Warfarin Alternatives Compared

For Prosthetic Heart Valves, Mechanical Valves - Thrombosis Prophylaxis: Have been on warfarin for 28 years. I have a St Jude mitral valve prosthesis. Other than bruising, I have gotten along well.

For Prosthetic Heart Valves, Mechanical Valves - Thrombosis Prophylaxis: Haven't had a problem have been on warfarin for 10 years now.

For Deep Vein Thrombosis, First Event: I am male, 62 year old. Got a blood clot the entire length of my saphenous vein. I was put on generic warfarin first at 2.5mg/day. I got sweaty, headachy, and felt depressed. This went on for two weeks until I read reviews about Coumadin on this site. Switched to Coumadin. INR stabilized, sweats went away, and headaches went away in about 10 days. I know that Coumadin and Warfarin are supposed to be chemically the same molecule. I propose that the objective differences between these two drugs most likely can be accounted for by considering that one may have more pure isomers than the other.

For Deep Vein Thrombosis, First Event: Put on Coumadin in 2008 after DVT, which ultimately turned out to have been caused by a hereditary clotting disorder (Factor V Leiden). No problems or side effects since, works like a charm. I self test every 2 weeks with Roche PT/INR handheld blood test kit, and manage to stay in therapeutic range about 95% of the time. Couldn’t ask for much better!

For Pain: I have been taking aspirin for the last 35 years or so for headache related pain. It is far more effective than Tylenol or ibuprofen. It's pretty safe and very affordable.

For Pain: This would be the second most effective NSAID for me, behind Motrin but well ahead of Aleve or other OTC's of any type - It is my preference for "cold and flu" because it breaks a fever pretty quick. If there is a downside, it's that if I take 2 or 3 a day for more than a week, it definitely causes a ringing in my ears, loud. Short-term or simple pain, the old school aspirin just works.