Frank Says:
I was put on Warfarin after a stroke in 2003. I worked very hard to keep my INR just right, it takes a lot of work. Eating green leafy vegies drives the INR down, so you would have to add higher daily dosage to get it back. If it gets to high they will tell you to stop taking for a couple days. Shortly after starting to take Warfarin I noticed discoloration on lower legs (my chemical tan). Then a little over a year later I started having headaches that were not normal. The kind that if you were driving and came to an intersection, you could not turn your head without discomfort. I went in and asked if I should have a CAT scan. They said if they saw anything they would call, and I live less than a mile from hospital. When I got home they were on the phone and requesting that I come back to hospital so they could stabilize me while they rounded up a nuerosurgeon in Houston. My brain was bleeding in 3 places. They gave me a vitamin K shot in emergency room to counter the Warfarin. I spent 6 days in ICU before christmas 2004. I did not need surgery, I was very lucky and check-ups since are negative. My personal physcian did some checking and for me we landed on taking the 81mg dose of aspirin daily along with diet and cholesterol medications, and exercise. It seems that when we become patients who need these types of meds our balancing scales can get out of wack. A drug can be prescribed for you, but you may not be aware of any side effects, and it's obvious that by reading some of these that not everyone has all the information they need. I am not a doctor, but I will tell you a simple bump of the head can start a bleeder in the brain. I thought before this that I could spar with Mike Tyson. Please don't ignore the headache's that are not typical, get a medical professional to evaluate and follow up with a CAT scan. I reiterate, I am not a doctor, there are different ways to treat clotting. Plavix can do same thing, and is considered aggressive as is Warfarin. The 81 mg dose is not as aggressive and may be the way to go for some. Of course some conditions will require Coumadin or Warfarin. Be sure to have your health care provider to explain every thing you need to know. It seems that some folks in health care get quieter and quieter when things like this start. The worst part of all of this is filing for disability from Social Security. Folks who are having all of these problems don't need to be hasseled by S.S. Admin.
Home Page
Post Your Story or Question
Follow Us On Twitter
Registered Community Experts
Committed to Your Privacy 
