coumadin

[catwoman]

I have found that a consistent amount of greens over a week is OK. I tell people that if they overdo it on a salad bar then the next day eat corn or cauliflower. It is hard to stay consistent day-to-day but fairly easy over the course of a week.

Al:
That's good advice for ALL nutritional intake. Many people think they have to stick to that food god, The Food Pyramid, every single day. What I've read in many books & magazines and what does make sense is to get an average of X servings of fruit & veggies/dairy products/grains/protein, etc. over several days or a week.

When I travel, I do have a problem getting in my vitamin K. So what I do is eat a little more on Thursdays, Saturdays & Mondays. I know that green stuff may not be as accessible on Fridays or Sundays. I do the same with my skim milk, oatmeal, fruits & veggies, etc.
When I'm NOT traveling over a weekend, I just eat some of each group every day.

Being 100% consistent 100% of the time is B-O-R-I-N-G.

 

[Dancer]

Mechanical Valve and Coumadin, etc.

Mechanical Valve and Coumadin, etc.

Living with coumadin can affect your life very little once you get used to it. I have very small veins (1 "good" one which was starting to scar) so found a lab with an excellent sticker who was truly an artist when it came to blood draws. I would only see her and would go back the next day if she wasn't in. Then my cardiologist's office offered a finger stick clinic and that was better. I switched to the one in my internist's office (lower copay), but they didn't manage my numbers as well and didn't give me the new dosage or make the next appointment right there, so I switched back to the cardiologist. Now you can buy fingerstick machines - expensive and usually not paid for by insurance, but a help if you're a distance from a lab. One doc in our area ran a study and I heard he furnished the machines!
My biggest problem is bruising. Last year I had a bruise and lump in each breast. We don't know if it was from the recent mamogram, a new rescue dog who loved to jump, kitties who loved to knead on me in bed, or something else. I get big bruises in my arm and look abused, which takes some people off guard. I tell them they're crop circles and my husband says they're hickies, and a little humor puts them more at ease. I used to wear light shirts in the summer to cover them, but last summer it was just too hot.
Two things are off-topic, but may help you. If you have an aversion to being stuck, ask for a pic or picc line after surgery. They can run your iv's and do most of your blood draws through this. I've had them before other surgeries, so most of the stay is "stickless", but they probably can't be used during valve surgery. Also, if your surgery has you on a heart/lung machine, it may affect your taste and smell. I couldn't eat the hospital food and food at home tasted and smelled awful, even Cheerios. A nurse friend had me call the pharmacist at a suburban Medicine Shoppe pharmacy who specialized in compounding creams for patients with nausea, mostly from chemo. I explained my problem to him and he worked with the surgeon to get a prescription and insurance paid all but the copay. It was my miracle drug. It was so nice to enjoy food and stop throwing up. The doctor who treated the pneumonia I got after surgery said they have done hospital food satisfaction surveys and most patients are OK with the food, except for the patients who have been on the heart lung machine and many of those think everything tastes awful. If it happens, it's NOT just your imagination.
Good luck with your surgery.