Warfarin Institute of America
Dedicated to Your Health
Frequently Asked Questions
Does warfarin have any effect on cholesterol or triglycerides? No.
What over-the-counter "cold medications" can I take? Avoid those with aspirin. If there is acetaminophen (Tylenol) in it, you should not take more than the equivalent of more than 26 regular- strength (325 mg each) or 19 extra-strength (500 mg each) over one week. Otherwise, the INR can be raised. This will increase your chance of bleeding.
If a woman starts on warfarin, will she bleed more during her periods? Usually there is not much increase in the flow. This is because the period is not bleeding in the usual sense of the word. It is the shedding of the lining of the uterus. This does not occur until a fresh lining is in place. Because it is freshly shed, there is blood in it but it is not an open wound like a cut.
Is there any danger in becoming pregnant while taking warfarin? Yes. See pregnancy
Will I bleed to death? It is extremely unlikely if you maintain your INR in the proper range, take your doses regularly and have you INR checked at the proper intervals.
How can I find an anticoagulation clinic? Try www.acforum.org
I take warfarin 5 mg every day. Is that a good dose? The proper dose of warfarin is the one that keeps your INR in the desired range. I've seen as little as 1 mg on four days per week and as much as 25 mg per day. They both were correct doses for the individuals involved.
Can prostate cancer cause a blood clot? Yes. Blood clots are frequent complications of various types of cancers.
Years ago I had my leg badly crushed. Can that be a cause of a blood clot in the lung? Yes. A clot probably formed on the site of the old scar tissue. When it broke loose it traveled through larger and larger blood vessels until it went through the heart. Then on the way to the way to the lungs it went through smaller and smaller blood vessels until it finally got stuck.
Could a person work at a dangerous job such as a security guard when they take warfarin? One of my patients is a uniformed booking officer at the county jail.
What would cause a person to have temporary loss of vision when they are on warfarin? It is impossible to diagnose from afar but it would seem likely that the person had a transient ischemic attack. This is a TIA or mini-stroke. A small clot may have hit that part of the brain. It then dissolved very quickly. Had the person not been taking warfarin, they may have had a major stroke. Also a blood clot in the blood vessels of the eye is a clue that that there is a clotting disorder. No loss of vision, for any amount of time should be taken lightly. ALWAYS SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE!!!!
Do you need to stop warfarin before a dental procedure? The January 2000 edition of the Journal of The American Dental Association published a study of 950 people who had 2,400 dental procedures done. None of these people stopped their warfarin. There were only 12 incidents (about 1% of the time) where anything more than holding a pad with slight pressure was required to stop bleeding. In these 12 incidents, only 3 times was the INR at or below the therapeutic level. The author also studied 526 people who stopped their warfarin for 575 dental procedures. There were 5 serious complications (about 1% of the time). However, 4 of these 5 patients died.
The conclusions drawn from the study:
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Serious complications, including death, were 3 times more likely to occur if warfarin was stopped than if it was continued.
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Stopping warfarin for dental surgery is not based on scientific fact, but is a myth.
The author recommends:
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Continuing warfarin at therapeutic levels for dental procedures.
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Having the patient's INR checked before dental procedures.
What should you do?
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Be certain that your dentist is aware of this important information before having a dental procedure.
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Question the need for stopping warfarin if you INR is in your goal range.
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Show this to your dentist, it contains the reference the dentist will need to find and read the entire article.
Reference: Wahl MJ. Myths of Dental Surgery in Patients Receiving Anticoagulant Therapy. J Am Dental Assoc 2000 Jan;131(1):77-81. See also
I had a blood clot in my leg. How long will I have to take warfarin? The answer depends upon the cause of the clot. If it is from an unknown cause (which most are) the answer seems to be the longer you take warfarin, the less likely you are to have another occurrence. Taking warfarin for 4 weeks has a high rate of recurrence. Six weeks of therapy is not much better. Three months still has a high rate of recurrence. Six months should be a bare minimum. One year will produce even less recurrences. Two years has been found to be even better. You should know these numbers and discuss them with your physician. Part of the answer is how much you do not want the clot to recur. Remember that a certain percentage of these clots will break loose and move to the lung. Some of these will be fatal.
I had a Greenfield filter put in my vena cava to prevent blood clots from going to my lung. Will I need to continue warfarin? I think that it is a good idea to continue warfarin. While the filter will prevent large clots from getting to the lung, it cannot prevent them from forming in the leg. These can be quite painful although they are no longer as dangerous because they cannot get to the lung.
I had a blood clot and my doctor had me tested for Antiphospholipid Antibodies. The test was negative. What does this mean? Not much. The level of APLAs quite often drops after a clot has formed. This is when most people are tested. It may well be a false negative. You should probably be tested again at some later date. Why the antibodies come and go is not understood. Neither is there any good answer to the question, "When should I be re-tested?"
Can an interaction between warfarin and alcohol be the cause of a high blood alcohol level? No. But excessive alcohol intake (3 or more drinks in one day) might be the cause of an elevated INR if it is measured 2 or 3 days after the alcohol.
Does stress have anything to do with my INR? Only if the stress causes a change in your eating habits. If you eat more (especially green vegetables) your INR will go down. If you eat less (especially green vegetables) then your INR will go up.
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Last updated January 1, 2006