Coumadin and alcohol?

[HarryG]

Baseball, Football great sports with good friends and a few beers!

What is the concensus on alcohol usuage and coumadin?

 

[fyrfytr]

Hey HarryG,
If you would of been at the reunion in Chicago you would know that it isn't going to hurt to have a few with your friends. Rain had a few with her friends.
Take Care

 

[Guest]

I have never seen any problem with two drinks. Above that it depends upon whether or not the alcohol irritates the lining of your intestine. If it does, you will bleed. If it does not, you won't.

Harley Davidson claims that it has the world's greatest logo because people will tattoo it on their butt. However, I will submit this case report to say that the Denver Broncos are in hot contention. One of my patients has a party for every Broncos gome. She usually has about 6 beers on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday she bleeds from her rectum. If that isn't brand loyalty, I don't know what is.

 

[Rich]

Harry,
Trust me I have had my share of alcohol during my life.
But once on Coumadin I decided to flat out quit and I did.
The good news is that I havn't had a hangover for eight years>

 

[Dee]

Al,

Does alcohol actually increase your INR or is it just the risk of intestinal irritation and then bleeding? I'm a little confused about that one. I pretty much stay away from it anyway, but just curious if I do have a drink once in a while.

~DeeDee~

 

[Harpoon]

Oy....


Not to rain on anyone's parties but alcohol has an effect on ANY MEDICATION you may be on.

Sometimes it can increase the effects of a drug, sometimes it minimizes it, sometimes it cancels out the effectiveness of a medication all together.


Now a lot of this depends on how much booze is running through yoru system at any given time compaired to the meds you're on, however why risk it????


MAYBE one beer or mixed drink or a glass of wine, two if it's a football or baseball game which tend to be fairly long and try not to take your meds WITH your booze!!!!! Keep 'em at least an hour apart.


I have it easy, I have a wife who just glares at me every time I mention a thought about having a bottle of my Sam Adams with a nice burger and some fries....

She BARELY let me have a sip of a fine wine during a dinner date with some Canadian friends of mine during our honeymoon.....

 

[Rush20]

I can't comment on the medical aspect, however I do know that since my AVR surgery last August, two beers give me a buzz and if I have 3-4, I'm hurting the next day.

I'm not sure if it's the effects of the surgery or the effects of the Coumadin and Toprol mixed with alcohol.

Needless to say, I have significantly reduced my intake (which is tough on softball nights) and now limit myself. I completely gave up the hard stuff mostly because I don't desire to drink it and limit myself to the occassional beer and dinner wine.

 

[Guest]

Binge drinking raises the INR for several days.

Chronic alcoholics require fairly high warfarin doses because their liver has been stimulated to metabolize warfarin faster. Most chronic alcoholics have a hard time taking warfarin because it requires sticking to a routine. I've never seen one who was able to take warfarin to the point where they developed liver failure. They always seem to be taken off warfarin because they have GI bleeds or bleeding in the esophagus before the liver fails.

My motto is, "Two then O'Doul's"

 

[catwoman]

I can handle 2 glasses of wine (4 oz.) without seeing too much change in my INR.
However, if I have 2 mixed drinks or 1 mixed drink and one glass of wine, then my INR jumps.

I love margaritas and martinis, so guess I'll just have to share one with a friend... as long as I get the olives.

 

[Guest]

I went to a meeting in Vail last week. Everything (room, meals, reception - everything) was paid for by the foundation that sponsored it. It was by invitation only and there was no charge to anyone who was invited. At the reception, I ordered a Margarita. Imagine my surprise when it came in a 16 Oz. beer glass!!

 

[Rain]

Hey Dave, I haven't had a drink since we left Chicago.....

Hey Dave, I haven't had a drink since we left Chicago.....

of whiskey that is. The wine I had in Napa valley last week was grrrrreat!!

Harry, its all about consistency and moderation. I wouldn't recommend to many weekends drinking with Billy..... THAT will most certainly knock your INR for a loop!!!

 

[Karlynn]

I usually have about 3 glasses of red wine during a week. With the weather being nicer and getting together with friends on decks and porches I can't turn down a Cosmo or vodka gimlet. If I have too much my INR goes up some, but nothing that's scary. I just have a really green salad the next day, or if I know I'm going to be having a martini I'll have a nice salad for dinner. I got my valve replacement to live life, but I also try to live it within the bounds of responsibility.

 

[Raverlaw]

Most of you know that I am committed to a regimen that includes a daily dose of red wine. For consistency's sake, I usually have one or two glasses with dinner. And Harpoon, I ALWAYS wash my rat poison and Lipitor down with my wine! That way I don't forget.

I figure that the wine roughly cancels out the spinach salad that I have at least 4 times a week. I try to be consistent with both.

I rarely drink beer any more; it has more to do with the calories than anything else. Same goes for the hard stuff. Although I always have my CC&7 on Christmas eve (tradition).

Some nights, when friends are over and we've cracked open a particularly good year, I may have 3 or 4 2 0z. glasses of wine. That's rare, and when I do, I try to eat an extra salad the next day to make up for it. I'm down to monthly INR testing, so I don't really know how stable my INR is.

I haven't stroked out or bled to death yet.

No one should drink just to drink, or even to be social with others. Drink if you really enjoy the beverage, and drink only in moderation.

Note: If I'm going to be driving, I don't drink at all. One thing that alcohol is SURE to interact with, every time, is your motor skills and reaction time. Don't do it. EVER.

 

[Granbonny]

So, Al

So, Al

How was that Margarita? Did you drink it all? ......Bonnie

 

[Billy]

Be nice Rain.......

Be nice Rain.......

Raingirl....you know that I am the very essence of consistency and moderation........and anyway, that good ole Bushmills whiskey has healing powers which far surpass any minor fluctuations in your INR.....

.....I knew you had some Irish blood in those veins of yours, shure you took to the Bushmills like a duck to water...

Here's to the next time we have the opportunity to 'clink' glasses of 'Bush'

Cheers

 

[catwoman]

Billy:

I used to drink Bushmill's -- former boyfriend who introduced me to Irish coffee!
Guess I can legitimately drink Bushmill's -- my mother's great-great-great, etc. grandfather, Gabriel Phillips (Phillips in U.S., Philbin in Ireland) came to America in 1704. Also have some Irish ancestors on my dad's side, along with some Germans and English.

 

[JimL]

I found this little smilie, which doesn't seem to be available on this site; perhaps it should be?