Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

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Blood in Urine

Daffnae
Daffnae
Everything has been going great for me. It's been 2 months since my PE. The only issue is that my INR is a little high at 3.4 (tested 3 days ago), but that doesn't seem too high to me.

I just got back from the urgent care after having what I would consider significant blood in my urine. It was basically reddish pink in the test container (at least it wasn't bright red). There is no sign of infection, so the doctor sent me home to continue as usual.

He didn't check my INR or tell me to not take my usual dose tonight. I don't really feel like I'm bleeding out or anything, but it seems like maybe there are other things I should be watching for or at least taking it easy.

I plan to call my hematologist who has been monitoring my INR tomorrow and see if his nurse practitioner wants to weigh in on my situation.

Any words of wisdom from anyone who has had the same experience?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Both the ER doc and my regular doc told me it wasn't uncommon to have some blood in the urine while on warfarin. I had microscopic blood a couple times, but nothing visible. I would definately call your hematologist for advice. I know when I had some rectal bleeding while on warfarin my doctor wanted to do more frequent hemoglobin tests until the bleeding stopped just to make sure I wasn't losing too much blood. Also, I'm assuming they tested to be sure it was actually blood. I am guilty of a massive freak-out and call to my doctor a week after surgery when I had pink urine... turns out beets (and some other foods) turn urine pink. I guess this is common knowledge to most people, just not me! I gave the nurse a good laugh.
MegK05
MegK05
I actually had microscopic blood in my urine today, but mine was accompanied by WBCs as well, so it was just from an infection. But it did make me wonder if this was something common among people taking coumadin, like if the chance of infection was higher because of the likelihood of blood showing up all over the place, all the time.

Have you had any pain with this? Is there any chance you had a small stone that may have caused the bleeding?
Daffnae
Daffnae
No pain or feeling of bladder or kidney infection or stones. They also checked for infection and nothing showed up. I'm getting ready for bed and it has surprising gone back to no noticeable blood (it was very pink before). I'll still check with the Hema tomorrow and see if he wants to check anything.
cave76
cave76
Mayo clinic and cave76 :) says:

Foods. Beets, blackberries and rhubarb can turn urine red or pink.

Also some dyes in some candies.

But you should get in contact with your doctor to make sure it's not something a little more serious.
cave76
cave76
I forgot these:

Boysenberries
Artificial cereals, drinks and other foods containing red-colored dyes

(The food doesn't have to be red or pink to turn the urine pink.)
rmb
rmb
While not crazy high, 3.4 is still high. So that could be the cause. Also ovarian cysts can cause that too. I have one right now and have had some blood in my urine. But I think it's still good to check with whomever is managing your INR just so it's on the record and you can keep an eye on things. It's not uncommon to have this when you're on warfarin but it's not like everyone can expect to see blood,so I'd want to address it for sure.
Daffnae
Daffnae
Update: I have no infection, so the urgent care sent me home to go on as usual last night. They confirmed it was definitely blood in the urine.

There is no chance I'll be eating beets, but the boysenberries sound good!

I called the Hema this morning. They agree that it is not an issue if no infection, especially since it stopped and I'm not seeing blood in my urine any more. My instructions are to continue on my warfarin plan and to let them know if it happens again. I get my INR tested again in 10 days.

I ended up skipping my dose last night (of only 1mg). It sounds like they wouldn't have told me to do that, but there was no way I was taking an anticoagulant when I was bleeding from places I don't expect to see blood.

Thank you for all of your responses!
cave76
cave76
Good news!

***There is no chance I'll be eating beets****

I've reported you to the Beet Police!
deleted_user
deleted_user
Ha! I will now only eat one small slice of beet because I know that is my limit before seeing red-ish urine! I don't dislike beets, but I DO dislike funny color urine, even if I do know beets are the cause! Doesn't take much to send me into a panic!
Lynnedz56
Lynnedz56
The first thing the ER checks when I go in is my INR. Also, my doctor told me that blood in the urine is one of the things that MUST be checked when on warfarin. And 3.4 is not too high in the scheme of things, but but it would still bother me that they didn't even check. When I was in the hospital my INR jumped 2 points overnight. And just this week I thought I was doing great and mine had jumped to 6.8. Now I look like I was in a horrible accident. A little scratch took 20 minutes to stop bleeding and I have broken blood vessels in my eye and my son says I look satanic. I just would be a little concerned that they did not check the INR at the ER.
Daffnae
Daffnae
I think next time I'll be a little more level headed (and hopefully there won't be a next time) and I'll make sure to specifically ask to get my INR checked.
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