Will he be able to stop taking coumadin?

[baldstuart]

My husband had OHS in July (ross procedure) 6 days post op he had terrible pain in his right leg. We called the Hospital and talked to a PA-C. His surgeon was on vacation. The PA-C said it was normal to have leg cramps and to rub his leg.DUH?????We felt it was more than that and called our regular Cardiologist who immediately scheduled an ultrsound at the nearest hospital. My husband ended up having a huge blood clot in his calf and they started him on coumadin immediatley. It has been almost 90 days and his protime has never been right. At first it was in the 6's then they adjusted dosage and it was around 2.4 now it has been 1.4 to 1.6 for the last 6 weeks. He hasn't started any new medicines or changed his diet. But he has stopped taking Altace per his cardiologist and has lowered his Toporal from 75 to 50mg. Isn't this a very low protime for such a long time? Could it be dangerous? And since the protime is still too low how will he be able to stop the coumadin in a few weeks like they told us he would? Will his blood always be this thick? Or will he have to get his protime around 2.4 for awhile before they can ween him off of the coumadin. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks from a wife more concerned than her husband.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

CONGRATULATIONS on following your 'gut' feeling!

You were RIGHT ON and probably saved your husband from some serious consequences.

I believe the numbers you are quoting are INR (Internation Normalized Ratio) and not the actual protimes. Who is managing his Coumadin? It sounds like they are not doing a very good job of it. Of course changes in medications (and exercise levels) complicate INR management. Many of us find that dedicated Coumadin Clinics do the best job and doctors who only have a few patients on Coumadin often are not up to date on the best approaches, especially when it comes to 'easing' back into range.

Technically, Coumadin is NOT a "Blood Thinner", it is an anti-coagulent which means that it slows the time it takes for blood to form a clot (coagulate). You can learn all about Coumadin at www.warfarinfo.com which may be more than you want to know, given that your husband WILL be coming off Coumadin 'sometime' in the not too distant future.

I assume your husband has not had any more leg pain which is a GOOD sign. His cardiologist 'should be' the best person to decide when he will be ready to come off Coumadin....

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Guest]

I advise people who have blood clots in their legs to stay on warfarin and keep their INR between 2.0 and 3.0 for at least one year. He is not in much danger of this one moving but if he got another big clot that went up through the veins to his heart and out to his lungs it could be fatal. This is probably what killed my father. He lived long enough to say, "I don't feel good."

 

[baldstuart]

So his INR should be 2.0 to 3.0 before they could ween him off of the Coumadin? That means we need to get him in the right range first then keep it there right? Thanks the website was very informative!

 

[Guest]

He should be in the range of 2 to 3 for a year before he is taken off warfarin. There is no need to wean him. When it is time to stop, the warfarin is just stopped.