Coumadin and " romance"

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pattinmaine518

New member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
3
Location
Saco Maine
Hi New to the forum, learning so much reading all the info on here, so please forgive me if this has been addressed. My husband is having his aortic valve and his ascending aorta replaced on April 9th. We have the option of either mechanical or Bovine valve, he's 46 and we;ve decided to go mechanical, however he will have to go on a blood thinner of some kind, Wafarin Im pretty sure, but one of his "friends" has warned him that that will cause "ed" problems. Does anyone know if this is true? He is kinda freaking about that point, me Im worried about the darn opening the chest issue, he's worried about the little general...lol

:eek2:
 
Hi Patti and welcome,

You're husband's friend is nuts. Warfarin just keeps the blood from forming clots, it doesn't make your blood thin or anything like that. My husband is on warfarin because he has a blood disorder. We discovered the disorder when he had a pulmonary embolism. Our romantic life has actually got better because he feels so much better. Of all the medications out there, warfarin really has very few side effects.
 
I've never been accused of being the most romantic guy in the world, but I've had my mechanical valve since just before my 18th birthday and I've never been turned away from a flower shop because of it. And I still open doors for my wife after 12 plus years of marraige. I could do a better job remembering to warm the car up for her in the winter though.
 
Naah, your friend is nuts. As others have said warfarin doesn't 'thin' the blood.

One thing to consider -- with that new valve, your husband will probably be able to maintain blood pressure (which will probably help with parts that require a good supply of blood), and will have more stamina. My wife didn't complain before my aortic replacement, but afterwards, things seemed to get even better. ED is not related to warfarin.
 
The general, whether little or not, is going to be just fine. Where does this stuff come from?
 
And the mayo clinic states warfarin as a blood thinner, many here disagree with that term....so what is it?

I consider it a thinner myself.

No standing attention disorders here, just can't find the recipricant around enough...LOL
 
It is an anticoagulant. Those of us on Coumadin/warfarin do not have blood that is any thinner than the average person. The coumadin stops a process that creates clots. Coumadin doesn't do anything to the flowability of the blood, just how fast it starts to clot. A "thinner" would mean that the actual viscosity is different...for instance "thick" blood would be like heavy motor oil or Karo Syrup & "thin" blood like rubbing alcohol. There are medical conditions that contribute to viscosity but coumadin isn't one of them. It's pretty bad when a medical heavy like The Mayo still promotes this misinformation.
 
Interesting, I had a dispute about blood 'thinning' with my pharmacist and an esthetician, who are convinced that warfarin/coumadin somehow 'thins' the blood. There's no convincing these people.

Also -- the pharmacy is handing out an informational flyer with warfarin (to certain patients) that advises people AGAINST taking anything with Vitamin K or eating greens.

When will these myths finally go away?
 
Warfarin is not known to have any negative effects on positive side of the male function. And priapism is not common with warfain at all (thank goodness!), nor with the many other drugs that can supposedly cause it: sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), vardenafil (Levitra), papaverine, fluoxetine (Prozac), bupropion (Wellbutrin), risperidone (Risperdal), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and heparin.

The phrase "blood thinner" is a medically tolerated term only because it has been in the common vernacular for so long. It's just more vividly "understandable" and easier to say than "anticoagulant." It just seems impossible to get it out of the language. As such, many professionals have given up the attempt and just refer to warfain, heparin, and various other anticoagulants as blood thinners, just so a majority of people will know what they're talking about and listen to what they're saying. Many people just stop listening if you use terms like anticoagulant.

As Kristy pointed out so well above, none of these products actually affects the viscosity of your blood. It's just as "thick" as it was before. It looks the same, smells the same, tastes the same. It just won't stick to itself and form a clot (coagulate) as quickly as it did before. Like wintering over gas in a mower with Sta-bil or another stabilizer in it, instead of without. The gasoline looks, works, smells, burns the same, no thicker or thinner, but it just doesn't clog up the carbureter.

Best wishes,
 
Hello
He is definately wrong I had my aorta replaced I am 54 and ready to wear a big S on my shirt. Since the replacement I am even better than I was before. That being said before I was not getting the blood I needed to perform at peak levels, now I feel like Brad Pitt so tell him to put you on a exercise program and see if you can keep up. Anyway welcome and enjoy the ride. lol
 
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