black tea & coumadin

[dmeehan]

Hi everyone,
AVR coming up for me in March. I know all about the links between Vitamin K and coumadin but I'm reading very mixed things about black tea. I know green tea is supposedly high in vit K but I don't like green tea so that's not a problem for me. I do drink black tea every morning. Some websites say it does not affect INR, some say it does. Anyone here drink black tea that wants to share their experience?

 

[Freddie]

I drink black tea with a little sugar, never told not to drink it so I continue to do so.
You shouldn't have to worry.

 

[Missy]

Me too, no green though.

Don't you just hate all the different tales you can read or hear?

 

[dick0236]

I drink black tea (I guess that is regular tee??) every day, and have for years and years. Like others, I do not drink green tea although I don't know why they say not to.

 

[Greg a]

Nelson just started a thread on foods to avoid and why (not all about INRs but many apply) Green tea is listed but nadda about Orange Peko (Black)
http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?37291-Heart-Trouble-30-Herbal-Remedies-to-Avoid

 

[Philip B]

Black Tea?

Black Tea?

I drink black tea and green tea. Others are free to subscribe to limiting what they eat and drink due to concerns about the impacts of different foods and beverages on INR. I simply prefer to monitor my INR and make adjustments on my coumadin dosage to stay within range. I don't find INR management to be that difficult.

-Philip

 

[MrZoom]

I have continued to enjoy black tea, both hot and cold, these past 3 years that I have been on Coumadin for atrial fibrilation. I often enjoy a mug of "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot" (in the famous words of Captain Picard ) in the morning at work. No problems with it whatsoever.

 

[Protimenow]

Echoing Philip B: Anticoagulation management isn't all that difficult. If you have a meter, you're probably good to go.
Black tea is supposed to be okay. If you prefer green, drink a consistent amount of green and monitor your INR.

It shouldn't be that big a deal - as long as you're consistent and have your INR under control

 

[mecretired]

Green tea has Vit K and, I guess, black tea does not. I love all kinds of tea, but have thrown out all my herbal teas and drink only decaf tea in the evening as I already have trouble sleeping. I agree that anticoagulation management shouldn't be difficult. But my ins company won't pay for home testing and I'm currently on an every 4 weeks' testing schedule. It REALLY scares me as to what my INR may be during the 4 week period. I feel that I have to keep a MUCH more steady diet to feel safe during those 4 weeks. There are many times that I will just pass on something that has Vit K rather than take the chance on it sending my INR out of range during the 4 wks I am not being tested. I am still fighting my ins co and have a snall amount of hope that they still might pay. When I give up hope I will try to buy a home monitor myself.

 

[Protimenow]

EVERY FOUR WEEKS? Has your INR been that stable that the insurance company is comfortable with testing only once every four weeks? I'd be somewhat scared, too. (In my past, I've gone longer than four weeks on a consistent dose and pretty consistent diet, but it makes a whole lot more sense to be able to test more frequently).

The next time you talk to your insurance company, perhaps you can ask the bean counter at the company to compare the cost of more frequent tests (or a monitor and strips), to the cost of long term care if you have a stroke because THEY AREN'T AUTHORIZING TESTS FREQUENTLY ENOUGH. Remind them that your plan probably has a 2 or 4 million dollar cap - ant that, if you have a stroke because they decline to cover more frequent testing, you may just use all THEIR money up.

FWIW -- I've bought my meters on eBay - and, with two exceptions (both were advertised as As Is and untested or non-functional), they ALL worked just fine. I got strips either over eBay or had a doctor order them for me from a medical supply company.

The mantra on this forum has long been 'dose the diet,' not 'diet the dose.' It looks like this four week schedule has forced you try to 'diet the dose' - keeping you from making any changes because you don't have any feedback to tell you if you've done anything to change your INR. It's not fair to you. It's risky for the insurance company.

Back to the subject at hand, what you've said about Green Tea having Vitamin K and Black (or Orange) teas not having it, it seems that Black teas are safe.

Again - having a meter and strips, and being able to do self testing more frequently (or even within a couple days of falling off of a consistent diet or activity schedule) will help you be sure you're in range, and may even wind up saving you from a medical catastrophe (and your insurance from spending a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY). Good luck with your insurance company.

 

[dmeehan]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

MrZoom, funny, I always thing of the same quote whenever I have earl grey!

 

[Philip B]

Consistent?

Consistent?

Just another opinion, but personally, I think consistency is overrated. My diet isn't consistent, nor is my intake of green tea. During weeks where my exercise program gets derailed by other issues and my diet is more erratic than usual, I'll check my INR more than once to pick-up any upward or downward trends in INR.

-Philip

 

[normofthenorth]

Drinking tea every morning (whatever the color) seems to be an easy thing to do consistently. (Not a tea guy myself, but my coffee consumption doesn't change much.)

There's a theory out there -- and I've seen some evidence that supports it at least weakly -- that it's easier to keep your INR consistent if you DO eat some foods that contain Vit. K, than if you eat NONE. Of course, you either have to have some consistency to it, or you have to monitor your INR reasonably frequently.

 

[Protimenow]

Don't avoid foods with Vitamin K. Vitamin K does other things besides effecting coagulation. It's better to eat foods with Vitamin K and just adjust your warfarin dosage to accommodate for its coagulation effects than it is to avoid those foods.

(I don't want to sound like an authority on Vitamin K, but from what I've seen, Vitamin K has many benefits and it's not a great idea to completely eliminate it).