Cold due to Warfarin?

[Pat J]

Had my aortic valve replaced three weeks ago and started taking warfarin and I'm cold all the time which was never a problem for me before surgery. I read that a "minor" side effect of warfarin was being cold.

Anyone else experience this effect? If so, does it go away at some point?

Heat is cranked up; blankets piled high and I'm still freezing!

 

[JimL]

I share the problem, although I don't understand it. I wouldn't say that it's a severe problem, and it's not consistent, but there are times.

 

[Protimenow]

I hadn't heard of this. I've been on warfarin for 21 years and don't recall that side-effect. Perhaps it's somehow related to better blood flow into your extremities and contact with more skin surface.

It is NOT because your blood is 'thin' -- and some people may mistakenly think that warfarin as a 'blood thinner' and, as a result, your thin blood makes you feel cold.

It's interesting to see that others share that problem -- I haven't heard of it before.

 

[dick0236]

Like Protimenow, I have never experienced a "cold" sensation.....and normally do not wear a coat in our Kentucky winters.... but I have heard this from others who attribute it to "thinning" the blood with warfarin. Warfarin is an "anti-coagulant" and does not change the viscosity of blood.....but maybe there is some ingredient in the drug that might cause a "cold" sensation in some.

 

[pellicle]

Had my aortic valve replaced three weeks ago and started taking warfarin and I'm cold all the time which was never a problem for me...
Heat is cranked up; blankets piled high and I'm still freezing!

So soon after surgery?

Could it be related to the recuperation from a major injury that your body is diverting energy to healing rather than the warfarin?

 

[Roberta]

I

So soon after surgery?

Could it be related to the recuperation from a major injury that your body is diverting energy to healing rather than the warfarin?[/QUOTE
Pellicle raises a good point. I was cold for awhile after surgery and it was a result of my low iron count and being anemic.
Hope it resolves for you.

 

[chaconne]

Pat J,

I'm with pellicle and Roberta. It's almost certain that one of the temporary side affects to the surgery is feeling cold. I heard this from others, before I had my surgery, and experienced it myself. I am normally not cold, and I regularly ride my bike in 30-40 degree weather with only a long sleeve shirt, shorts and a jersey. For about 2 months after my surgery, I felt cold and had to use extra blankets just sitting around a heated house. But now I am back to normal.

I'm sure you'll feel fine in a month or two. Best wishes on a full recovery.

 

[OldManEmu]

Pat if you are taking beta blockers, it may be related to them rather than the Warfarin. My hands, feet and nose always felt cold in cooler weather while I was taking beta blockers.
I never had this problem before I took beta blockers and I haven't had it since they were discontinued.

 

[pellicle]

Pat

I just read your post (http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?41356-Needing-Surgery-Soon&p=534976#post534976) and am so sorry that you have had such a dreadful time with the medical system. I can only but agree with your sentiment:

Seemed to be a well run, state of the art facility with no heart.

Given what you have posted there I would guess that you are trying to search for what is the cause of the problem and sorting through the medications. My neighbour is over 70 and after a bypass was put onto drugs which are in the family class "angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor" (look that up here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACE_inhibitor)

She has had no end of trouble with coughs, congested sinus passages and other symptoms such as you describe too.

Your surgery itself seems to have been a traumatic event.

If my suspicion of what you are enquiring about is correct then I'd examine the gamut of drugs you are on and look for a culprit there.

my best wishes for a good recovery.

 

[gerrychuck]

I would be surprised if your perception of cold was related to warfarin. I had my surgery in late October and was put on warfarin at that time; since then we have endured one of the coldest winters in memory, but fortunately I haven't felt any colder than I would have expected. For the record, I'm on a beta blocker too (metoprolol) but on a fairly low dose. I suspect, as other more knowledgeable people have said, that you will feel warmer as you recover. Hang in there, it gets better!

 

[Noyolk]

Many years before I had my BAV replaced, I met with a new cardio doc for my annual. I told him that I was always warmer than others around me, and my extremities were never cold. I could walk on a cold tile floor crawl into bed and still have warmer feet than my wife who had been in bed a couple of hours. He explained that my circulatory system had "dilated" things like the capillaries, to allow it to try to work more efficiently. He said that after BAV correction, I will be colder and have frozen hands when others do. 11 months ago I had my On-x installed and have noticed a difference. Upon arriving home from the surgery for the 1st month or 2, I was very COLD. As you describe. I have since become very temperature normalized. I am occasionally shocked at how cold my fingers get when I forget gloves, as this is a new experience to me. Warfarin is steady at 6mg and metoprolol was decreased in January to 25mg daily. Give it more time.

 

[Pat J]

Thank you all for your input. I'll give it more time and surely I will be warmer as spring and summer arrive!

 

[marc_kowal]

It's probably a side effect from the major surgery and your body is "re-booting" . I was never one to get cold, but after my BAV, I would get shivers all the time unless I stayed still and had blankets or a bathrobe on me. I thought it was maybe the Coumadin or something else, but my cardiologist said it will pass. This lasted for a few weeks after surgery, and then one morning it was like a switch had been flipped and I wasn't cold anymore. It was like night and day. Hopefully this will be the case for you, and you just need to wait it out.

 

[lance]

Hi Pat
Feeling cold and intolerance to cold are side efffects to warfarin. I experience a chilled to the bone feeling. It usually, not always, appears in the late afternoon at which point I wrap myself in a blanket or don a thick bathrobe. Spouse has been on warfarin for several years feeling cold but not to the extent I do. This is a year round occurrence.
Many pharmacy sites list this phenomenon to warfarin use.

 

[Oilman]

Pat,

I had been on Warfarin for 30 months before my valve replacement. I normally for years have been warm blooded and sweating at all times. The Warfarin did not change the effect on body temp pre valve replacement. After surgery, like others I became frozen all the time, having blankets and heater in front of me for first month, we are still with sub zero temps up here in the north, which doesn't help at times. The body is getting better with the cold now at 3.5 months, so I'm also hoping with time the body will straighten out the cold feelings. I just keep in mind, the body went through its toughest thing to date. Hoping you warm up soon.

 

[Protimenow]

Just a thought -- before surgery your/my heart was working harder than it should to circulate the blood adequately. I wonder if that extra 'work' done by the heart in some way actually generated heat (from the extra contractions, etc.). Now that your heart is working more efficiently - and doesn't have to work as hard as pre-surgery - could it be that it's not producing as much heat?

Just a thought....I'm not sure if it makes any sense, but it may be worth thinking about.

 

[BarbATS]

Hi, Pat J-

Yes, I remember being VERY COLD after my mitral valve replacement surgery nearly 13 years ago! It was summer weather here in Florida, yet I was
in layers of sweaters/jacket, whatever! SOOOOO, the important thing is that, within a relatively short time--perhaps a few months AT MOST--that little annoyance disappeared!

Congratulations on your surgery. Your body is adjusting and recovering from it all. Take good care.