Blood thinner Coumadin gets black box warning over fatal bleedi...

Coumadin is NOT a blood thinner like aspirin. It merely stops the coagulating process from beginning. Tha process is called "cascading". Most people just call it a thinner, though.(I am not a doctor).

I'm now more interested in a previous post here re the calcification of veins/arteries. Will need to check it out.

I've had angioplasty some time ago and am on blood thinners.Clopivas and Aspirin.Earlier I had gum bleeding when I stopped thinners for some days and the bleeding stopped. Then I resumed the drugs again which is essential,but , to-day morning I woke up with throat infection and a little blood in my cough. Checked my throat with a torch and found red streaks there. So, to-day I did not take the medicine.Gargled with salt water and washed my mouth with listerene.Feel better after a few hours. That made me curious to browse to this site seeking answers - am glad I did.

My wife underwent double valve replacement surgery in 1994 and was given mechanical valves at the age of 36.She was on a daily dose of Warfarin and required a weekly check of INR.We were keeping her INR around 2.50.All was well till 2009 when she started having frequent episodes of embolism and fevers of unknown origin and every time that this happened she had to be admitted for treatment.Pretty soon she developed a morbid fear of hospitals.The cardiologist treating her suggested a closer monitoring of INR at home using CoAggucheck and suggested to keep the INR in the range of 3.50 to 4.0.However after an embolism episode on July 13th this year, she was put on a daily dose of 75 mg Aspirin together with the 5 to 7 mg Warfarin which she was already taking all along.On 22nd of September she suffered intracrenial bleeding and went into a coma due to acute edema and massive midline shift resulting in damage to her brain stem and never recovered from it.Ultimately she expired on 12th October 2011.I think that the concomitant use of Warfarin and Aspirin proved to be fatal for her.I have been reading that while Warfarin keeps the blood thin,Aspirin irreversibly destroys the property of aggregation of platelets and therefor if there is spontaneous bleeding in patients on concomitant therapy then there is very little chance of having any control on such bleeding and immediate surgical intervention becomes all the more impossible due to the blood being so thin.My advice to all who are prescribed this concomitant therapy is to think twice and take a second opinion.

Pramod Kasliwal wrote:

My wife underwent double valve replacement surgery in 1994 and was given mechanical valves at the age of 36.She was on a daily dose of Warfarin and required a weekly check of INR.We were keeping her INR around 2.50.All was well till 2009 when she started having frequent episodes of embolism and fevers of unknown origin and every time that this happened she had to be admitted for treatment.Pretty soon she developed a morbid fear of hospitals.The cardiologist treating her suggested a closer monitoring of INR at home using CoAggucheck and suggested to keep the INR in the range of 3.50 to 4.0.However after an embolism episode on July 13th this year, she was put on a daily dose of 75 mg Aspirin together with the 5 to 7 mg Warfarin which she was already taking all along.On 22nd of September she suffered intracrenial bleeding and went into a coma due to acute edema and massive midline shift resulting in damage to her brain stem and never recovered from it.Ultimately she expired on 12th October 2011.I think that the concomitant use of Warfarin and Aspirin proved to be fatal for her.I have been reading that while Warfarin keeps the blood thin,Aspirin irreversibly destroys the property of aggregation of platelets and therefor if there is spontaneous bleeding in patients on concomitant therapy then there is very little chance of having any control on such bleeding and immediate surgical intervention becomes all the more impossible due to the blood being so thin.My advice to all who are prescribed this concomitant therapy is to think twice and take a second opinion.

I too am on coumadin and I have read that ANY aspirin product is a no no. Why would a Dr. do such a thing is beyond me. I also have read that the two shouldn't be taken together.

I had a mechanical heart valve replacement in 2004 and i have been on warfarin(coumadin) ever since. I have had many episodes where my blood has been too thin and have experienced many unknown bruises. But I have not experienced any internal bleeding that i am aware of. This has been a miracle drug for me as im concerned, i know its been derived from rat poison but its saving my life and i would not be alive now if not for this medicine! Im sorry about all the horrible things i have heard about here and i hope i dont have to experience any of that.

i had coumadib ordered===the 5th day i da pains and spasms that the pain pulled my knees to abdomen--

3 days off i got better --but reinstatint --i fot so mucj worse i could not stand up getting rid og it very slow ann

Undergoing chemo for stomach upper lining cancer, all connected to adenoesophagael carcinoma, with two other cancerous nodes up higher in the esophagus. One week after 1st treatments, developed acute deep vein thrombosis in left clavicle and left juggler vein area,- was immediately hospitalized and put on LoveNox - skipped 2nd chemo treatments, then resumed next week after almost all clots dissolved. Now injecting twice daily with LoveNox and continuing with chemo sessions using the port that supposedly helped cause the clotting. Not sure what's causing my EXTREME fatigue most - the chemo treatments OR the LoveNox injections. I FEEL LIKE HELL !!!!

