Are you on STATINS too?

A few months ago my GP urged me to start taking statins to help keep my Cholsterol low. As soon as I started I found that the daily dose of Warfarin needed to keep me near to an INR of 3.5 fell from 9mg to 8mg.

A week or so ago, due to a medical scare, the doctors asked me to increase my Statin daily dose from 10mg per day to 40mg per day which of course I did. Immediately my Warfarin dose decreased further from 8mg per day to 7mg to maintain my INR at 3.5.

I take Atorvastatin rather than the more common Simvastatin as it interferes less with my INR so the effect on those taking Simvastatin could be even greater. Do you take Statins? If so, don't worry but do keep an eye on your INR.

[willowgirl]

hi, im on simvastatin, they have not altered my inr, think its one of those cases you just have to watch as with all pills an warfarin, we all different, good luck with yours xx

[feorais]

Hi PBirt-I'm on Crestor 10mg and the new anticoag Apixaban, with allegedly less danger of bleeding, and no hassle with having INR checks, which is a major consideration. I am still off Amiodarone and trying 200mg Multaq a day, it would be great if this would keep the AFib at bay but mine is endemic for the last 30 years despite 4 recent unsuccessful sessions of surgery to burn off the rogue sinus nodes. Do you know anything about a procedure / op called the Maze Cox 111?; seemingly has been carried out successfully in the US? Hope you have got over your bad experience of late!

[sharonap]

Hi Im on simvastatin and have seen a decrease in the amount of warfarin i have to take to keep my INR betwen 3.5-4.0 (my range).

[Hidden]

Hi Sharonap. Thanks for sharing that, it sounds like my experience.

Most Statins are removed from the body using the same path through the liver as Warfarin so when you are on Statins the Warfarin is removed more slowly so your INR stays higher. Simvastatin is one of the older, less potent statins so you need higher dosage, usually at least 40mg. but the GPs like it because it costs less. If you can get your GP to change you to Atorvastatin with which 10mg does the same as 40mg of Simvastatin it may have less effect on your INR and doesn't cost the NHS much more.

Of course we are all different individuals and our bodies don't all react exactly the same way so the important thing is to keep a close eye on your INR when taking other medications to adjust the Warfarin dosage as necessary.

All the best with it.

[Tipper in reply to Hidden]

I stopped taking simvastatin not because of any INR impact but because it appeared to make me short tempered (well angry really) and my wife didn't like that!

[nissanjean]

According to Reports in the Public Domain ALL statins cause serious muscle wastage and inflammation amongst a lot of other side effects.

[Hidden]

According to reports in the Public Domain there are little green men on Mars and do you know what, some folk believe them! It all depends who the reports are made by and on what evidence.

High Cholesterol increases the risk of Coronary heart disease and strokes, fact. Statins can help to reduce levels of cholesterol, fact.

I must agree that if we all had a north Mediterranean diet and kept our body weight and cholesterol levels healthy by natural means that is much better than any medicinal help but the truth is that most people don't so it is a matter of weighing risks and benefits.