Warfarin Institute of America
DEDICATED TO YOUR HEALTH SINCE 2000
CIMETIDINE INTERACTIONS WITH WARFARIN (Coumadin, Jantoven)
Dr. Michael Mancano, writing in the July 2000 issue of Pharmacy Times, summed up this interaction very well. The response to this interaction may vary considerably from patient to patient. Most will have only moderate increases in the INR but some will experience large increases. When cimetidine is added to warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven), the increased INR may require one to two weeks to become apparent. This may require a lower warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) dose than would otherwise be expected. When a patient taking both warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) and cimetidine has the cimetidine stopped, it may take a week before the INR declines. Dr. Mancano also states that the interaction may be dose dependent. Taking 400 mg of cimetidine may not be enough to cause the interaction to take place. Even a single 800 mg dose of cimetidine may not cause the reaction. Two or more doses of cimetidine daily may cause the interaction to take place. Other medications in this family, ranitidine, famotidine and nizatidine, do not cause the interaction and are therefore better choices for people taking warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven).
It should be noted that if a person is taking cimetidine and starts
warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven), the interaction is insignificant because the
warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) will
simply
be adjusted to the lower level from the start. However, if the
cimetidine
is later stopped, the same precaution as before would apply.
SEE A CATALOG OF PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FROM LODWICK CREATIONS, LLC.
LEARN HOW YOU CAN BECOME LISTED ON THE HONOR ROLL OF SUPPORTERS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFITS
REQUEST A MEDICATION CONSULTATION
Back to interactions list Home
© 2000-2006 Lodwick Creations, LLC
Contact Mr. Lodwick at: allodwick@earthlink.net
Last modified May 7, 2006