In my haste, I forgot to mention - the doc is switching me /gonna phase me into using Coumadin so I won't be faced with the extremely expensive LoveNox - that should happen by mid-December. Any thoughts on that anybody???? Thanks!!!!!

Ernie-I think this is usual treatment for getting your blood so it won't clot so easily.
I too have done the switch 3 times (from Lovenox to Coumadin). I didn't miss the lovenox injections I had to give myself until my blood was within range of they wanted it to be. I think it took about 2 weeks to switch. Then you will have to be tested occasionally to keep it within range. Another option would be the new drug Praxada. It doesn't have to be tested for range and you can eat most anything although it contains vitamin K which thickens your blood. I couldn't take it and it is expensive as it gave me extreme heartburn. Coumadin is cheap.

My sister was taking coumadin and ended up getting a brain hemorrhage and dying from it. I have heard nothing but negative remarks on this drug. The FDA needs to pull this drug off the shelf. It is a nasty and deadly drug. She was 55 and way to young to die!!

She also was taking aspirin with the coumadin. Those two drugs counteract with each other, which I think led to her death.

@Joanne- So very sorry about your sister's death due to coumadin and aspirin. I think I read your post before.
Someone, somewhere was not watching her close enough. Why she was taking the two together and her Dr. knew it, was bad on his part. Her Dr. should always know their patients.
As far as Coumadin being "deadly", it can be even if a person was not on any aspirin type product.
My brother in law had a brain leakage taking it too and they got to him and stopped it and after that he was put on Plavix instead.
There is a negative to every drug (we should always read the phamlets to that drug). If we did do that, we probably would be doubtful about taking any of them.
Coumadin has saved me from having a stoke and I am willing to take that risk as I have ongoing Afib. Personally I would rather die than have a stroke and become a burden to my family. But... that is me.

I have been on coumadin for a year. I had to start the meds after a hysterectomy that caused blood clots in my lungs. I woke up this morning, used the restroom and I am urinating blood?????????? WHY????????

Does anyone know if taking iron supplements can affect the PT number when taking coumadin? If I don't take iron, I get extremely fatigued to the point of not functioning.

leslie wrote:

I have been on coumadin for a year. I had to start the meds after a hysterectomy that caused blood clots in my lungs. I woke up this morning, used the restroom and I am urinating blood?????????? WHY????????

GET TO A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY!!!! Seriously - GET TO A DOCTOR!!!!!

I have been taking Coumadin/Warfarin since 1998, when I had a mechanical valve replacement. I am monitored regularly, eat a good diet (but I don't obsess over Vitamin K), take a low dose Ecotrin each day, and have NEVER had any bleeding problems. The important thing is that I have NEVER had any clotting either, which could lead to stroke or death.

I really think that most of the people who have problems don't understand the drug and don't have a good Coumadin manager. I've also been on Lovenox twice when I had to go off Coumadin for surgeries and had no problem with that either. Sure I bruised at the injection site, but that's pretty normal from any shot. I am fair skinned and have always bruised easily. The only difference with Warfarin is the bruises seem to last longer.

It's doesn't thin the blood so when you hear people saying anything about blood being as thin as water, they have no clue. When they talk about the blood just pouring out, they have no clue. You will bleed like everyone else if you cut yourself, but you might bleed a bit longer. I've cut myself shaving and even once gashed my head. The gash required surgical glue, but that would have been true for anyone.

Really, the horror stories are just that. Many people have been taking this drug for much longer than I have and haven't had any major problems. People who are not on Coumadin also die of bleeding incidents.

Iam on coumading since 1989 to the present., rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrilation. machanical mitral valve etc.......My Pt is every 14 days or less always.....

My aunt died from internal bleeding caused by coumadin, then my Mother "nearly" died after a fall that caused a massive bruise while takeing coumadin. How did this extreamly dangerious drug pass F.D.A. test. Could it be that the drug is doing what someone wants it to do? Youthanize the elderly? Or am I just being parrinoid?

Ottis Amburgey wrote:

My aunt died from internal bleeding caused by coumadin, then my Mother "nearly" died after a fall that caused a massive bruise while takeing coumadin. How did this extreamly dangerious drug pass F.D.A. test. Could it be that the drug is doing what someone wants it to do? Youthanize the elderly? Or am I just being parrinoid?

I am so sorry about your aunt's dying while on coumadin. Had she been closely monitored as to how her medicine control was behaving. The wrong diet, full of vitamin K, could be part of the blame to why this has happened and also the side effects are clearly posted on the drug sheets and on every drug we put in mouths. Now it would be nice if foods were labeled the same (they are working on that. Since usually the people that are surviving because of this drug arn't the ones posting on this site except for a very few or the ones that have found this website.
Under close suppervison, this drug has kept me from having a stroke since 2003. I say thank you to the drug makers for extending our lives. I wish I could take an alternate drug to replace it but it's not in my options.
When someone dies, we can become bitter as to the reasons why and in some cases there are more than one.
God bless you for caring so much for your family.