do aerobic exercise and jog right up until my surgery. The main problem that I have been experiencing has been numbness and pain in my arms and upper back. This has been present for the last 4 weeks. My right arm has been the worst. Most of my right arm is numb. Muscle strength has dropped in my right arm. Also for the last two weeks, part of my tricep muscle in my right arm does not "fire". I cannot move my arm in some directions. I was referred to a neurologist and he indicated that there is nerve damage. I will be having an EMG this coming week. I am not taking a lot of medications. I take 100 mg/day of Metoprolo which I have been taking for the last two years. I am taking 5 mg of Coumadin, and I take some fish oil. I also took Amiodarone for ten days after surgery and then discontinued it. Most of my muscle pain symptoms started 1-1/2 to 2 weeks after surgery (after starting Warfarin), and they have progressively gotten worse. Some symptoms can come and go. Symptoms include: -Sharp pains in my arms, back, and legs -Left and right arm aches, sharp pains in forearms when reaching -Numbness in my right upper arm, left and right forearms, inside of my left leg, fingertips of the right hand, left thumb -Loss of strength in my right arm. Tricep muscle does not fire (3-1/2 weeks after surgery) -Skin is sensitive and feels uncomfortable on my arms, back, chest, and stomach I realize that unexplained aches and pains are probably the norm after a major surgery. The numbness and pain in my arms seems to be out of the ordinary and chronic. The surgical doctors have not been able to offer any explanation, they referred me to the neurologist. Since the surgery went well, I feel that they are pretty much done with me. I feel that I am on my own. I did try switching from Warfarin to Coumadin to see if that would make any difference. That was about 3 weeks ago and it did not seem to make any difference. The surgical doctors do not think that the Coumadin could be causing my issues. I have read about rare, but serious Coumadin side effects that include muscle and joint pain, numbness. At this point, I am very concerned that I could lose more use of my right arm. I will be contacting my family doctor this week for advice also.
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Reply 11 months ago on Dec 09, 2008 by fiona, #15135

Do you know if your INR is theraputic? How often do you get your blood checked?

Some of the pain/neurological damage could account for the changes that you are feeling. However, blood clots are common post surgery issues and can happen even when on warfarin. See your doctor and get a doppler to rule out any clots. This will at least remove the fear of clots or strokes. If there is nerve damage, there are other drugs that the neurologist can give you.

BEWARE - when you are on warfarin or coumadin you cannot take asperin, advil, or any anti inflamitories so do not take any pain killers without talking to your doctor/heamatologist.

Fiona

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Reply 11 months ago on Dec 12, 2008 by wrosend, #15219

Thanks for your reply.

My INR has been a little low. The last two checks have been 2.1 and 1.9. They upped my Coumadin slightly and I will have it checked in a week.

I definitely have some nerve damage, either cervical or brachial plexus.
I am having a MRI this coming Monday. Hopefully, I will have a little more info to go on after that.

I have taken some Advil with the doctor's approval, but not too much anymore. To sleep, I take some Tylenol as needed and routinely take an ice pack to bed.

From everyone that I talked to, my symptoms don't sound very typical. The numbness, muscle aches, and burning sensation on my arm and back are currently giving me the most discomfort. Some sharp pains in the muscles that come and go are not bothering me as much. From other people's experiences on this website and people that I've talked to, I think that the Coumadin probably isn't responsible for my symptoms, although who knows, it could be contributing. If I find out more next week, I will post an update.

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Reply 9 months ago on Feb 08, 2009 by deecee, #16877

there is a website called warfarindosing.org for doctors to use to help them determine the exact dose for each patient. Evidently, this drug has to be very closely monitored. If you go to Web MD. I think you will find the symptoms that you are describing as side effects to look for under Coumadin.
Talk to your doctors again. People can become very ill on this drug.

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