About 20 million Americans are on warfarin, and another 2 million start taking the drug each year.
Warfarin belongs to a class of drugs called anticoagulants, which simply means they work
against the formation of blood clots in your body. Most the people I talk to who are on warfarin,
seem to know a lot about their medication. But to share all that information with everyone,
I decided to make this video to fill in the gaps for anyone else who is on warfarin and still has
questions, so stay tuned till the end . allthough its not a complete breakdown about everything on
warfarin, as that would take hours, I tried to hit 6 major points, so if you find this video useful,
please give it a like. Usually warfarin is prescribed to those after a major surgery,
such as hip or knee replacement, or for people with artificial heart valves, or for those with
conditions such as chronic atrial fibrillation or deep vein blood clots because these conditions
essentially all put you at a risk for developing harmful blood clots. Thats why the 1st thing we’ll
look at is the issue of clotting. You see, Blood clots are necessary in order to stop you from
bleeding out entirely each time you have a gash or an open wound and these are called Beneficial
blood clots because they prevent or stop excessive blood loss, but harmful blood clots can cause a
heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolisms which can be life threatening
because blood flow past the clot inside the artery or vein is heavily decreased and blood isnt
getting to where it needs to go, which essentially is the biggest fear. These are all conditions we
are trying to prevent by taking warfarin. So the overall goal is: to keep your blood flowing
smoothly, decreasing the clotting tendency just enough that it does not prevent clotting
completely. So its a fine balance between blood not clotting and blood clotting, And Oftentimes
you hear the term blood thinner, but this does not refer to warfarin because essentially,
warfarin doesn't thin the blood at all, it instead causes the blood to take longer to form a clot
by blocking the formation of what's called vitamin K dependent clotting factors. And since Warfarin
works against vitamin K in the liver, blocking these clotting factors and essentially vitamin K,
your body can stop harmful clots from forming and growing larger. Lets move on to the 2nd thing:
which is lab tests, the major one being INR, which stands for International Normalized Ratio.
And it determines how fast your blood clots. Youll usually get this checked at least once a month and
sometimes as often as twice weekly. A high value means it takes longer for your blood to clot,
while a low value means it clots faster. Someone who is not on anticoagulants will have an INR of
1, but if you are on warfarin, your doctor will want to maintain your INR at the therapeutic
range because if your INR gets too high: youll be at a risk of bleeding, and if its too low,
your at a risk of clotting. Most patients on warfarin have an INR goal of 2 to 3,
but keep in mind this may differ. If a patient has an INR of 2.0 or 3.0,
this just basically means it takes two or three times longer for that persons blood to clot
than someone who is not taking any anticoagulants. Hopefully that makes sense. At the same time,
its very important that you attend your regular appointments at your anticoagulation clinic,
so they can check your INR and make sure your dose is correct at all times. The 3rd thing is:
watch for things that affect your INR and warfarin itself.. This includes certain medications, foods,
drinking too much alcohol, herbal medications and even supplements, which is why its so important
to check with your doctor before trying any new products. Ill give you an example: ibuprofen,
is a normal over the counter medication but it enhances the anticoagulant effects
of warfarin and increases the likelihood of harmful bleeding if taken with warfarin. For
foods, Eating an increased amount of foods rich in vitamin K can lower your INR, making warfarin
less effective and potentially increasing the risk of blood clots. These foods are: green and leafy
vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, turnip greens, lettuce, kale, spinach,
and even mayonnaise. It is not necessary to avoid these foods; however, it is important to try to
keep the amount of vitamin K you eat consistent. So keep away from drastic changes in vitamin k
rich foods. Ill leave all the food interactions warfarin has in the description below so
definitely check that out. For alcohol: Alcohol should be limited to no more than 1 to 2 servings
of alcohol occasionally and might be best to avoid it altogether with warfarin. For herbals
and supplements, you have an increased bleeding risk if lets say you take garlic or ginkgo biloba
with warfarin or you have an increased clotting risk if you take, lets say CoQ10, sT. johns wart,
or gingseng with warfarin. Definitely be aware of these things. The 4th thing: If you require
long-term warfarin therapy, you should wear a medical alert bracelet, necklace, or some type
of alert tag at all times. Because if an accident occurs and you are too ill to communicate,
a medical alert tag will help responders provide the appropriate care you need. The alert should
include a list of major medical conditions and the reason warfarin is needed, as well as the name
and phone number of an emergency contact. With that said, if you are seeing any new doctor or
dentist for care, let them know you are using this medicine. The 5th thing: Is to watch for signs and
symptoms of bleeding and easy bruising, especially if the bleeding does not stop. This includes
unexplainable and growing bruises, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, pink or brown urine, red or black
tarry stools, coughing up blood, or vomiting blood or coffee ground like vomiting symptoms. These are
all signs you should let your doctor know of. Some things you can do to prevent these are: use
a soft bristle toothbrush, floss with waxed floss vs unwaxed floss, shave with an electric razor vs
blade, be careful when dealing with sharp objects, and avoid contact sports as best as possible. The
6th thing is: Never double up on a dose because you missed a dose. If you miss a dose, take it
as soon as possible on the same day. However, if it is almost time for your next dose the next day,
skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Cant stress enough on making sure
to not double dose warfarin. Using a pill box or a dosing calendar can help you keep better track. So
check out the Links for them in the description below. I know this isnt a full list of cautions
and procedures, but is enough to hopefully answer some of your major questions, and give you better
insight on the drug, its interactions, monitoring, as well what to watch for.
I hope this video was helpful, if you found it to be, please give it a like as this helps me out a
ton and subscribe to the channel for more helpful videos. And as always, thanks for watching.