Long term effects of Coumadin/warfarin

[Rich]

I am asking this due to some ongoing discussion on another thread regarding valve choice. There has been talk about long term potential problems especially with the elderly. I would like to hear some of these.
I have been on Coumadin for almost 14 yrs and am now approaching age 72. That's not a real long time compared to some of our members.
Other than the usual things I have had no problems to this point in time.
There is hardly anything I can't do and don't do.
It's just the normal things that cause frustration due to the ignorance of so many in the medical and dental fields.
So what if anything can I expect as I age?
Rich

 

[Freddie]

Gee, what can I tell you Rich?

My uncle lived until he was just shy of 101. Meat and potato type of man and always willing to have a shot of whiskey when company was around - just one shot or one beer. At the age of 92 he decided to make out his will. At 95 he was starting to find it harder to get down to the cellar. Up to the age of 99 1/2 he attended the garden, cut the grass and had all his original teeth and was sharp as a whip when it came to jokes.

You my fellow member, as you age you too may find it hard to get down to the cellar.

But why worry? Live long and strong, age is only a number.

 

[Philip B]

Age & Coumadin?

Age & Coumadin?

Hi Rich,

Hopefully, someone will respond with some kind of medical study results. About all I can relate is the experience my grandfather had with life and coumadin.

My grandfather was placed on a small, daily dosage (1-2 mg) of coumadin when he reached his seventies. Evidently, he had some kind of issue develop that involved blood clots in his legs. He passed while napping after Thanksgiving dinner. At the time of his passing, he was 95.

Other than constantly worrying that he would bleed to death if he cut himself shaving, coumadin presented him with no problems. Prior to his death, he had both hips replaced (his doctors did the bridging thing on both occasions).

He was mentally sharp and was working his ranching operation right up to the day he died. Like a lot of folks, his body simply wore out from a lifetime of hard work.

I think people who make an effort to stay healthy and fit stand a decent chance of living to a ripe old age regardless of whether they take coumadin or not.

-Philip

 

[Maryka]

I am also on the National Marfan Foundation blog for people over 50. Someone on that thread just wrote that she is 72 and has been on coumadin since 1965. No problems.

 

[Ross]

Well Rich, your going to walk down the street one day, your legs are going to snap in two from brittle bones, you'll be so upset that you'll have an instant GI bleed, then blow a head gasket and have a stroke, all within 10 minutes of each other. See, aren't you glad you asked?

I mean for crying out loud, RCB has been on the stuff since it all began and he's still out there. Dick, don't know where you are now, but you too, have been on it for a very long time. I think between the both of these guys, the testimony speaks for itself.

I can't say it enough, though obviously no matter what, someone not on Coumadin is going to disagree. If your compliant, do all the things you should do and don't get stupid, chances of an adverse event, (I don't mean one caused by stupidity of clueless managers or medical professionals) are very low.

 

[neil]

rich you seem to be doin great,

 

[karen14]

Good question though Rich! I read that post you mentioned, and I started thinking the same thing as you. I'm on Coumadin for life as well, so it all made me wonder. But now I realize it's all just speculation, with no real founded study or evidence. And like was stated already, advanced elderly people on Coumadin most likely have other issues going on as well. So far I haven't read anything medically serious happen that's related directly to Coumadin.

 

[Nancy]

Joe was on Coumadin for 30+ years well into his 70s. I can't remember anything that would be considered an adverse effect of Coumadin as he aged.

I do remember that Coumadin was sometimes hard to manage because he developed several co-morbidities including liver and kidney failure, plus some kind of problem with his intestinal tract that caused diarrhea.

But Coumadin didn't cause these problems. These problems caused the management situation.

If you are in good health otherwise, I don't see it causing any problems as you age, just because you are older or have been on it a long time.

 

[dick0236]

I think people who make an effort to stay healthy and fit stand a decent chance of living to a ripe old age regardless of whether they take coumadin or not.

