Q: Does Coumadin (warfarin) affect your metabolism and cause weight gain?

My wife has been taking warfarin for over two months. When she started exercising for three days a week, in a month's time she has gained 12 pounds, and her diet did not change. Before she started exercising she was losing some amount of weight. She will be using warfarin for the next four months. Do you think warfarin has affected her metabolism? If yes how could she lose weight then?

Q: Dr. Gourmet Says...

This is a very interesting question. There is no evidence that Coumadin® (warfarin) leads to weight gain. As a physician my first question would be whether there is a medical issue that is leading to your wife's weight gain. It is important that she discuss this with her doctor. Perhaps there is another medication that she is taking that could lead to weight gain. Some people who take Coumadin for certain heart problems are more susceptible to congestive heart failure and that is the sort of issue her physician would want to know of.

Weight loss is accomplished by eating fewer calories and exercising more. Often people will use supplements like sports drinks and the like while exercising that they feel are healthy but are actually just added calories. Keeping a food diary is a good first step for your wife. This can help her to get an idea of what she is eating. Here is a link to a form she can use:

http://www.drgourmet.com/md/fooddiary.pdf

Many times asking one's doctor for a referral to the dietician can help and having the food diary can be an aid to helping create a diet that works for your wife.

Thanks for writing,

Dr. Gourmet
Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!