When is the best time to take warfarin?

[Charts]

I have been prescribed warfarin but wasn't told what time of day to take it. Is it better morning or evening. I have to take 8mg for the 1st two days and then have inr test and then 1mg after 2 days and then inr 5 days after that

[KerryA]

I suggest you check with your clinic.I prefer to take it in the morning, as I'm invariably at home and up and about at approx the same time every day. When I took it en the evenings. I sometimes forgot as I have busy and variable evenings.

As you're in the early stages, it's best for you to have your blood tested in the clinic. I have a machine which tests my INR, so I check it every 3-4 days before breakfast and dose myself too. I can then forget about it the rest of the day

Best wishes

Kerry

[Charts in reply to KerryA]

Should have checked but will just take in the mornings as I might forget otherwise.What do u do if you get a headache as I was told I can't take ibuprofen and paracetamol don't touch a headache for me?

[KerryA in reply to Charts]

Do check 1st with your clinicians before starting to take it in the mornings.

I only seem to get headaches when my INR is too low (ie. blood thicker). So I check my INR and increase the dose of Warfarin. Headache may take a day to resolve. To ease the pain I take co-codamol (Paracetamol and Codeine) which usually helps until my INR is back in range

[Charts]

I think I may forget In the afternoon. I'm hoping morning will be ok as I don't eat breakfast

[Fra22-57]

it is best to check with person who prescribed it then no harm is done.I was told to take with my evening meal which is approximately 6pm

[Dot69]

I have to take mine 5.30 -6 on an evening and always have. The dosage (7mg) (8mg) on Sundays is written on each date on the calendar and I tick it off when taken, I've done this for years , so no chance of forgetting, works for me

[karen2978]

Hi I used to be on warfarin and I would take it in the evening at 6pm. I hope this helps

[GinaD]

When I first started warfarin -20 years ago- I took it in morning as that allowed for consistency in the Girl Scout leader and soccer mom's schedule. Now that I am a semi-retired mom I take it at night so I can make modest dosage adjustments after INR tests that morning.

[Charts in reply to GinaD]

Is it normal for it to give you a bad stomach? I'm on 8mg for a few days, then he will check my INR as the 1st lot of taking which was 8mg for 2 days then 1mg but my INR was 1.3 so he said take 8mg for another 3 days so it goes up. This warfarin business is tricky

[KellyInTexas Administrator]

when I was on warfarin ( off and on depending on which anticoagulant we were trying) I took it at 9:00pm.

I have an alarm set on I phone for every day of the week, 9:00am and 9:00pm and have the alarms maned Morning Meds and Evening Meds.

Every Sunday Morning I refill a dosing tablet dispensing box for the week. I’m on several medications . For the warfarin, I left that box empty and waited until my inr test came back. ( I had to have it drawn by vein every other day it was so labile.)

[Charts in reply to KellyInTexas]

Thanks for your reply. I've decided the morning because I know ill forget later in day. INR business is exhausting

[Ray46]

Clinics like you to take it in the evening purely so they can change your dose that day if need be, but with point-of-care (fingerprick) testing or self testing (if it works for you - with APS it must be cross checked with venous samples for a few months and then every six months) this is a lot less relevant as there isn't a days delay for the results. Also if there is a dose change, 50% of the time it won't matter if you've already taken it (you can always take a bit more if it's an increase).

I take mine in the afternoon, well before tea. I found that if I don't have a meal after warfarin I get horrible indigestion and no sleep. We are all different, might not be an issue for you, but I know I am not alone in needing to do that as I moved my dosing earlier on the advice of others who had same issues. The original advice was to take it in the morning, but you can only move it a bit earlier each day, and I never got past mid afternoon because that worked, so why change further

[Charts in reply to Ray46]

Thanks for your reply. I have started to take it in the morning and he's started me on 8mg. Is it normal for it to affect your stomach? I've had to keep running back to the toilet today so I'm worried. I'll have another inr test tomorrow

[GinaD in reply to Charts]

As mentioned earlier, our metabolisms can differ by quite a lot! So what works for one may not work for all. The hematologist who diagnosed me back in 2001 urged me togive up sugary beverages and drink a lot of water. " Drink by the clock," he said, " because how thick or thin your blood is has a lot to do with whether you are well hydrated or not. So, again. Drink water and drink by the clock!" And I do. A good 24 ounces first thing, then another glass mid morning, lunch, and 2 more at dinner. ( Even more in sweaty weather like thissummer.)

[Ray46 in reply to Charts]

Not sure if it's "normal" but it did for me and I have seen other reports. Since APS diagnosis I have got used to being not-normal in terms of reactions to almost any medication - my understanding is that a lot of APS patients don't tend to react "normally" to anything medical. Another minor thing - I found the different colours/doses of tablets made a difference, pinks (5mg) and whites (0.5mg) I tolerate much better than the blues and browns, could be that I react to the dyes or something (again, since APS - I had an iron stomach before) there may be scope to change which colours you take depending on the dose you end up on.

[Loopy--lou]

I take mine at six in the evening, mainly because when I have my INR check in the morning there is enough time to change amount if needed.

[Charts in reply to Loopy--lou]

Yeah I understand now why people do that. This inr business is exhausting

[MaryF Administrator]

Hiya, not ever been on it, so I am not the ideal person, but out of three people I know in person on it for one reason or another they are all morning dosing people. MaryF