Elcarim
Well-known member
I am a Coumadin 'lifer' and I like to think I am pretty informed about life on warfarin.
I have to have a fine needle biopsy done on a cyst in my breast... a scar from being bitten by a horse, but they want to make sure there is nothing sinister lurking. When I booked it I was asked if I was on any 'blood thinning' drugs... I told the person booking it (who was a nurse) that I was. So she went off to find a doctor to find out if I should go off the warfarin for this procedure...
Now, I probably bleed more when I have my finger pricked for INR testing than this fine needle will cause. Fortunately the first doctor she found said there was no need for me to go off warfarin and onto heparin for the procedure. Because I would have just told her that I was not going to risk a clot for the sake of a tiny bit of potential bleeding. She agreed with me when I told her that I understood that it was a very minor procedure with minimal risk compared to the risk of stopping my medication.
Normally I go by a 'don't ask, don't tell' attitude and only mention my anticoagulation if I think it will be an issue, or I discuss it with my GP when he orders a test or procedure. When you consider that experts now recommend that anticoagulation not be stopped for things like tooth extractions and pacemaker changes, a fine needle biopsy is along the lines of the sort of thing you'd simply put a Band-Aid over at home.
I have to have a fine needle biopsy done on a cyst in my breast... a scar from being bitten by a horse, but they want to make sure there is nothing sinister lurking. When I booked it I was asked if I was on any 'blood thinning' drugs... I told the person booking it (who was a nurse) that I was. So she went off to find a doctor to find out if I should go off the warfarin for this procedure...
Now, I probably bleed more when I have my finger pricked for INR testing than this fine needle will cause. Fortunately the first doctor she found said there was no need for me to go off warfarin and onto heparin for the procedure. Because I would have just told her that I was not going to risk a clot for the sake of a tiny bit of potential bleeding. She agreed with me when I told her that I understood that it was a very minor procedure with minimal risk compared to the risk of stopping my medication.
Normally I go by a 'don't ask, don't tell' attitude and only mention my anticoagulation if I think it will be an issue, or I discuss it with my GP when he orders a test or procedure. When you consider that experts now recommend that anticoagulation not be stopped for things like tooth extractions and pacemaker changes, a fine needle biopsy is along the lines of the sort of thing you'd simply put a Band-Aid over at home.
