Overdose warfarin/ blood in urine

[Robt Z]

Hello my fellow valve replacement recipients. Yours truly has had a bad few weeks. I was a clod and took 12 mgs of warfarin, probably for a week or so, instead of 8 mgs as prescribed. Seems I was taking two 6 mg green pills instead of two 4 mg blue pills. In addition I took a dose at 4am one night and then 8pm next...only 16 hours later. Also drank alcohol which I dont usually hardly ever do.

The shock of waking up and seeing the red urine is something I will never forget.

Well my inr was 5.18. It is back to normal now but I was told that too much warfarin doesn't cause bleeding and I might have some internal bleed or problem or tumor or whatever. I underwent an IVP xray of the bladder with contrast and was told it was normal. Am scheduled to see a urolgist in 2 weeks. No longer see blood in urine although last week, one week after this happened, urine test showed some trace of blood, they told me.

Anybody go through this or know what I am going through. I just hope the blood was from the overdose and not something serious. This waiting and worrying is not fun.

Computer was down for repairs, dishwasher still broken, car needs service, and more of this stuff is getting to me. Thanks for your help and consideration my friends. Robt Z

 

[fyrfytr]

Hey Robert,
I am sorry to hear you were having problems with your INR. I am glad to hear you are doing OK. Just need to watch those pills and the color. I use a weekly pill box and than I don't have to worry with bottle I am grabbing.
I hope you get all your repairs taken care of also. You sound like me. When it rains it pours
We sure missed you and Dottie at the reunion. Hope you are planning on the reunion in Las Vegas.
Take Care

 

[Ross]

Most likely a kidney or bladder infection Robert, even though they didn't see anything, I've had it happen before. Seems to last a day or two or until the day you see the Doc and then it's gone!

You must be related to me or be my brother or something. Everything is hitting us like that too. Fix one thing, two others break down. Never freaking ending.

 

[RCB]

Robt,
I took a combination of drugs one time for a sinus infection and a couple of days later I was passing what I thought was pure blood- very scary.
I don't know what my INR was(of course it was the weekend when these things happen and my dr. was on vacation) but I had other unusal bleeding(PM me for details). I held warfarin for two days, then had a protime, adjusted and everything worked out okay. This was in 1985 and now, much more careful about taking drug combinations. No problems since.

The only bad thing is I did end up going through a bunch of tests which came up with nothing.

As far as things going wrong, I always felt Murphy had an evil way with people with medical problems.

Hang in there pal

 

[catwoman]

Robert:

This seems to be fairly common.

My PCP picked up on hematuria when I had my annual last March. (He did say that he does find hematuria pretty frequently in his patients taking wafarin and that it was probably nothing to worry about.) I never saw any blood in my urine, but I did have a slight UTI.
PCP sent me for X-rays; nothing found. Referred to a urologist for further testing. After reading a lot about warfarin & side effects, I decided not to go to a urologist.

 

[Sierra Bob]

Blood in Urine

Blood in Urine

I also have had microscopic blood in my urine. Have had my kidneys and bladder checked by two urologists. Neither could fine anything wrong.

 

[geebee]

Hi Robert,
I have had microscopic blood show up in urine tests ever since I have been on coumadin (no matter what my INR). Have had all the kidney tests, bladder tests, etc. etc. and nothing ever showed up. My docs all think it is just something that happens with some coumadin patients.

 

[tommy]

Yeah, its a shock when something foreign comes out "down there".

I wouldn't think that a 5.1 INR would cause a spontaneous bleed, but could provide a shorter fuse for some other issue - hopefully not serious. I think that it is a good sign that the bleeding went away (trace only) with the reduced INR.

I don't think that the 16 hour dosing would make any difference with the absorption time of warfarin.

Reaction to alcohol can vary in us. Any history of alcohol giving you INR bounces?

Good luck with the urologist!

I highly recommend weekly pill boxes. Can't stress that enough. I take Coumadin at bedtime. Whether I'm tired, had some drinks (limit - 2), or distracted, my correct dose has already been set aside.

 

[Sierra Bob]

Blood in Urine

Blood in Urine

I'm one of the unlucky valve recipiants that received the silzone St. Jude valves. I do know it's leaking around the sewing cuff. Could that cause blood in the urine?

 

[Ross]

I'm one of the unlucky valve recipiants that received the silzone St. Jude valves. I do know it's leaking around the sewing cuff. Could that cause blood in the urine?

No Bob. If it were, it would be a first. Something else is going on with you. Are you sure it's blood? Your not taking some drug that may be shading your urine a blood color are you?

 

[Sierra Bob]

Blood in Urine

Blood in Urine

No Ross. I take warfarin, salagen (because of no salivary glands due to radiation for "head & neck cancer"), Foltx for high homocysteine level, and Toprol for fast heart beat and high blood pressure. I self test every Tuesday and my INR is always between 3.0 and 4.0, where my cardiologist wants it, as I'm not a bleeder.

Incidently, my cardiologist just called me to give me the results of a nuclear stress test I took last Tuesday after having an EKG. He said my score was "7" and a score of "0" was good and "30" was bad. No units, it's just a scale they use. He suggested I have another coronary angiogram, but didn't want to discuss the reason why over the phone or answer any of my many questions. He did infer I had some dead heart muscle and probably had a "silent" heart attack at some point. I have an appointment to see him on February 22.

Have only positive thoughts, I do. Regards, Sierra Bob

 

[Ross]

Well you and I both will be seeing these people on the 22nd. I have to go for another Basic Metabolic Profile and see if my kidneys are still the same, worse, or better. Ain't this fun?

 

[Guest]

"Z" bleeding with an INR of 5.1 is a little unusual. It is not always possible to find the reason. Maybe you passed a very small stone. Perhaps there was some other form of irritation. It could also be something that is too samll to see now. It shouldn't be a constant source of worry because it went away. The next time your INR goes high watch to see if the same thing happens. If it doesn't you can be reasonable sure that was something temporary.

I have had stones that hurt like crazy and didn't bleed. Then I had bleeding once and it didn't hurt. I didn't want to believe the doctor when he said that he was pretty sure that I had a stone. It turned out that it was so big that they could see it on the X-Ray scout film - just checking to see if I was in the right position. Nothing quite compares to having one drop into your bladder while you are walking down the jetway to get onto a flight from Charlotte to Denver. I had a window seat to boot. Good thing I have a light complexion or they would have thought I was a terrorist the way I kept getting up and pacing up and down the aisle. I drove about 60 miles from the Denver airport before it decided to pop out. No blood. Go figure.

 

[Mb]

Hello:

My husband had gross hematuria about 4 months post op, after taking coumaden for almost a year. Urinated bright red for a full day. Next day a bit less. INR was 3.8 as I recall. Went through the whole thing....PCP, urologist, bladder exam (IV antobiotics, etc.).....all with negative results.

So, my strong advise is not to sweat it. Check it out, but this is one I wouldn't put too much worry into. - Marybeth

 

[Robt Z]

thanks alot for the info. very helpful

thanks alot for the info. very helpful

Thank you all very much. I feel alot better about the whole debacle and smarter too.
robt z