Coumadin linked to weight gain

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it is the meds. for most of us we had healty lives before the meds. you dont know what its like to have what other people have so shut the hell up. i workout and eat next to nothing and im gaining weight if a pizza is delivered next door just by the smell of it! im losing my hair and the depression is getting worse. how dare you tell people its not that hard to walk it of.
karmas a b***h. maybe someday youll be fat and it WONT come off!

Hey Maltesem, how are you. Thanks for those tips and medincines that you are taking which work for you.



In respect to the swelling in the ankles and calf. You stated the need to replace the vitamins and electrolytes that are lost due to the fat loss caused by taking Triamterene.



I would like to know what medicines are you taking to replace these vitamins and electrolytes which would help me and others rid ourselves of the edema.



Thank you for your knowledge.

I've been on coumadin & aldomet for 6 months and am a vegetarian & run/exercise my ass off, and my weight has steadily gone up (almost 20 lbs!). I cant wait until I can get off this stuff!

Wow. I've been on Warfarin for 2.5 months now for bilateral pulmonary emboli, and I haven't seen any significant weight gain. On the other hand, nearly half of my hair has fallen out and shows no sign of stopping. |-O

The only reason I can fathom that I haven't gained weight is that I stopped eating all bread products, and I still eat a moderate amount of greens. Instead of bread or pasta, I eat a lot of rice and potatoes. For some reason, that seems to be slimming me down and I lost another 5 lbs doing that. I wanted to see if there were issues involved with Coumadin/Warfarin and weight gain, which lead me here, and it seems there are... this is going to be tough!

Thank you all for the information!

An update from NM: After working with the endocrinologist for nearly two months I had managed to lose 20lbs--the solution?  Eating only 800 calories a day, and all of it in well-balanced meal replacements.  Amazingly, my INR stayed stable despite the change in dietary habits.  But, now we hit the snag.  I made the point to the endocrinologist that I wanted a sustainable solution.  I have Antiphospholipid Syndrome.  I'm on Coumadin for the long haul.  I need to be able to continue to lose weight, keep the weight off, and still maintain a healthy diet--and meal replacements are not a long-term solution.  So she started "weening" me back onto food and, sure enough, as soon as I hit the 1200 calorie mark I stopped losing weight altogether.  In fact, I've started gaining again.  How is it possible to gain weight when only eating 1200 calories--particularly 1200 strictly prescribed and well-balanced calories that are partnered with over 10000 steps a day, a daily dose of thyroid, and a regular exercise routine?  So I may have angered the endo when I insinuated that something more was going on than me just being "big-boned," but she will NOT consider that the coumadin is playing a role.  How can there be so many of us dealing with the same symptoms and not a single doctor who will research it?

Hi,

I was on warfarin 2.5-5mg daily for 6 months due to a bilateral DVT in my legs. After seeing 3 ER physicians, 2 PCP's, a vascular surgeon, a naturopath and a cardiologist, it was ruled (by all mentioned) that my birth control was the culprit of this. (I was on Nuva-ring for 8 months BTW, and there is a class action suit pending against them for this reason!)

I am a 29 year old female and have been the same size/weight for the past 8 years. I am a distance and avid exerciser, plus have a degree in Exercise and Wellness with a concentration in nutrition. I also have an active job as a massage therapist.

Within 6 weeks of being on warfarin, I gained 14 lbs. Total weight gain over the 6 months is 25lbs!! None of the doctors will believe me when I tell them my sudden weight gain is due to the coumadin. My activity level has not changed, I fight through the fatigue constantly. Although I have not been able to run, I work out just as hard on the bike, stairclimber and eliptical. My diet hasn't changed either.

This has been a complete mental struggle and to not have a single medical professional think I know what I'm talking about just makes it worse. I had to stop weighing myself several months ago and pack away my clothes bc they no longer fit me. I have gone up 2-3 sizes. I was hoping that once I stopped the medication I would drop the weight just as quickly as I put it on.

I have been off for a week now and haven't noticed a difference in weight, but the fatigue is subsiding! I will repost with updates bc I haven't seen too many posts with regard to losing the weight post-warfarin. I really feel for those of you who are on it for life...

Karlis0831,
Please do keep us posted with how much weight you lose/how you feel after being off of the warfarin. I am one of the lifer's, however it would be nice to hear that our experiences actually have some sort of truth to them assuming you end up feeling more like your "normal" self after the coumadin. Maybe someday the health care professionals will realize we aren't just crazy.

