Warfarin Sodium and birth control

I'm 39 and have been on Coumadin for about a month. Was diagnosed with DVT in right calf after taking Yaz birth control for only about 4-5 months (no other pre-conditions - I'm a non-smoker, fairly active, not overweight, no recent airplane trips or long car rides.) I was on Yaz to treat severe problems with my period which has been the case since I was a teenager, but I was tired of having to call in sick to work every month, and had hoped Yaz would eliminate that problem. I had been on other BCPs when I was in my 20's, and never had any symptoms of clotting, so didn't think that it would be all that risky to try again, despite me being slightly older than the typical woman on BCP. Obviously, I am not taking Yaz anymore, and will not be able to take any other hormonal therapies for the rest of my life. But I guess that's minor compared to the risk of developing PE from an undiagnosed blood clot.

Anyway, I've been noticing I've been getting sudden, severe headaches since starting the Coumadin. I have a history of migraines but I usually only get one or two per year at most. Now I've had what feels a lot like a migraine twice in a matter of a couple weeks. My husband has also commented that I've been irritable and acting "spacy".

My INR has also been all over the place. They've been alternating me between 5 mg and 7.5 mg per day. For the first few weeks I was right where they wanted me - between 2 and 3, but then last Friday my results were 4.6!! Way too high. I go back this afternoon to see if anything's changed over the weekend, after skipping a dose and then doing 5 mg Sat. and Sun. I do hope they can find the right balance and don't have to keep tinkering with the dosage. I'm wondering if that's what's contributing to the headaches. Maybe if they can stabilize how much I'm taking from day to day, my body will adjust.

I wonder if anyone "official" is tracking the number of DVT/PE patients that can trace their onset of symptoms to Yaz. My sense is that this is a much more serious and prevalent side effect than their marketing dept. would like to admit.....

I am 24 years old and I had a pulmonary embolism last month. I was on the birth control YAZ for only 3 months, and that's what doctors seem to think caused it. My insurance only paid for me to be in the hospital for three daysand I was sent home with lovenox shots and Coumadin pills.

One month later, my INR is still unstable, fluctuating so much that they are checking it twice per week. My dosage is constantly changing. I have a red, painful rash on my buttocks - it hurts of sit for more than a few minutes. I am losing clumps of hair. I have lost my libido. I am very irritable and snap at my husband several times per day. I have a headache almost daily and frequent nausea.

I hate these side effects!

I've been on Coumadin for one month after having a pulmonary embolism (caused by birth control). I have painful red patches that look like clusters of pimples. I also have fatigue, nausea, headache, loss of libido, and irritability. I am 24 years old and just got married 6 months ago - these symptoms are ruining my "honeymoon period."

I am 28 and just suffered a pulmonary embolism (P.E.), very unusual for someone my age. I went into the hospital three times before they found it. I had severe pain in my upper left back, shoulder blade and neck when I first went in and the doc told me I was just having muscle spasms...I played Division I basketball for 4 years and am now a coach...I told him it wasn't a muscle spasm, but he sent me home with Ibuprofin....The second time I went in, I had worse pain two days later and told him it wasn't going away that something was really wrong. They did lung ex-rays, MRI and didn't find anything. They did no ultrasound or CT...hmmm. The third time I went in, I had terrible pain in my right side as though someone was stabbing me in the side. Couldn't catch my breath and was in absolute agony.
Finally they did a CT and ultrasound and found it at 6:30am on a Monday evening. I am very lucky that the third time I was admitted into the ER after a week, that they did a CT that found the P.E. I very easily could have died.

I was on Yasmin birth control for a year, unusual for a clot to occur after taking birth control for that amount of time, so they are not sure if that caused it and are still uncertain of the cause for my P.E. Maybe a blood disorder that I have not yet been tested for.

At the beginning of my warfarin treatment, I didn't experience headaches. Now though, after about 3-4 weeks...I am experiencing headaches in the middle of my forehead that are driving me crazy. I'm wondering if it is stress from all that I have gone through...an extremely painful experience...or a side effect of the drug.

Also, pain in my legs have been a problem. They feel heavy, like carrying around lead and I don't feel like I have much energy. I don't have much of an appetite anymore either. I have always been extremely active, stay at a healthy weight and have wanted to eat meals! Not so much anymore.

I'm not a smoker, and eat healthy foods...This is all very uncharacteristic for me and I'm extremely frustrated. I understand that it will take a while for me to recover from all of this, and inpatience with the matter could be a problem causing stress.

If you have any feedback, please let me know.

I am a 33-year-old female. I was taking YAZ birth control. I woke up on a Friday morning with a bad cramping feeling in my left calf. By the end of the day, I was limping. By the middle of that night into Saturday morning, I woke up in such excruciating pain. I could not walk without help. I went to the ER. They ran an ultrasound and found nothing. They said I had a "pulled muscle" and sent me home. Went to my PCP on Monday. He said it was "phlebitis" and sent me home. He told me to return in 3 days. Did that. This whole time I told them my left foot was cold, the leg was discolored, and that I could not walk! Hello! I went back in 3 days, but this time he was finally alarmed when he couldn't find a pulse in my left foot (never checked that in the first place) and sent me back to the ER. The same jerk ran another ultrasound, and there was the clot. I've been on warfarin since February. In the beginning, I had TERRIBLE HEADACHES (which have since subsided). Now I am dealing with this: CONSTANT BODY PAINS (especially my back and ribs), OVERALL BODY SORENESS (kind of like when you have the flu), FATIGUE, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, BLOATING AND GAS (I wake up with a huge painful puffy stomach every morning), CRAMPS (like having a period without one), sometimes DIARRHEA, STOMACH ACHES. When I reported the initial body pains to both the specialist and my PCP upon my follow-up visits after being discharged, both looked at me like I was crazy or making it up or something. I came home in tears after seeing the specialist. I thought he would be the one to know about this stuff! Instead, he made me feel like an idiot or crazy person. I was totally insulted and cried on the way home. I am so annoyed and have lost all faith in doctors. They should all have to retake their Anatomy and Physiology courses so they can be reminded what their ears are for. Why don't they listen to their patients? This is insane! I am so disgusted with this whole mess. I just want to give up.

In July my calf hurt for over a week I went and had it checked out and they found a small DVT I was sent home and prescribed Lovenox and taken off my birth control. The next morning I had trouble breathing and went to the ER I had multiple PEs in both lungs. I was in the hospital for 5 days and sent home with a non-therapeutic INR, Lovenox shots and warfarin sodium. I have to regularly increase my dosage I am now up to 15mgs 6days a week and 10 the 7th day. I have recently started seeing small unexplainable bruises, even though my INR is still not and only has been for a short time since my release from the hospital. I have had severe chest, leg and other body pain. I have been to the ER so much I have just stopped going. I have horrible headaches and fatigue especially after they re-up my meds. My periods have been off the charts as well. I think I am done with this and I am really considering taking myself off the meds

I have been on Warfarin for about 20 years now and have experienced all the symptoms described in all notes but I have one, my skin is just like tissue paper and it breaks in very bright red spots if it is scratched, my Dr says it is just age but if this is so then why is other older men not having this problem,, is it WARFARIN???