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Mine was discovered serendipitously when I decided to have my nose's deviated septum fixed. I had been totally healthy, ran track in high school, and was a very fast marathoner in my 30s. Jump ahead to age 60, getting my nose fixed. This required a certification I was OK for surgery. I...

There is a basic misunderstanding about warfarin. It has little effect on external clot formation after nicks or cuts as that is much more dependent on platelets. The Ivy bleeding time test, wherein a small cut is made and the time to form the platelet plug (bleeding stops) is measured, is...

I have a similar story. My aortic stenosis (due to BAV) was discovered serendipitously when I was 60, about 12 years ago. I had NO symptoms, but an echo showed severe aortic stenosis with a tiny, sclerotic valve opening. It was a total surprise. I ran track in high school and marathons in my...

There might be a little confusion in this thread about resveratrol or other compounds that may interfere with platelet activity. You cannot "adjust" for them by INR testing they do not affect INR. They definitely can enhance bleeding, but testing INR more frequently when taking antiplatelet...

My St Jude's AV has never "clicked" and I'm a skinny guy, so I was worried this might be an issue, but mine is surprisingly quiet. I do "hear" my heartbeat. It's more of a typical "thump". It transmits internally through my vasculature to my ears and is not audible to anyone around me. It's...

I was in an almost identical situation at 61 (10 years ago). After studying valve choices extensively, I went with mechanical despite a loathing of needle sticks (or finger pricks) I would face with lifelong warfarin and the potential for bleeds or strokes. I haven't kept up with recent...

Somewhere around half of people with BAV never require valve replacement and live normal lives to die of something else. The course is not predictable. It may progress or it may be totally stable for many decades. All of us had BAV at birth. I never knew I had this until I was 60. I led a...

Not true. About 10% of BAV patients have cerebral aneurysms. When I went to Stanford for surgical repair of my BAV and aortic aneurysm, I received a brain MRI (at my request - it was not standard operating procedure, but my surgeon agreed it would be good to rule it out) as well as the usual...

Protimenow: How's it gone since? I'm now on 18mg/week with an INR of 2.11. This is after a huge binge on romaine lettuce almost daily for the last couple of months. So, it's bumped my warfarin 20%. Not huge. I went in to visit my coag nurse today and she correctly noted that various...

Although in the US and Canada and many other countries physicians are free to prescribe drugs for unapproved uses (off-label), I'm still more than a bit surprised any doctor would do what was done in this report, especially if the patients were doing well enough on warfarin, as these appeared to...

If you don't care for your cardiologist, get in to see the GP. He can handle your issues short term. Long term, if you aren't confident in your cardiologist, you need a different one. I switched cardiologists immediately after my surgery. So, my post-op visit was the first time he had seen...

To add to ****'s comments about vitamin K, you really only need to be concerned about a few very dark green, leafy vegatable. Common lettuce varieties (butter, iceberg. romaine) are low in vitamin K and can be eaten in variable quantities with no significant effect on INR. Take a look at this...

I corrected my post above after you quoted it. My weekly warfarin dose to stay in range went from 15 mg (not 1 mg) to 18 mg during my Romaine lettuce binge. Also inserted a "not" near the end of the last sentence. Sorry about the errors.

Vitamin K can rapidly reverse warfarin, but to do so it must be given in rather large doses, something like 1 to 2 gm (1,000 to 2,000 mg). Note the usual daily intake of vitmain K is 100 mcg or 0.1 mg. Even doses of 1 to 2 gm of vitmain K takes a day or so to reverse warfarin. It takes time...

You should have a follow-up visit with your GP and cardiologist very soon. I saw mine with a week or so after discharge. They should help you with these problems. Although weight gain from fluid shifts is very common after OHS, 22 lbs is a bit extreme. I gained 10 lbs post-op and was started...

I agree with everyone else about the lack of restrictions on activity. The valve and coumadin should not be an issue with even serious running. Mark - I want to add that I developed patellar tendonitis when I was a very serious runner years ago. The solution for me was leg lifts to strengthen...

Check again with the surgeon and cardiologist just be sure they said "never". You may have reasons for "never" that GymGuy and others don't have after full recovery from AVR. Many of us, particularly if our valve disorder was biscuspid aortic valve, had associated aortic aneurysm(s)...

Like Rachel said, WOW!!!! That was a close one. Like I said, surgeons have too great a tolerance for anemia. I mentioned that you needed closer follow-up of this issue a month ago. Too bad it had to become an emergency before they took action. But all's well that ends well, right...

Why are you sleeping on your back if you don't like it? I slept on my side in the hospital within a day or two after surgery. With proper pillow support. this is fine. Maybe sleeping on your stomach might not be such a good idea, but I don't know why you must sleep on your back. Unless you...

A remarkable achievement. :thumbup: