Well, biggest obvious concern is crashing, but you try to minimize those risks best you can. As far as fatigue, hard to tell, but I've done several HIMs and an IM on thinners, not sure if the fatigue is medicine related of simply being late forties. But I've set PRs in every distance since going on them and am lighter and faster than I was before having to use them.

I've raced IM to super sprint/5k type distances and don't notice a difference. Once the rivaroxaban type Meds get an antidote I will switch to that. Interesting to see if there is a difference

I've been on Coumadin/Warfarin since I had my aortic valve replaced 14 years ago.

No effect on training, performance levels or any other side effects that I've ever experienced. In fact, my cardio function has improved significantly as I have increased my training load over the past several years.

Never had any bruising or bleeding issues either, even with road rash from going down on my bike.

The most often discussed concern is the potential increased risk of a brain bleed from a closed head injury. I know some individuals who have given up cycling for that reason. It's a risk that I'm okay with personally. Best advice is to always wear a good well-fitting helmet and ride carefully, but that applies to everyone, Coumadin or not.

Good luck.

Mark

Been on the rat poison for 5 years now and experienced zero impact on my training / performance.

Biggest issues for me were giving up bike racing (just doesn't seem prudent on blood thinners) and no green veggies ....and since I never really ate green veggies anyway, it wasn't really a sacrifice.

I did have one small issue a week before IMWI when my INR got way too high....5.8. Had blood in my urine and they gave me a scrip for vitamin K. Got it back down into the 2's within 3 days and I was good to go. Was briefly worried it may impact me participating at IMWI, but no problem.

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I was on the stuff for 6 months after having a DVt and pe. I struggled training at beginning but that was probably due to the lung damage from the pe. The only real side effect I remember was being cold all the time. I am never cold, but after I went on this stuff I was freezing all the time.

It's safer to jack your hematocrit through the roof with EPO while on warfarin... Seems like that should help with the training... ;)

but seriously... no, it shouldn't have any effect on your training or performance.

Thanks for all the good advice. I guess I shouldn't worry too much, except know the risk of a bad crash. This is my second round of Warfarin after a PE in 2010, then another one just 2 weeks ago. I got a little lazy after the first one when I came off the thinners and was told to take a baby aspirin and folic acid every day. I stopped doing that last July and bingo PE. So, perhaps I can wean my way off in 6-9 months and try to stay consistent on the aspirin and folic acid. On the hand, I am obviously a clot risk for the med community, so they are likely to recommend lifetime Warfarin use. My biggest side effect right now os light headedness. But, this is probably due to the INR number not stabilizing and my taking a little more than I will ultimately need.

Unfortunately I am too much of an expert regarding the blood clots and pulmonary embolisms having the first diagnosed in February 2012 after experiencing shortness of breath for about 3 months turns out I had been throwing the clots into my lungs since November 2011, left lung was 80% blocked. After they did the thrombectomy to remove the clot I never felt behind my knee, they installed an IVC filter that was when my real trouble started the filter ruptured the IVC and caused all sorts of issues, anyway 18 surgeries later 3 more blood clots in various places and 3 more pulmonary embolisms, the doctors decided I needed to stay on Coumadin for life even though I don’t have the factors plus I just don’t want to go through those near death episodes where the wife has to call the paramedics to come and revive me!

Anyway thankfully being so fit and active saved my life a few times back in 2012. I never got back to where I used to be training wise but that is more to do with the damaged IVC the blood flow just doesn’t get back to the heart quite the same anyway no complaints about being on Coumadin yes risks for head bleeding saw one guy come in to the ICU when I was in UCLA being worked on due to having a stroke and bleeding on the brain from Coumadin, scary but what can you do, can’t live your life worrying about what may happen. You should be just fine on the blood thinners as far as training it’s all the other crap we have to worry about.. Good luck Cheers Rob

Wow, that's quite a story. Glad you are getting through it ok.

I have also been on Warfarin for about 3 years now after an unpleasant DVT and PE episode like many others here.

I have noticed no impact at all in terms of my energy and performance. Training 25-30 hours a week, qualified for 70.3 Worlds, and aiming to KQ this year, warfarin has had no impact on these at all.

I also think the risk of bleeding might be overstated for many; in my case at least, I monitor my INR monthly and work with my doctor to keep it around 1.4. At this level, I do not experience bruising or inordinate bleeding from lacerations including some road rash from a nice spill. I also travelled Asia-East Coast North America 3 times over the past 2 months without any issues. I suppose for those who need to keep their INRs higher due to their risk factors, it might be worth considering carrying a high dose of vitamin K with you. Vitamin K instantly reverses the anti-coagulation effect of warfarin which is why avoiding Spinach and other sources of vitamin K is so important.

Xarelto is also a new alternative. Doesn't require monthly INR monitoring but the downside is there is no instant "fix" such as vitamin k if anti-coagulation is working against you in a traumatic injury scenario.

Life goes on and this is a very easily managed condition. Tell your doctor what your lifestyle is, balance the risks, and understand appropriate precautions in your case. Nothing about warfarin should hold you back from your dreams.

Well, I have just (re) joined the DVT club. Swollen left calf last week, got worse instead of better, went to Urgent Care Friday and yep, get to inject myself twice daily until tomorrow unless they extend that, and on warfarin. Ironically, looked at this thread last week because I'd had a PE about 12 years ago.

Here's my question: Just got a call and they would like to enroll me in a clinical trial. 50% chance I stay with current treatment, closely monitored by the clinical trial staff. 50% chance that they maintain this AND add a catheter behind the knee and essentially "clean out" the remaining clot using directly injected anti-coags. They feel that this greatly reduces the risks of valve damage and subsequent chronic swelling, varicose veins etc. I definitely have those effects on the other leg from 12 years ago.

Anybody heard of this? Any thoughts at all? Appreciate any input!