Ask the doctor: What can I do if I am super-sensitive to warfarin?
Ask the doctor
What can I do if I am super-sensitive to warfarin?
Q. I am 86 and have atrial fibrillation. I started taking warfarin to avoid blood clots, but right away developed a very high bleeding time and needed to be hospitalized. I don’t want to go through that again. Is there another approach for me?
A. There are some people who are very, very sensitive to warfarin (Coumadin). It sounds like you are one of them. Interesting research is finding genes that increase an individual’s sensitivity to warfarin. If this work pans out, in the not-so-distant future we may be able to identify people like you who over-respond to warfarin and start them on very low doses of this medication.
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