What is Coumadin?
Coumadin (warfarin) is (blood thinner)and also an anticoagulant. Warfarin decreases blood clot formation. Coumadin is used to treat or prevent veins or arteries from having blood clots, which can minimize the risk of stroke, heart attack, or other severe conditions.
Coumadin Uses
- This drug is used to treat blood clots and/or to avoid the development of new clots in your body (such as deep vein thrombosis-DVT or pulmonary embolism-PE). The prevention of dangerous blood clots helps to minimize the risk of a heart attack or stroke. A certain type of abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation), heart valve repair, recent heart attack, and certain operations (such as hip/knee replacement) include conditions that raise the risk of forming blood clots.
- Commonly referred to as a "blood thinner," but "anticoagulant." is the more accurate word. By minimizing the number of certain substances (clotting proteins) in your blood, it helps to keep blood circulating smoothly in your body.
How to take Coumadin
- Before you begin taking warfarin and each time you get a refill, read the Drug Guide issued by your pharmacist. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure about taking or how to take.
- Take this medicine by mouth, as instructed by your doctor or other health care provider, with or without food, usually once a day. Taking it exactly as directed is very necessary. Unless instructed by your doctor, do not raise the dosage, take it more often, or avoid using it.
- The dosage is totally dependent on your medical condition, tests in the laboratory, and treatment reaction. To assess the correct dosage for you, your doctor or other health care provider will monitor you closely when you are taking this drug.
- To get the most value from it, take this drug according to what is prescribed. To help you remember to take the doses at each day at the same time.
- When taking warfarin, eating a healthy, regular diet is important. Some foods may affect how warfarin functions in your body and may influence your dosage and care. Avoid sudden increases or decreases in intake of food which are highly in vitamin K (such as cabbage, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, sprouts, kale, spinach, and other green leafy vegetables, liver, green tea, certain vitamin supplements). Check with your doctor before you decide to go on a diet if you are trying to lose weight.
- Since this substance may be absorbed through the skin and lungs and may damage an unborn baby, this medication should not be taken by women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant or breathe the dust from the tablets.
Coumadin Side Effects
- There may be nausea, lack of appetite, or stomach/abdominal pain.
- Know this fact that this drug has been prescribed by your doctor because he or she has decided that the value is greater than the risk of side effects. There are no such side effects for many people who are taking this drug.
- If it affects the blood coagulation proteins too much, this drug can cause extreme bleeding (shown by unusually high INR lab results). This risk of bleeding will continue for up to a week, even though your doctor stops your medication.
- Tell your doctor immediately if you notice any symptoms of significant bleeding, including irregular pain/swelling/discomfort, abnormal/easy bruising, prolonged bleeding from cuts or gums, constant/frequent nosebleeds, abnormally extreme/prolonged menstrual flow, dark urine, coughing of blood, vomit that is bloody, severe headache, dizziness, fainting, abnormal or persistent tiredness.
- If any of these unexpected but significant side effects arise, notify your doctor right away: constant nausea/vomiting, extreme stomach/abdominal pain, yellowing eyes/skin.
- If its effects lead to small blood clots, this medication has rarely caused very severe (possibly fatal) problems (usually at the beginning of treatment). This may lead to significant skin/tissue damage that, if left unchecked, can require surgery or amputation. There could be a higher risk in patients with such blood disorders (deficiency of protein C or S). If any of these uncommon but severe side effects arise, seek medical attention right away: painful/red/purple spots on the skin (such as on the toe, breast, abdomen), symptoms of kidney issues (such as a change in the amount of urine), changes in vision, agitation, difficulty communicating, weakness on one side of the body.
Precautions
- Tell your doctor or pharmacist whether you are allergic to it or if you have any other reactions before taking warfarin. There might be many inactive ingredients in this substance that may cause allergic reactions or other problems. For more information and details you need to consult your pharmacist.
- Inform your doctor or pharmacist of your medical history before using this drug, especially: blood disorders (such as anemia, hemophilia), bleeding issues (such as stomach/intestinal bleeding, brain bleeding), blood vessel disorders such as aneurysms, recent major injury or any kind of surgery, diseases of kidney, diseases of liver, alcohol use, mental/mood disorders (including memory loss problems)
- It is important for all of your physicians and dentists to know that you are taking warfarin. Tell your doctor or dentist why you are taking this drug and of all the medications you use before getting surgery or other medical/dental procedures (including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and herbal products).
