Warfarin Sodium and left leg

Hi I posted this on the Coumadin site when I should have been here,

I am a 66 year old female and up to a year ago I felt 20 years younger now I feel 20 years older.

I fell and broke my hip June '08. Had a hip replacement and developed a blood clot (DVT) in my left leg.

They put me on Coumadin and when that didn’t do the job they added Lovanox (another blood thinner requiring shots in the stomach).

Not only has they not helped but my blood clot is growing.

My symptoms:
daily headaches, debilitating leg pain (the pain is so bad that it is crippling me), fatigue (an overwhelming feeling of tiredness, I set down for a few minutes and wake up hours later.), loss my concentration (trouble doing simple crosswords), can’t study simple directions, numbness in toes and hands. I can go on.

And the doctors? “It’s all in my head. It can’t be the blood thinners.”

I am going to copy your blogs and take them to my doctor and demand something be done.

Thanks again to this site and all of you. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with my mind.

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????

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 am a 43 year old female, I got a couple of clots in my left leg, caused by taking birth control. I was taking the bc to control my menstrual cycle, I took it against my better judgment, even though my dr. said it was not a high risk since I didn't smoke. Well that wasn't true.
The side effects are extreme dizziness, I went to walk down a set of stairs recently and almost fell down them, That would have been tragic, Thank god my friend grabbed my arm. I know for a fact that it is a side effect from the coumadin because prior to this dvt I had no dizziness, as a matter of fact I was very healthy, I exercised 4 times a week, boxing, weight lifting ect. I was "NORMAL" I can't wait until the doctor says ok, stop taking the blood thinner. I want my life back. I just want to get back to the way I was before my dvt.

I had open heart surgery August 23rd 2006 for a conginital heart defeat (Aortic Valve replaced with mechanical St Jude valve). I wanted a bio valve but Drs insisted I should have the mechanical valve because of my age (45 at the time).

Prior to my heart surgery I was a performer, singer/songwriter/actress/comedianne and I loved what I did. It was my life. Now, after 2+ years post-op and on Warfarin (7.5 mg daily for life) I feel like life has ended and I'm just a walking dead person. The effects I feel daily are as follows...

Dizziness
Severe Headaches
Blurred vision
Memory Loss
Fatigue
Weight Gain
Trouble concentating
Fluttering effect in my head/ears- Hard to explain
Hair loss
Unexplained pains in chest & left side of my body
Unable to sleep well
Tiredness- even when I've done nothing to be tired for
Nausea
Gas & Diarrhea off and on
teeth pain- Like I've drank something very cold
feeling in my head similar to a brain freeze- like you ate ice cream too fast
Night bleeds in my month- wake up with a mouth full of blood daily
What do think, is that enough??

I'm going in tomorrow for a cat scan because the headaches have been so bad they feel I need to be checked for brain tumor and/or internal bleeding. When I tell the Drs I think this is due to Wafarin they pratically laugh in my face as if to say, "Silly silly woman, don't be foolish! We know whats best for you. Remember, we saved your life!" Really? Did you?!

I want nothing more than to get off this rat poison and regain my life, but to do so could mean a stroke or heart attack. I would go under the knife again to have the mechanical valve removed and replaced with a biological valve, but do you think my insurance company (Kieser) would pay for a "silly" thing like that? Right!

Welcome to the greatest country in the world!

I'm going to start a website to help people like us. I want your stories, please send me your info, together we might make a change, what can it hurt to try? Email me ******

B.

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.

Last week I had an issue with my INR - it has always been unstable, but this time was weird. My INR had been 6 and so I stopped the warfarin for 4 days, and went back on my regular 2 mg dose. Then we went on holiday to Washington DC for a week. 3 days in, my pee was the colour of cherry kool aid. Went to the local hospital (thank god for travel insurance). My INR was 7.89 - In the US this is considered critical and I was admitted, and treated with Vitamin K and 2 units of plasma. Within 8 hours my INR had dropped to 1.8 - now too low. The next day down to 1.25, and a week later I am still 1. I am taking fragmin now until I can get my INR theraputic again but Fragmin shots are even worse than warfarin.

An ultrasound showed now issues with my bladder or kidneys, but I do not understand why I was bleeding.

