coumadin and shortness of breath

I had PE's and was taking warfarin for 3 yrs. I STILL got two more in my legs even though my INR was stable.

I'm done taking rat poison. I will use natural methods instead of denying myself healthy green foods.

Here is an article that helped influence my decision"

Warfarin side effects - Osteoporosis
The long-term use of warfarin, a drug commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of blood clots, appears to increase the risk of fractures associated with osteoporosis, a bone-thinning condition that usually increased with age. Warfarin prevents coagulation by blocking vitamin K, which is needed to activate certain clotting factors. Because vitamin K is also used to activate proteins involved in bone formation, drugs like warfarin may increase the risk of fractures. To investigate, Dr. Brian F. Gage, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues assessed the rate of osteoporotic fractures among 12,048 Medicare beneficiaries. The subjects included 4,461 who had been prescribed warfarin for at least one year and 7,587 who were not on the drug. Warfarin users were 25 percent more likely to experience a fracture than nonusers."

www.raysahelian.com/warfarin.html

Best of luck to PE suffers. Hot water bottles work great for pain. Drink lots of water as well. That alone will keep you more hydrated and your blood less sticky.

I had a blood clot in my left calf after foot surgery in 2005; I was put on Warfarin for 6 months and experienced shortness of breath. I then had to have additional foot surgery in 2009; a blood clot in my calf was missed two weeks later and I ended up in ICU with massive, multiple pulmonary emboli's; I was put on Warfarin for 15 months and experienced shortness of breath. I came off Warfarin and was thrilled!!! I felt great and was able to enjoy some play time with my grandson. I then decided to have an IVC filter put in due to the possiblity of having to have back surgery. Now, one month later, I have at least 3 blood clots in my leg. Needless to say, I will be on Warfarin for the rest of my life. I have been back on Warfarin for one week and have shortness of breath again!!! So glad I came upon this site - I always thought it was me with some weird health problem. I am relieved to know that I am not the only one to have shortness of breath while taking a blood thinner.

My mother has afib, no shortness of breath prior to starting coumadin. She started this week & has been short of breath literally since the day she began. Sounds pretty suspect to me.

I always wondered the same thing. My breathing is getting worse and worse, and I've been on coumadin for 20 months now. Now that lovenox is available generic, I may switch to that to see if it is any better. I had a PE in March 2009, during chemo for breast cancer, it was small, and it's gone now.

I have been on Warfarin for 6 months now for heart afib.I am on 3/2.5 ml therapy.I have been experiencing shortness of breath ever since they put me on this therapy.It's getting worse every day and my feet and hands are also swallen and purple in color.I can't go on like this anymore.What shall I do?

Warfarin (Coumedan) has , for certain, caused shortness of breath and exhaustion. I know because Plavax did the same except with it I felt like I was also suffering from the flu( was on it 7 months, unfortunately, until I learned it was the cause for my problem). I had stroke last summer, and one year later my surgeon said A Fib was the cause, so he put me on warfarin and performed PVA(ablation) this week. I have to continue warfarin for the next 90 days ( been on it already 5 months), but I'm going to ask if I might try Dabigatran, a new blood thinner that is supposed to be safer. If anyone has tried this, I'd like to know whether they feel better. Don't let these " experts" try to say warfarin isn't the cause of your suffering!

I am 38 and had multiple emboli in December caused from contraceptive pill and long hual flight. And yes!!! i too have shortness of breath since starting warfarin. for a few months it went away, and now in the last week it has returned. I do wonder if it is anxiety, but its just seems a very common side effect, especially considering i was fine for weeks, and now im not...

I developed a blood clot from having a tummy tuck and 11 fibroids removed. The clot started in my leg and went to my lung. I've been on coumadin since January 2011 and I've experienced headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, depression, pain and discomfort in my legs. My R & R blood levels seems to go below 2.0 and when it does they put me back on the LOvenox shots which have painful after effects. I've been hearing about natural ways of keeping your blood thin but I'm afraid to try them. Putting rat poison in my body scares me and whenever I get any strange symptom I panic. They don't at this time know how long I will have to remain on this med. I've been praying to God to heal me and I'm going to stand in faith for myself and each of you on here. God bless.

I meant INR not R & R :-)

I was having exttreme shortness of breathe and felt horrible all of the time; i thought it was just sinus and allergy's and the face that i was over weight; I went to er after going to a dr checkup and after a rigorus battery of test and a trip to the CAT scan i was told i had bi at PE's. That was the scariest day of my life; I still get shortness of vreathe and am having a hard time getting regulated but over all i feel better; I thank the Lord everyday and would like to tell all of those out there who feel like the can not breathe to please give your body time to get regulated and pleaseplease check in with a dr before ending your meds even if it is an er dr pr phone a nurse or something.. This is nothing to play with.

