Warfarin - Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you choose our medical malpractice lawyers to represent you in your Warfarin claim, we will provide committed and vigorous representation on your behalf. You will receive a complete professional service from lawyers who deal with claiming compensation for Warfarin treatment errors caused as a result of a medical malpractice. If you would like free advice without obligation from a medical malpractice lawyer just call the helpline or complete the contact form or email our offices and a lawyer will telephone you at the first possible opportunity.
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Warfarin Overview

Warfarin is also marketed as Coumadin and is used to prevent blood clots from growing larger in the bloodstream. It is prescribed for those who have an irregular heartbeat, a prosthetic heart valve, or a heart attack. It is also used to prevent or treat deep vein thrombosis of the legs or a pulmonary embolism in the lungs. Warfarin is a class of anticoagulants that work by decreasing the clotting ability of the blood.

How should the medication be taken? It is a tablet that is taken once a day with or without food. You should take it around the same time of the day. Take the tablet per doctor’s instructions on the bottle and do not deviate unless your doctor agrees to do so. Tell your doctor right away if you take more than the usual amount at one time or during several times. Make sure that you understand your doctor’s instructions before proceeding. Don’t stop taking warfarin without talking to the doctor.

One mistake a doctor can make is not to test protime levels regularly. Only through protime levels can a doctor tell if the level of warfarin is acceptable. Failure to do this can mean abnormal bleeding, such as cerebral hemorrhage or abnormal bleeding of the wound. It can also mean that the warfarin level is too low and there can be abnormal clotting, such as a clot on an artificial valve or in a deep vein of the leg.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to warfarin or to any other medication or to any of the ingredients in warfarin tablets. There are numerous medications and supplements that interfere with warfarin in some way. If your pharmacist fails to recognize an interference with warfarin, he or she could be held accountable. In the same way, your doctor will be held accountable as well for prescribing medications that are incompatible. Do not take any medications or stop any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Tell the doctor and pharmacist if you are taking and botanical or herbal medication you are taking, especially Coenzyme Q, Echinacea, garlic, Ginkgo biloba, ginseng, goldenseal and St. John’s Wort. These and a number of other botanicals can interfere with how your body processes warfarin. Don’t stop or start any herbal products without talking to your doctor.

Let your doctor know if you have diabetes or if you have a gastrointestinal infection or any other infection that causes diarrhea or if you have celiac sprue because this can affect your warfarin levels. If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, talk to your doctor. You shouldn’t be on warfarin in pregnancy unless you have a mechanical heart valve. Talk to your doctor about what kinds of birth control you can safely use along with warfarin. Warfarin might harm the fetus. Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding.

If you are having surgery, even dental surgery, tell the doctor that you take warfarin. The doctor may have stop taking before surgery or to change your dose. If he or she does not tell you to alter your Coumadin dosage, you may suffer unnecessary bleeding complications during the surgery. Laboratory tests for protime and INR may need to be checked before it looks as though surgery is possible.

Ask the doctor about using alcohol while on warfarin; tell your doctor if you take tobacco products. Cigarette smoking can decrease the ability of warfarin to thin the blood.

Are there any dietary restrictions? You need to eat a healthy diet that contains a consistent amount of vitamin K. Vitamin K can change the way warfarin works so you should eat about the same amount of this vitamin each week. Vitamin K is an antidote to warfarin so possibly it could negatively affect how warfarin works. Talk to your doctor about drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit while taking this medication.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it, if it is the same day of the missed dose. If it is the next day, don’t double up. Instead, call your doctor for further advice.

Side effects of warfarin include abdominal pain, gas and bloating, hair loss, change in the way things taste or feeling cold. Call the doctor if you experience itching, hives, a rash or swelling of the face, throat, tongue lips or eyes.

Totonto Medical Malpractice Lawyers

The medical profession which includes doctors, nurses and hospital technicians usually provides a caring service with a high standard of excellence however there are occasions when things do go wrong. Our litigation service is completely free and our lawyers will deal with your case using a contingency fee arrangement which means that if you don’t succeed in receiving a financial settlement then your warfarin lawyer won't get paid.

The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here