I've been out 5 months and I am still have tired days, There are days
when I can get alot done and I feel they are coming more often.
I think coumadin affects each of us differently. I really can't blame the tiredness on the coumadin. I think its my body trying to heal. Maybe you are still anxious about the PE's, its hard to get over the little buggers sitting in your lungs. At least mentally for me

That could just be stress now that what happened is really getting a chance to just hit you.

OR ... it could be the fact that you're moving halfway around the world later this year. I'd be a basket case with that going on, clots or no clots.

I lean towards Toss' theory. Seems like the stress and anxiety of a PE can sneak up on some people. I felt like a million bucks emotionally until about a month after my PE when some nagging anxiety started to set it.

I'm a bit late commenting on this but...my experience:

I had major anxiety kick in after my DVT. It was very bad for the first month and remained to some degree for quite a while afterwards. In time it should get better. I've never had a medical situation that generated anxiety like a DVT did. When it occurred (2 years ago) I did alot of research and saw many people had the same experience as well.

Hi Aussie38

I think everybody's experience of Warfarin is different. My docs keep telling me that Warfarin is basicallly side effect free - except for minor things like bleeding out or suffering a major internal haemorrhage.

In all seriousness I know that the first four hours after taking my evening dose are the worst of my day. Heart flutters,palpitations,restlessness,some anxiety and a spaced out feeling.I fall asleep and by morning it's all gone and the only effect I feel is an extreme sensitivity to cold. I've taken Warfarin for some years and the effect is always the same
.I guess it's an individual thing but I would be a little reluctant to put everything down to post PE anxiety. Just my opinion but taking Warfarin is the equivalent of using a shotgun to kill an ant. But until they find something better we lifers are stuck with it - so I suppose we can only bless Warfarin's little cotton sox, non -existent side effects and all.

Larry

I thought that it took a couple of days for a warfarin dose to hit your system, so if that's the case, not sure how that's possible your side effects would start 4 hours after a dose. I don't think it's necessarily anxiety but I think we may be psyching ourselves up for stuff without even knowing it.

"The response differs for all drugs in the intensity and types of effects according to the dose (amount) of the drug given. Most drugs do not show an effect until a certain minimal level of dosage is reached.

The smallest dosage of the drug to show an effect is the threshold of the drug. As the result of heredity, different people respond in a different manner to the same dosage of a drug."
http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/rbook/drug.html

So the amount of a drug can produce different effects in different people. Plus that pesky genetics dilemma.

How protein is bound (or not bound) will also play a part.

larsing said:

***Just my opinion but taking Warfarin is the equivalent of using a shotgun to kill an ant. But until they find something better we lifers are stuck with it ***

Totally agree. I believe that in the future there could be something better and less dangerous for anti-coag. That probably won't happen until the CDC stops their nonsense about genetic testing for this disease:

"In summary, currently there is not sufficient
evidence to recommend genetic testing for
warfarin patients on a widespread basis"

http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/events/file/print/10year/46_warfarin.pdf

Aussie said:

****Does anyone know if warfarin causes us to have a lower threshold for stress?***

I think there's more unknown about warfarin than is known.

I'm sorry you're having one of those side effects that the doctors say can't happen while taking warfarin.

I would imagine that taking warfarin impacts a body in more ways than just producing stress. As above----- there's so much unknown about it, especially long term usage, that it's like we're the 'lab rats' being tested for this. Oh joy.

i think ive heard some mention restless leg syndrome whilst on warfarin - perhaps more applicable when trying to rest though as the rest of the time you prob wont notice it too much - good on you if you have the energy to keep going - i was totally floored some day (infact lots of days).

cave 76 said


"Totally agree. I believe that in the future there could be something better and less dangerous for anti-coag. That probably won't happen until the CDC stops their nonsense about genetic testing for this disease:"



I have been genetically tested for my response to Warfarin.Warfarin is metabolised in the liver by enzyme CYP2C9.It turns out that while I am deficient in some enzymes my CYP2C9 enzyme is super efficient which means that I metabolise Warfain extremely quickly. Therefore my response times for the effects of Warfarin are very rapid.
I imagine that there would be genetic variations right across the spectrum in the levels of enzyme function, Therefore suggesting that this or that response to Warfarin falls inside or outside the "norm" is totally spurious.
Both doctors and patients need to be aware that a response to Warfarin dosage can be an extremely individual thing. You experience what you experience when you take Warfarin. The only validation you need is that experience
I cannot, nor can anybody else, say that an indidual's response is due or not due to Warfarin. The most we can do is share our experience with others, note and sympathise when their responses correlates with ours and bless our luck when they don't.

Larry

@ larsing

***I cannot, nor can anybody else, say that an indidual's response is due or not due to Warfarin.****

True dat.