- Stop the muscles receiving injections. If injection into a muscle (such as a flu shot) is needed, it should be given in the arm. Checking for bleeding and/or applying pressure bandages would be simpler this way.
- Stomach bleeding can be caused by this drug. When taking this drug, regular consumption of alcohol will increase the risk of stomach bleeding and may also influence how this medication functions. To ban alcoholic drinks. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the amount of alcohol you should drink safely.
- If you have not been eating well for more than 2 days, if you have a disease or infection that causes fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, or if you are beginning to take some antibiotic medicines, contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately as these conditions may influence how warfarin works
- Heavy bleeding can be caused by this drug. Use great care with sharp objects like safety razors and nail cutters to decrease the risk of being cut, bruised, or hurt. For shaving, use an electric razor and when brushing your teeth, use a soft toothbrush. Stop such practices as contact sports. Call your doctor right away. You will need to be checked by your doctor.
- Generic warfarin drugs are interchangeable, the Food & Drug Administration has suggested. However, before changing warfarin products, consult your doctor or pharmacist. Be careful not to take more than one warfarin-containing drug, unless guided explicitly.
- When taking this drug, older adults may be at greater risk of bleeding.
- Due to severe (possibly fatal) damage to an unborn baby, this drug is not approved for use during pregnancy. Discuss the use of reliable forms of birth control with your doctor when taking this drug and for 1 month after the medication has ended. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant or think that you might be pregnant. If you are considering pregnancy, speak to your doctor about a plan for treating your condition before you become pregnant. The type of drug you use during pregnancy can be changed by your doctor.
- Since this substance may be absorbed through the skin and lungs and may damage an unborn baby, this medication should not be taken by women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant or breathe the dust from the tablets.
- Very small quantities of this drug can transfer into breast milk, but a breastfeeding baby is unlikely to be harmed. Before breastfeeding, consult the doctor.
Interactions
- Drug interactions will result in a change of your drugs or maximize the risk of serious side effects.
- Warfarin interacts with many medications, vitamins, non-prescription, and herbal products. This involves drugs that are placed on the skin or inside the rectum or vagina. All potential drug interactions do not include the following interactions mentioned. Interactions with warfarin typically allow the "blood-thinning" (anticoagulant) effect to increase or decrease. To avoid severe bleeding or clotting complications, the doctor or other health care professional should closely watch you. It is very important to inform your doctor or pharmacist of any changes in the medications, vitamins, or herbal products you are taking while you are taking warfarin.
- In order to calculate theophylline levels, this drug can interfere with a certain laboratory test, likely causing false test results. Ensure that laboratory staff/health care advisors and all of your physicians know that you are taking this medicine.
- Aspirin, salicylate-like aspirin medications, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib) can have a warfarin-like impact. If taken during treatment with warfarin, these drugs may increase the risk of problems with bleeding. Carefully review all labels of prescription/nonprescription products (including skin-related drugs such as pain-relieving creams) because they may contain NSAIDs or salicylates in the products. Speak to your doctor about treating pain/fever with another drug (such as acetaminophen). If recommended by your doctor for legitimate medical purposes, low-dose aspirin and similar medicines (such as clopidogrel, ticlopidine) should be continued.
Note:
Do not share with anyone this drug. To track the progress or check for side effects, laboratory and/or medical tests (such as INR, full blood count) must be conducted regularly.
Overdose
If someone has taken/consumed more than required or more than prescribed, immediately contact the doctor because it can have some very adverse side effects.
Missed Dose
Do not miss out on any doses for the best possible benefit. If you skip a dose, you can take it as soon as you recall and remember the same day. If you recall the next day, skip the skipped dose of this drug. At your normal dosage time, take your next dose. To catch up, do not double the dose because this could increase the risk of bleeding. Keep a list of missing doses to send to your pharmacist or doctor. When you skip 2 or more doses in a row, call your doctor or pharmacist.
Coumadin vs Rivaroxaban
Coumadin |
Rivaroxaban |
|---|---|
| Warfarin is sold under this | The brand name is Xarelto |
| Anticoagulant | Anticoagulant |
| Used for treating the blood clots in deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism | Used to treat and prevent blood clots |
| Helps in preventing stroke | It does not prevent stroke |
| Formula: C19H16O4 | Formula: C19H18ClN3O5S |