I had atrial fibrilation on 01/10 and I was prescribed warfarin. I had a cardioversion on 03/10 and my heart has a normal beep since that day. But, I have been told to keep warfarin. I stop taking it for a dental procedure. I have told my doctor why I keep taking and he said that I have a low risk (1) but he recommended taking it. I don't want to keep taking it if my heart is fine for more than a year. My sex drive came back after I stopped taking it. Now, I can enjoy some wine for dinner, which I could not do before. I am 63 years old.

I had a PE most likely caused by a veinous aneurism in march 2011. I was absolutely fine after the first week and never spent time in the hospital. Doc put me on warrfarin with 2 shots a day for 2 weeks the just warrfarin. A month after the PE I began having issues breathing, tightness in the chest, it feels like I'm breathing through a cloth sometimes, with this I get the jitters, rapid pounding heart beat and sweating. It seems to come and go as some days I can run and exercise fine and others it seems I have to think to take each breath. The PE's are long gone verrified via cat and have had "sports ekg" to see if a heart problem exists no problems were found. I have a hard time believing that there is no link between the warrfarin and these symptoms, and the crazy thing is that I have yet to talk to anyone who can get a straight answer from their doc. I hope everyone gets to feeling better, I'm going off warrfarin in a month and pray evey day that this problem goes with it.

Jessie wrote:

I am 26 and have been on coumadin for 9 years now and will have to be on it forever. I am currently taking 7.5 mg. I've been trying to look up diff side effects of coumadin in younger people but I'm not finding a whole lot.
One thing I experience is severe acne. I have had it since about age 13 and I cannot get rid of it! I do not have oily skin at all and my acne comes in clusters, almost like cysts. My face hasn't been clear since I have been on coumadin.
I have no sex drive.Also, my urine is very dark. I also have a place on my right deltoid/tricep area, about the size of a quarter. It is a dark spot, sensitive and very indented. It almost looks like the tissue has been taken out. I also feel very tired all the time. I do work 9 hours a day and drive an hour to work and an hour home, that could have something to do with it, but i just feel like i have NO energy what so ever.
I know these effects don't really seem to tie into one another, but does anyone else have similar side effects?

I am on 13mg of coumadin, and i feel tired a lot. Dont know how long i will have to be on it but i do know it makes you tired.

I am on 13mg of coumadin, and i feel tired a lot. Dont know how long i will have to be on it but i do know it makes you tired.

I too am having shortness of breath and found out my coumadin level is at 5 today which is very high. I just finished a valium stress test today so will find out the results soon but my battery of lung tests were normal for someone 61 years old. I am withholding the coumadin for 2 days per my doctor but my breathing or shortness of breath has gotten worse the higher my coumadin level has gotten.

Laurie wrote:

Judy - the coumadin should not be causing shortness of breath. What type of cardiac testing did they do? Is your husband anxious or under stress alot?

I have been on warfarin for over 11 years,was put on for a DVT.After much testing was discovered a low protein C genetic condition .I never suffered any shortness of breath and enjoyed water and snow skiing,raced cars and go karts and all sports with my grand children.I am 6ft 155lbs and within 1 year of taking warfarin the shortness of breath started and has continued to deteriorate till now when instead of running 4 miles everyday I struggle up the 4 steps to my back door.Why the denial,I can't understand people living in a vacuum,face it warfarin is the problem

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I've had this problem since I started coumadin 4 weeks ago due to a dvt in my left calf. I had no problem with stairs or long distances before and now I feel like I want to pass out after doing these! I am a senior in high school and I almost passed out after a choir concert. My nurses and Dr keep telling me that being short of breath for 5 more months is a small price to pay for being alive, but I just want to be normal again. I'm so tired of meds and hospitals, appointments and needles, etc. Hopefully it'll all go back to normal. Good luck to those on this poison.

My mom is taking warfarin and she is having shortness of breath also. It is really bad. She cannot walk from one room to another without getting winded. I have noticed she is getting a bit forgetful also. Don't know if that is related of not. She was taking Coumadin until the insurance co. would not cover that med any more. It has only been since she is on the Warfarin that she is like this. I have had her heart checked out and they said it is fine. I am in the process of setting up an appt. for a pulmonary dr. too. Just wanted to see if anyone else had these symptoms. I think it is the warfarin that is making her feel like this.

Patricia wrote:

My husband was given Warfarin after getting blood clots in his arm from a picline. From day 1 of receiving Warfarin he has experienced shortness of breath. Never had that problem previous to getting the medication. It would seem to me if you had a specific date, situation, and medication that you have never taken before and the date has passed, the situation is nonexistent now because both arms and legs have been dopplered and still on Warfarin and still experiencing shortness of breath everyday....should be only one thing to blame the condition on!!!!!!