Warfarin Necrosis???

[drivetopless]

"One of the very rarest coumadin side effects is warfarin necrosis. It is a dreaded complication that can result from a protein deficiency and cause a necrosis of the skin. Women are most at risk from this side effect, which can lead to gangrene of the limbs in extreme cases. This reaction will manifest itself anywhere from 3 to 10 days after treatment with coumadin has begun. "

"Development of the syndrome is associated with the use of large loading doses at the start of treatment"

"Heparin and LMWH act by a different mechanism than warfarin, so these drugs can also be used to prevent clotting during the first few days of warfarin therapy and thus prevent warfarin necrosis (this is called 'bridging')."

So has anyone noticed any changes in their skin texture or appearance because of warfarin?

Do "they" every recommend someone take warfarin prior to AVR to see if there would be a complication such as this? It's rare, but it seems if you were prone to it, it could be devasting.

 

[Nancy]

One of the very rarest coumadin

"Very rarest" indicates that this is a very rare condition. So the chances of this happening are pretty darned slim.

 

[catwoman]

I have never noticed any change in skin that could be remotely chalked up to being on warfarin.

What you quoted is something I found at ehow.com. There was only one hit when I googled the first paragraph you quoted. I clicked on the writer's name to read about his credentials for making such statements, since there was no attribution or articles cited for any of the statements. Here's what I found:

http://www.ehow.com/members/ds_johnlin6487.html

Basically: John has written thousands of articles for Demand Studios, Associated Content and The Greyhound Review. A Connecticut native, John has written extensively about sports, fishing, and nature.

Here's a link to the prescribing information for Coumadin:

http://packageinserts.bms.com/pi/pi_coumadin.pdf

 

[Lynlw]

Warafrin Necrosis is VERY rare, I believe Al has mentioned he only treated 1-2 patients with necrosis in all the years he ran his clinic. I believe purple toe (which is also VERY rare) can also cause gangrene. BUT even IF you develope either RARE condition, if they catch it early, they can treat you and it doesn't necessarlily lead to amputation.

 

[Bill B]

Quoted prevalence as 1/1000 to 1/10000. Often related to large initial doses which are proposed to interfere with Protein C activation, a natural anticoagulant, but it is variable and may involve other mechanisms. Warfarin necrosis is observed to involve paradixical thromobisis in the microcirclation. Can be nasty but is very rare and I wouldn't worry too much about it.

http://pathology.uc.edu/LABLINES/V7I6.pdf
http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/1/1/105.pdf

 

[ALCapshaw2]

"Large Loading Doses" are No Longer Recommended when starting Coumadin / Warfarin.

I'm thinking one or two members asked their Doctor / Surgeon if they could 'try out' Coumadin before surgery,
just to see how they reacted to it and were given approval.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Ross]

I think you stand a better chance of being hit with a bolt of lightning then necrosis from anticoagulation.

 

[Freddie]

This is interesting, because my skin has changed on the right side of my neck. Just the skin color, no itch, no sores not sure what it is.

 

[drivetopless]

Thought rare, it is apparently most common in overweight, middle age women. Crap. So, I panicked a little.

 

[Ross]

Warfarin-induced skin necrosis is a rare but serious complication of oral anticoagulant therapy.
It has a prevalence of 0.01-0.1%. For those that don't understand decimals, that's 1/100th of 1% to 1/10th of 1%.

 

[TXGal]

Wow, never heard of that before.. fortunately, sounds very rare

 

[drivetopless]

I had an older friend who had a valve replacement and was on coumadin. Shortly after surgery that she noted her skin texture changed. Her lower legs became sort of blotchy looking. She was told is was a warfarin side effect. But she had other medical issues (RA) that could have been a contributing factor, I suppose.

 

[Nancy]

Here are 3 photos of Coumadin induced skin necrosis. I think you will agree that these are a far cry from blotchy skin. Necrosis means dying or dead tissues, not blotchy skin. Coumadin induced skin necrosis is a rare condition.

http://tiny.cc/pal57
http://tiny.cc/m7jox
http://tiny.cc/xcdsa

 

[catwoman]

I had an older friend who had a valve replacement and was on coumadin. Shortly after surgery that she noted her skin texture changed. Her lower legs became sort of blotchy looking. She was told is was a warfarin side effect. But she had other medical issues (RA) that could have been a contributing factor, I suppose.

Drivetopless:

My guess is the skin texture problem is connected to the RA, which is an auto-immune disorder and not the same as osteoarthritis that is the more common form of arthritis.
My youngest sister has RA as well as lupus, and she encounters all sorts of medical issues.The latest one is an aortic aneurysm (DXed earlier this summer), which could be tied to the lupus.

 

[Ross]

She was told is was a warfarin side effect.

Does it surprise you. Didn't you know that Warfarin is responisble for everything bad that happens? :rolleyes2:

 

[Maryka]

Skin changes: I noticed a LOT of skin changes after my total hysterectomy that took place a year and a half before my OHS. (No hormones were replaced because of my history of questionable mammograms.) But I also noticed that sometimes something these days makes my skin switch from nice and smooth to bumpy-teen-type skin for awhile. (Do I have a third ovary they somehow missed?) But, no, I never noticed any problems from the warfarin.

 

[olefin]

Ross, my back is covered with dark ugly spots the size off dimes, must be from taking that nasty warfarin for 19+ years.

 

[Ross]

Ross, my back is covered with dark ugly spots the size off dimes, must be from taking that nasty warfarin for 19+ years.

There is this nodule between my legs. I think it has something to do with warfarin too. Oh my, could it be Penile Gangrene?

 

[drivetopless]

ROTHLMAO.
Ross, they pay extra for that in Amsterdam.
I didn't win the lotttery. It's warfarin's fault.

 

[Ross]

ROTHLMAO.
Ross, they pay extra for that in Amsterdam.
I didn't win the lotttery. It's warfarin's fault.

Just a flat out answer, don't worry so much about the many death defying risks associated with Coumadin. People take far worse drugs then it and never worry about it.