Coumadin and Alcohol

[Teddy]

I have been searching around a little bit trying to find some information on the affects of drinking alcohol while on Coumadin and not finding harldy anything. If anyone had any information or could point me in the right direction that would be great! Thanks.

 

[Ross]

http://warfarinfo.com/alcohol.htm

 

[Gemma]

Hi Teddy and welcome to vr.com

The link Ross has provided is a webpage you should bookmark for future reference - it's full of great information on all kinds of warfarin (coumadin) related stuff.

The main reason doctors are sometimes worried about drinking alcohol while taking warfarin is that alcohol can irritate the stomach lining, which can in turn cause bleeding when you're on warfarin. That's usually a concern if you're drinking a lot in one go. A couple of drinks probably won't be a problem. And if you stick around here, you'll discover that the consensus is "anything in moderation" and "consistency is key" - so you'd be better drinking one or two drinks most days rather than saving all your drinking til the weekend . And that way you avoid the dreaded hangovers too, which means you'll be a grade A student!!!

My boyfriend Jim's been on warfarin for nearly 2 years now, and hasn't found cutting down on alcohol to be a problem - if we're out with friends he'll sometimes have a shandy (lager or bitter mixed 50/50 with lemonade - don't know if that's something you get in the USA) or two rather than "real" pints of beer so he doesn't feel like the only one not drinking. But his cardio advised him to cut down a while before his surgery as he was taking another drug which interacted with alcohol, so I think he's got to the point now where he just doesn't really want to get drunk.

Another member here, PamO, said she and her husband celebrated his 1st anniversary of his AVR with a "strong" margarita - so I guess you can see that you don't need to rule alcohol out of your life totally if you don't want to. On the other hand, if you really don't want to drink it then I suppose the warfarin would be a good excuse - it's unlikely most of your friends would know any different!

If you do a search on the forums here you'll find a few discussions about alcohol and warfarin. And of course, probably everything else you wanted to know (and things you didn't know you wanted to know!).

Gemma.

PS, are you by any chance skimomck (Cindy)'s son? Just curious as you have the same name .

 

[Karlynn]

Welcome Teddy!

Looking at your profile, looks like you are a college student. Probably the toughest time to have to watch your alcohol consumption. Many of us on Coumadin do enjoy "adult beverages", but we do try to be conistant. Some of us have a glass of red wine every night. Others of us enjoy a drink/s on the weekends when we're out. The unfortunate thing is that large consumptions of alcohol is not a good idea, whether occasionally or weekly (aka - the college life)

My son had a frat brother (graduated and lot touch) with a mechanical valve. I asked my son if he drank as much as the rest of the guys. My son said no, but that he gets drunk more quickly because of Coumadin. Well, that certainly isn't the case, so it was either in this guys head that he got drunker, or it was a good cover for limiting consumption in social settings where you feel pressured to consume a lot.

The link that Ross posted is a good one. It gives you things to be wary of. I've had my mechanical valve for 14 years and didn't listen to the "don't drink alcohol" direction, but I don't over consume. However, I am a light-weight and it doesn't take much to give me a buzz (2 rum and diet Cokes). On occasions when we're with friends,

I choose not to go beyond 2 drinks (except on a few rare occasions).

If you home test, you'll get to know just how alcohol affects your INR. Moderate consuption doesn't seem to affect mine. Wish it did a little, would give me a way to raise a low INR.

 

[ClickerTicker]

Field tested approach to alcohol

Field tested approach to alcohol

I think one of the key things with alcohol is to drink consistently. Having nothing all week then binging at the weekend will most likely get your INR wobbling with a vengeance
I drink consistently - consistently more than is good for me, but have been lucky so far. Most days it's a pint of beer and up to half a bottle of wine. When I go significantly over that to maybe a couple of pints and more than a bottle of wine -- the next morning is generally a bit of a trial
I don't really recommend this approach... but it can work INR-wise for some of us - dunno if the ticker or the liver will clap out first though

 

[Teddy]

Thanks for all the info. That was similar to what I have heard before with the main concerns being alcohol affecting your INR, greater chance for an injury while under the influence, and the risk of bleeding in your stomach and stuff. As for affecting my INR I can track that with some blood tests and see what happens.

Something else I had heard that is regardless of your INR or anything else, drinking is more harmful to you liver when you are taking coumadin? Is there any truth to this statement?

 

[McCln]

If you are a heavy drinker, yes it is hard on the liver, corrisis ring any bells? My father was a heavy drinker and probably had it. I try not to drink very oten anyway, due to family history on both sides. Just do consistant and easy.

 

[Mama2Rylan]

OK, now I'm confused??

OK, now I'm confused??

Ok, I thought I was getting all of this coumadin stuff but now I'm not so sure. Last Friday I went to have my INR tested and it was 3.0 (which is perfect) then today I went in and my INR was 1.7 I don't understand...I haven't eaten anything "green" (other then a piece of lettuce on a sandwich) but I had a few beers Friday night. So, could the alcohol have anything to do with this drop? I always thought that if you drank alcohol it would INCREASE your INR, not drop it down

 

[Karlynn]

Did you have them re-test? If the INR has that much of a change and is out of range, they should retest. Are they using the finger stick machines, or are they doing a veinous draw. I really don't trust those veinous draws. You never know how long the tube sits around.

I'd be inclinced to think that the reading was an error. I would get it tested again before making any changes to your dose, unless you're not able to get it tested again until Monday. Then I'd go ahead and make changes.

I highly doubt it was the beers. And you are correct - it usually makes the INR go up. But a few people have reported that it makes it go down.

One other reason it may be low, is if you forgot a dose, or didn't take the entire dose accidentally - like I did a few weeks ago. (I'm still struggling to get my INR back up above 2.5 (it's 2.3 last test on Monday)

 

[Mama2Rylan]

When I got to the hospital they did the fingerstick (which is what I normally do) and the first time doing that was 1.9, so I thought that one was pretty low (since the week before was 3.0) so I asked for a retest..the second fingerstick was 1.3 so my doctor told me to go with a blood draw. I know when they took my blood it was processed right away because I called back an half hour later and got my results (the blood draw was 1.7) so I still don't know what to think. I don't think that it was the beers either, especially since I didn't drink that much.

A couple weeks ago, I did wonder if I messed up my dosage. I usually take 5grams of coumadin (which is 2-2.5 pills) well later on in the night I couldn't remember if I took 2 pills or just the one...but like I said that was a couple weeks ago, would it effect my INR now? I thought when you take coumadin it effects you in a couple days? I have no idea why the sudden drop...it just makes me more sure that I want a hometesting kit