Hi All ive just started on warfarin 5 days ago im 25 years old and have been told i have blood clots in both lungs and also one big one on the top of my leg. Im just wanting some advice on what people have done while been on warfarin if there is anything i need to know or anything i need to change and how it has affected peoples life. i have stopped smoking but just wanting to know if people still smoke and how its affecting them and if you have also stopped smoking.
Thank you
Have you been given the yellow anticoagulant pack ? This should have been provided by either the GP practice if that's where you are going to have blood tests taken or from the hospital if this is where you were diagnosed. You should also have been counselled by a healthcare professional about the therapy, its duration (six months in your case ?), etc.
You can also find it here if you haven't got it: http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/resources/?EntryId45=61777
but you should try and obtain a paper copy.
Any specific questions give me a shout.
Tarun (hospital pharmacist)
Yeah i got the yellow pack just wondering about peoples experiences.
My advice would be to take a lot of care!!!!, my own experience, leading me to lifelong warfarin is pretty simular to yours- I started with a pain in my calf (later found out it was a DVT that travelled) while on holiday in turkey ended up with me spending 2 and a half days in a turkish hospital and an extremely lucky flight home. My husband insisted on taking me to my local hospital where I was admitted- two days later I suffered a massive billateral pulminary embolism that lead on to a Respiratory Arrest. My consultant told me that had I not been in hospital at the time, I wouldn't be here now....... That was just over a year ago and touch wood I am okay now. My life has changed in that I value each and every day and have altered my diet slightly- no broccolli, no cranberry juice, iron based vegetables. My work have been extremely supportive and I've continued to do the job that I love- Nursery Nurse, but I'm here and am living life to the fullest.........
If you take birth control pills like Yas, Yasmin, Ocella, Zarah, Gianvi, etc. the ones that have drospirenone, which is a diuretic, you most probably have a side effect from them:
"Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella, Zarah and Gianvi have been linked to the risk of blood clots which can cause pulmonary embolism. Experts believe Yaz and Yasmin have a prothombotic effect due to the progestin drospirenone or drsp. Drsp is a diuretic which can cause an increase in potassium. Unsafe levels of potassium in the blood, also known as hyperkalemia, can disrupt heart rhythms and slow the flow of blood. This can lead to blood clotting. Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella, Zarah and Gianvi blood clot side effects are more formally known as thrombosis. Thrombosis is the formation or presence of a blood clot (thrombus) in a blood vessel. If the thrombus breaks loose and travels through the bloodstream, it is a thromboembolism. The clot may plug a vessel in the lungs (pulmonary embolism), brain (stroke), gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, or leg."
Advice Please I need to take iron tablets forgot to ask when I was in hospital I have blood clots in my lungs no information at all only yellow folder as I have low ferritin level of 8.