Cumadin Failure
Posted in General Question about 1 year ago, 2 replies
submitted by BB in Charlotte,NC
Unfortunately, the only trade-off medication for DVT in the presence of Coumadin is a low molecular weight form of heparin, i.e. Lovenox. The dosage is tricky because it "must" be titrated so that a safe progression from Coumidin to Lovenox can occur. Even Doctors are "squeemish" when trying to titrate the dosage of one medication to the other.
High Molecular Weight Heparin (the heparin the nursing staff injects when you are in the hospital for more than 2 days) is too dangerous to allow a patient to administer to themselves. After all, you wouldn't want to bleed to death after the doctors have invested the time to save your life, would you?
The IVC (Inferior Vena Cava) or Greenfield filter is safe when placed by a competent physician. This filter or stint is highly effective and catches any blood clots comming up from the lower part if the body which feeds into the lungs and causes Pulmonary Emboli (PE)if no filter is placed. This is a very serious risk, especially if you have had previous clots. Unfortunately, if you were to throw another DVT, you may not realize that you have thrown anither clot. The way you might know is by veinous distention, what may appear to be Varicose veins in your legs. You may also note a feeling of "heaviness" or swelling in your legs.
High Molecular Weight Heparin (the heparin the nursing staff injects when you are in the hospital for more than 2 days) is too dangerous to allow a patient to administer to themselves. After all, you wouldn't want to bleed to death after the doctors have invested the time to save your life, would you?
The IVC (Inferior Vena Cava) or Greenfield filter is safe when placed by a competent physician. This filter or stint is highly effective and catches any blood clots comming up from the lower part if the body which feeds into the lungs and causes Pulmonary Emboli (PE)if no filter is placed. This is a very serious risk, especially if you have had previous clots. Unfortunately, if you were to throw another DVT, you may not realize that you have thrown anither clot. The way you might know is by veinous distention, what may appear to be Varicose veins in your legs. You may also note a feeling of "heaviness" or swelling in your legs.
I developed 3 DVT"s while being therapeutic on coumadin, The Doctor put me on 120 mg of Lovanox daily and was also left on 10-15 mg of coumadin for 3 months . Currently I only on the lovanox daily , for the rest of my life . The Doctor did discuss the IVC Filter sounded very scary with no real guarantees.