I've also wondered about long term warfarin use but have never experienced ANY side effects due to my long use of the drug. Frankly, my management of warfarin seems to get easier as I age. I agree that other age related medical issues may cause "warfarin problems" down the road.....but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

[John & Joann]

Joann has been on Coumadin since 1971. We asked the question to an expert regarding the "Long Term" coumadin has on the body and what the research shows regarding this question. The answer "you are our long term study". "We do not know, but when we see people live 20, 30, or ever 40 years, we suspect that there is not problem--over than an accident or internal hemmorage".

The real answer is that THEY DO NOT KNOW!!!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Rich,

I was going to send you an e-mail but apparently you have elected NOT to receive e-mails through VR.org

Part of what I was going to suggest is to ask your Pharmacist (and read the information sheets on Coumadin).

'AL C'

 

[Rich]

I just was curious if anyone experienced any unknown side effects over the years.
I'm sure not a total expert but after all these years, there isn't much I don't know about Coumadin.
I have to agree with Joann, maybe they just don't know. It's hard to beleive though after all these years of people on this medication.
I simply wondered if it could have any effect on the body's immune system. Side effects from this or other meds I have taken(or am still taking) may explain some of the weird things I have run into over the last several years. For instance the dermatagraphism I now have. It is triggered by the body's immune system, but only started over the last several years. Also a beta blocker triggered my wife's immume system and produced psoriasis. My neighbor took it for a while for a-fib and claimed it intensified his arthritus.
And Al I thought my e-mail address was in my profile but maybe not. I can't find where to check it or add it, and couldn't find yours either.
Rich

 

[Bina]

Rich, to activate email:
Click up on the top right of this page where it says SETTINGS.
on the next screen, look down the lower left under MY ACCOUNT and click on GENERAL SETTINGS.
on that screen, look under MESSAGING AND NOTIFICATION, and make sure that the tick mark is visible for
RECEIVE EMAIL FROM OTHER MEMBERS.

 

[njean]

I just was curious if anyone experienced any unknown side effects over the years.
I'm sure not a total expert but after all these years, there isn't much I don't know about Coumadin.
I have to agree with Joann, maybe they just don't know. It's hard to beleive though after all these years of people on this medication.
I simply wondered if it could have any effect on the body's immune system. Side effects from this or other meds I have taken(or am still taking) may explain some of the weird things I have run into over the last several years. For instance the dermatagraphism I now have. It is triggered by the body's immune system, but only started over the last several years. Also a beta blocker triggered my wife's immume system and produced psoriasis. My neighbor took it for a while for a-fib and claimed it intensified his arthritus.
And Al I thought my e-mail address was in my profile but maybe not. I can't find where to check it or add it, and couldn't find yours either.
Rich

Just chiming in from one of those that's been on coumadin for over 30+ years now......

Some of my drs. have said that long-term use of coumadin will erode bone mass and have expressed the importance of Boniva, Fasomax and/or other osteoporosis treatment drugs especially in women.

I've read & seen rather frightening and negative press on both of these drugs and refuse to take them. I do have some bad & painful arthritis on my hands, fingers, hip joints but I'm not going to blame coumadin on that because my father and mother both had these ailments & they never took coumadin........so who knows Rick???

 

[Ross]

Just chiming in from one of those that's been on coumadin for over 30+ years now......

Some of my drs. have said that long-term use of coumadin will erode bone mass and have expressed the importance of Boniva, Fasomax and/or other osteoporosis treatment drugs especially in women.

I've read & seen rather frightening and negative press on both of these drugs and refuse to take them. I do have some bad & painful arthritis on my hands, fingers, hip joints but I'm not going to blame coumadin on that because my father and mother both had these ailments & they never took coumadin........so who knows Rick???

Once again, I've read studies that say it does and I've read studies that say it's inconclusive. All I can tell you is, no one I know that's been on it for 30+ years had reported any bone density problems. Draw your own conclusions. This is why I don't give studies a whole lot of merit. Your always going to have conflicting opinions.

 

[Bina]

I haven't been on Coumadin long enough to consider it a factor in my osteoporosis or my joint/tendon problems. These problems I inherited from my late Mom who had never taken Coumadin at all. So, I am taking a newer BMR drug, Actonel, for my osteo.
Taking meds really annoys me, but we eventually all need something.