Well I've been off the coumadin for 10 days and have dropped 3 lbs. My weight fluctuates considerably so I'm trying not to get too excited yet, but I remain positive!
What I did this past week was a liver and kidney detox (since warfarin is processed through both). I did a 3-day all fruit and veggie cleanse for the kidneys, and a lemon detox for the liver (take 1/2 lemon, squeeze juice out, add 8oz water to the juice, drink warm 2x per day).
I'm wondering if this would be helpful for those who still are on coumadin to do occasionally, just to assist the organs?

I'm a 39 year old guy who has always been very slim. Since taking Warfarin I've been very bloated and now have a rather unattractive "spare tyre" around my middle but with no weight gain (I'm still under 9 stone). This can only be down to the warfarin imho as my exercise and diet are just the same as before, and my usual reaction to weight gain (skip a few meals and lower my calorie intake for a few days) has made no difference. It also coincides with a very bad outbreak of psoriasis and a very sore neck.

...21 days off. First week lost nothing. Past 13 days I've dropped 9lbs! I was more than thrilled to call my cardiologist on Monday to tell him. He had denied it was the coumadin from day one...he was amazed and said, "Wow, you were right." :)

The New Year is here and off Warafin!!! No sign of weight loss yet, gained 30 lbs in 6 months. Of course the Doc's deny the gain because of the drug. Had to go buy FAT clothes for the Holidays and to begin working again.

Please let me know of you that have come off Warafin and your weight loss experience.

Had surgery 7 months ago and have been on coumadin since. Have gained 40 plus pounds. I now walk 4 - 6 miles a day and go to the gym 4 - 5 times a week and have been  on a strict diet. I am a nurse so I know what to do, but I have only lost 10 pounds in 8 weeks. I have no doubt that coumadin causes weight gain. Cannot wait to get off of it. I should of lost all 40 pounds plus with the diey and workout I have been doing.

Thank you so much for your posts.  I had bilateral PE and DVT July 30th due to Yaz.  Since then I have gained 30 pounds.  I have been going to curves, drinking a gallon of water each day and I barely eat 800 calories.  NOTHING has been helping me except total starvation diet.  I finally lost 4 pounds only to gain it all back the first day I went back to solid food. Obviously I can't keep up a liquid diet, but even 800 calories makes me gain. I have been so depressed.  Nothing fits me.  I've been going to the thrift store just to find clothes.  I gained 2 whole sizes and according to my doctor, none of this has to do with coumadin.  She looks at me like I'm just making excuses.  My body has changed, I have fat in places I never saw before and everything looks puffy.  All that aside, your posts have given me some light at the end of the tunnel. 

Thank you thank you thank you, I was convinced that Warfarin had caused my considerable weight gain, I was diagnosed with a P.E 6mths ago and since commencing Warfarin I have gained 20lbs and have been eating healthy and exercising but instead of losing weight, I have actually put more on. My Dr told me that he was unaware of such a link, but to read the above messages I am reassured that I finally have an answer.

 

I had a painful DVT in my left knee area starting around Thanksgiving. It is my first and did not result in PE. I was in the hospital for chest pains two weeks after the knee pain started, but it was and unrelated add on to my coronary artery disease causing the chest pains. They added two cardiac stents to my growing stent collection, but told me I was negative for clot in my left leg, though I complained more than daily about the leg pain. They said it was probably arthritis.

After getting out of the hospital for the stents, I went to a bone and joint clinic, and they said just by examination they were sure I had a clot in the left knee area and sent me for an ultrasound. The ultrasound confimred it was a DVT. I had gone through three different doctors tellin g em it was likely arthritis and not a clot, only to find out it was a rather dangerous DVT, and a painful one at that.

I was put on Coumadin two weeks ago, and I can tell that it is changing me in two ways. First I am getting the lethargy and the overall physical and mental depression, and that seemed to start immediately. Secondly, I want to eat all the time. Something about it is making me crave eating and I can tell I am gaining weight already. I don't even want to get on the scale.

I asked one of the doctors how long I would have to stay on the coumadin, and he said a few months, but the prescribing was actually done by my cardiologist and he said in a low voice "a long time", and added that I have an apparent issue with clots. This si the only one I have ever had, does it make sense that i "have an issue with clots"? It does not to me and I doubt I will stay on the drug. I cannot stnad its debilitating and weight gaining impacts. I feel that given my coronary artery problems that the weight gain from the Coumadin is as deadly as not taking it. Would love to hear opinions and reactions.

Also, the pain in my left leg has never completely stopped from the DVT. It is somewhat better but still crops up and makes it very difficult for me to walk more than 5-10 minutes at a time.

Thanks for any help or info! Thank God for the internet where we can share our experiences quickly and from all over the world.