coumadin and diet?

[khamis73]

hi all
i'm now in loosing wieght diet and i eat alot of vegalebles I wnat to ask about dark green vegetables it's high in vitamin k like broccoli , collard greens,lettuce
do I have to reduce the amount of these vegetables or fix coumadin dose.
and another quistion what is the best time to take the coumadin in the day
thanks

 

[dick0236]

I also like the vit K vegetables and eat them often, probably daily. Try to be more or less consistent in your vit K intake and adjust your coumadin/warfarin as needed. Just don't binge.

Take your coumadin/warfarin at the same time every day. I take mine in the AM but that may not work for you. Many take the med at bedtime, before dinner, etc. It really does not make a difference. It is more important to take it at the same time every day.

 

[Guest]

The advice we have been given here is 'dose the diet'. So far it has worked well for me. I take my coumadin with dinner so that I don't forget. I have found that if I take it later than 8:00 p.m. it keeps me awake at night, maybe it's not the coumadin but so far it's happened to me a couple times. I also figure I have some leeway if I miss my 6:00 p.m. dose, I can take it up until bedtime. As others will say "consistancy is key".

 

[Ross]

It doesn't matter when you take your dose, but once you start a new plan, stick with it. In other words, if you take it in the morning now, but want to switch to evening, take it every evening then.

As Dick suggested, try to keep your veggie intake consistent and adjust your dose to accommodate that diet. I love veggies and to be honest, I'm not real consistent, but I do well with INR, so I must have myself set up for my so called inconsistencies.

 

[Jkm7]

I have always eaten very large quantities of broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts, asparagus and green salads etc As you know these veggies are high in Vitamin K. I was only on coumadin for just under three months post op and during that time, I continued to eat those veggies in the same (large) quantities I always ate them. I was on a high dose of coumadin but well might have metabolized coumadin in such a way that food did not have that high effect on my INR as it seems.

I had several conversations at Mass General Hospital where I had my surgery and, thankfully, they agreed with the mantra of 'dose the diet - don't diet the dose.' It is impractical, unreasonable and unnecessary to tell someone they need to avoid all those healthy foods for life. It is counter productive.

Consistency is the key. You must eat (approximately) the same amount of Vitamin high K food consistently. NOT to say you can't have a treat of something you crave now and then. Be sure to be tested regularly and you should do fine.

I'm not sure but I think there may be a lot of soy in your diet as well??? If so, please be aware that soy products also have an effect on INR. If I'm incorrect about soy being something you eat regularly, please ignore.

You're asking the right questions and seem to be doing very well. Keep up the good work.

 

[catwoman]

I take my coumadin with dinner so that I don't forget. I have found that if I take it later than 8:00 p.m. it keeps me awake at night, maybe it's not the coumadin but so far it's happened to me a couple times.

I've never heard anyone associating sleeplessness with warfarin. Perhaps it's due to something else?

Here's a link to the prescribing information for Coumadin that the manufacturer has on its website. It does not list sleep anywhere in the package sheet (6 pages on the internet). Most drug manufacturers will list just about any odd reaction that's been documented and attributed to a drug. But, nothing about sleep problems for Coumadin:

http://packageinserts.bms.com/pi/pi_coumadin.pdf

 

[Ross]

I've never heard anyone associating sleeplessness with warfarin. Perhaps it's due to something else?

Here's a link to the prescribing information for Coumadin that the manufacturer has on its website. It does not list sleep anywhere in the package sheet (6 pages on the internet). Most drug manufacturers will list just about any odd reaction that's been documented and attributed to a drug. But, nothing about sleep problems for Coumadin:

http://packageinserts.bms.com/pi/pi_coumadin.pdf

Perhaps it's the coffee she uses to take it with?

 

[catwoman]

Perhaps it's the coffee she uses to take it with?

I did entertain a thought about that.

I generally have no problem with sleeping -- unless I drink several cups of coffee at night.

 

[Guest]

No coffee for me, I have one cup in the morning and that's it. I'm always the odd ball when it comes to meds. It's probably something else, thought I'd mention it just in case someone else has the issue.

 

[khamis73]

thank you all.