Guess that this just shows the importance of regular checking of INR levels while on warfarin.

i have been on warfarin since April 2008 when i had a clot in my left leg. since, i haven`t really had much going on until last week. i was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. i got dizzy and had a very cold wave rush up my body twice. when it was over, i couldn`t hear anything and my temples were tingling and my heart rate was elevated along with my bp. the er drs didn`t seem concerned with any thing that had to do with the dvt or the warfarin. their response???????? you drink too much coffee. WELL. i haven`t had a cup of coffee for almost a week, and have also quit smoking. i am still dizzy. my head feels heavy. i get little cool rushes that almost take my breath away, i don`t feel like ME. i feel like someone has taken over the me i knew. my family doctor has done liver, mono, hepatitis, b12, folic acid profiles, all negative. had a ct scan yesterday, normal. having an echocardiogram next week and having a holter monitor put on for 24 hrs to monitor my heart. i have done nothing but sleep since this episode. my husband is scared to death i`m gonna die during the night, he wakes up just to check on me. i haven`t been sleeping very well, as i`m afraid i`m not gonna wake up. i am only 40. i am not ready to let my life go to pot because of a drug that all the doctors insist is "safe". well i don`t know. call me stupid, but if its so safe, why do they kill rats with it????????????

Dealing leg pain and swelling fpr over 6 months - having 2 DVT test and 3 MRI's they finally found that I did have a DVT in my left leg and now I am taking Warfarin as of May 30th 2008. I now have severe joint pain, sore skin/sensitivity, my vision is going I can hardly read anything all of a sudden, so exhausted, sleeplessness - even after taking an ambien and getting some sleep, I can take a shower dry my hair and I am ready to go back and lay down because I am so tired. the doctor says thin blood does not carry oxygen as well so this is why I am tired. I am not anemic as I just had that checked. I can feel my muscles getting weaker. From reading what everyone else says it must be this drug, but I don't think I could live without it since my clot is so massive. I feel like my life will end soon I am getting weaker by the day...is this just my imagination? I know I am depressed but I do think all of the symptoms I am having is from the warfarin(besides the pain from the DVT which is still very painful)

I have been on Warfarin for two years now and on it for life, i had a blood clot in my left leg. While i was reading everyone's side effects, it was like i was writing it myself...I experience the same symptoms........Foggy mind, short term memory loss (i even have a notebook now wherever i go now), fatigue, thirsty all the time, headaches, strange sore sensations in my legs/body especially when its cold.....all of which i am told Warfarin has no such side effects and that im imagining it.........i have been told this over and over and over. Im soooo glad im not crazy lol and that there are also people out there that are experiencing the exact same stuff that i am.

I had surgery two months ago and on 4/8 developed a Pulmonary Embolism. I am now on two shots of Lovenox per day and 10mg of Warfarin. My INR is only at 1.9 after 3 weeks. I have recently developed pain in my left leg starting in the hip and radiating to the knee. Is this normal? Also, I have one hard lump in my stomach most likely at an injection site. Is this normal?

I am 31 years old. I was first on warfarin when I was 15. I was on the BCP and a smoker as well. just 2 months of being on the pill I developed a DVT in my left leg. I was on the warfarin for about 2 years then came off. I reember being tired alot but that was it. Then again when I was 22 I developed yet again another DVT in my L leg.. as well as 3 PE in my lungs. I was prescribed warfarin and I was on that for 2 years .. was taken off due to dizzy spells. Now again I am on warfarin .. for the rest of my life. I have a genetic disorder for clots and had a mini stroke. By the grace of GOD I only have a limp in my right foot... the side effects I experiance now are dizzy spells, headaches, blurred vision, and muscle aches and spasms. If your docot is denieying these side effect they really just dont think its serious enough to take you off. All my doctors over the last 16 years have all told me of these side effects. What you eat and drink has alot to do with it and other meds you may be takeing. I am also on chantex and beleive the two together are to be the cuas se of my syptoms. I also experiance tingling for shor periods. I have been on it now for one week. My doctor told me once it is regulated to a point where I dont have to up my dosage or lower my dosage and I am pretty much at a steady dosage the side effect will cease, until then I think if you dont like your docotor and dont beleive hes looking out for you in your best interrest yo ushould find another one.... Thats important... you must have a docotor you can trrust and one whom will listen to you.

Headache, a slowly seeping oily rectal discharge, cooling sensations in my head and chest, anyone else experience this? It is frustrating and I don't know what to do about it. I am 35 years old and had some blood clots after delivering my baby 3 months ago.