warfarin and feeling cold

[lance]

I have been taking warfarin because of a mechanical mitral valve.

Does anyone else experience feeling internally cold just about all the time?

I swear I haven't been warm since October and spend most of the day in the house wrapped in an afghan (blanket that is).

Other than that everything is fine. In spite of what it may seem the house does have central heating and everyone else is toasty.

 

[catwoman]

Yup, I've been colder than usual this winter. And it hasn't been that cold in TX this winter.
Some of the rooms in our house have 10- to 12-foot ceilings, which doesn't help.
Our thermostat is kept at 68 degrees -- to keep 2 Persians in show coats through April. I've been wearing a sweater, or thermal shirt plus sweatshirt, curling up with a quilt and polarfleece throw while watching TV.
BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

 

[Ross]

I go from one extreme to the next. Cold as ice one minute, too hot and sweaty the next. I don't know that it has anything to do with Coumadin, but the suggestions are there.

 

[catwoman]

Ross:

Are you taking any cholesterol-lowering drug? At least one of those will cause hot flashes.

 

[Ross]

Nope, I'm menopausal though I think. It can happen right?

 

[catwoman]

Ross:

Last April I talked with a friend in North Carolina. He complained about a change in cholesterol-lowering meds. Was having horrible hot flashes.
Told him it was a good thing he wasn't also a woman and going through menopause.

 

[Guest]

Some of my patients have complained about being cold because they were on a blood thinner. When I explained that warfarin does not thin the blood but only slows the ability to form a clot, they seemed to feel better. I can't think of anyone who complained a second time. Maybe that is because they have figured out that when somebody complains about anything, I usually wind up laughing and make them laugh.

 

[JimChicago]

I'm taking synthroid for hypothyroid (low thyroid) - before I took the synthroid I wqs more sensitive to the cold - feeling cold can be a symptom of low thyroid - you can do the Barnes basal temperature test and/or TSH, free T3 tests to see if this is a factor.
But it is freezing out there where I am - I sometimes wear two sweaters in the winter

 

[Missy]

I also have been cold since '96 when I started taking coumadin. In the past year I have been taking synthroid for hypothyroidism. But in the years before that my thyroid always tested okay. I am not saying that in the last couple of years that hypothryroidism doesn't have anything to do with it but I am saying that just as soon as I started taking coumadin I began to feel cold. I also get a runny nose. So does my husband since he started taking plavix. I haven't noticed feeling any warmer since I started taking the synthroid.
There was no power of suggestion involved with my first cold feelings as I was so new to the whole coumadin thing and didn't know not one person on it and that was before this site. It took me a while and lots of research before I found out all this stuff about coumadin althought when I told my cardiologist about it he did tell me it was a common complaint.

 

[fisher6476]

I don't know about my blood being "thinner", but I have no doubt been cold (especially my extremites) since my suregery.

 

[Guest]

Warfarin is a marker for a life-changing experience. As such it is very difficult to separate out the contribution that medications, surgery, physical after-effects, psychological after-effects etc. It is true that many people complain of feeling cold after taking warfarin. The mystery is that there is no basis in the action of the medication for this to be true. It will probably always be a mystery, even though this drug generates about one article per day in the medical literature and has for almost 50 years. It has been investigated but nobody can come up with an explanation that makes sense as far as what the drug does.

 

[lance]

Thanks everyone for responding.

I wear several layers of clothing (even in the house) and the temp. is around 68-69. Interestingly enough, even though I'm warm to the touch under the clothing I feel chilled to the bone. The feeling is of cold without a variation in how cold compared to the surrounding cold.

It's really strange. We washed our horse in heated surroundings and he looked comfortable even when wet. I however, did not remove my down filled jacket--just opened the zipper while my daughter washed him down. Sometimes I feel I'm being stared at, but that's how it is. I can't remember the last time I was sweaty.

I'll check with my doctor about the thyroid problem.

I truly feel that warfarin is one monster of a drug. Had I been fully informed of the implications of taking this drug I would probably have opted for a tissue valve.

Anyway, just my bitch for the day.

 

[Georgia]

I think that coumadin has stopped my hot flashes (post menopausal). I know it's coumadin because when I had to "hold" (back when I had the previous pcp and I wasn't educated enough to not hold) I'd have hot flashes. I will have some break-through hot flashes if I have to take a half dose due to high inr. When on normal dosage I seem to have eliminated the hot flashes.

After surgery last winter I froze; but I think most of that was due to the surgery, not the warfarin. I'm just about a year out now, and am closing in on normal temperature tolerance - I'm still a little colder than previously (I've always had the house at 65 and no heat in the bedroom) but it's nothing like last year.

Those of you who had surgery in the last 6 months - bundle up and crank up the heat - you need to be comfortable. Healing takes very long after ohs - and you need to continue to coddle yourself.

 

[Sunshine susan]

Hi! I had my AVR with St. Judes almost 5 years ago now, and I can say that my hands and feet still get really cold--sometimes feel like ice. And I live in Florida! Bundle up you guys up north! Susan

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Lance,

I think I discovered the source of your problem:

WINTER in ONTARIO !

On a more serious side, I am completely comfortable working outside in 40 to 50 degree weather (especially if it is sunny)wearing a Tee Shirt, Flannel Shirt and Wind breaker (unzipped) yet at night I feel 'chilly' in the house at 68 to 70 degrees, just as you. I often notice this after eating dinner which may be another clue.

Circulation, BP, HR, and *other* medications may be contributing factors. You may be more comfortable if you get up and walk around.

'AL' in ALabama

 

[Raverlaw]

I'm not on coumadin yet, and I am normally warmer than most and just don't get cold. I usually wear nothing more than a tee shirt in the house and don't wear much more than that outside (OK, it is California).

However, this winter, I've been unusually cold, needing to bundle up to go outside, and able to wear a sweatshirt indoors for hours at a time.

My cardiologist suggests that this is due to my low BP. I don't know - I'm not always cold and can get warmed up in a warm room or if I keep a sweater or sweatshirt on long enough. It is wierd, though, because I've never experienced this type of lingering "chilly" feeling before.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Bill,

Your description may be a perfect example of one of the symptoms of Aortic Stenosis, namely 'poor circulation'.

Let us know if you change to running about in your 'skivvies' after surgery as your circulation is improved.

'AL'