Downhill skiing?

[dwfreck]

Is anybody out there on blood thinners and participating in downhill skiing?

My wife and I both ski, and were looking forward to getting back into it when our children got old enough to come with us. Our kids are now old enough, so being able to ski is an important factor in my decision for an AV replacement.

What kind of precautions do you take while on the slopes (other than the obvious "don't ski into a tree")?

 

[Guest]

I have had several people in my clinic who ski (I'm in Colorado). It probably depends on your skill level, how many black diamonds the slope is rated at and your tolerance for bruises.

 

[Rain]

skiing....

skiing....

I snow skied before my surgery... but I haven?t since. My cardio told me not to. He also told me not to water ski.

I took Sara snowboarding at Telluride last weekend... it was oh sooooo very tempting!!! But I didn?t. I have water skied... since my surgery... but I stayed on two skis and just kinda took a slow pull around the lake.

My cardio has a whole arm load of horror stories he brings to life every time I mention skiing of any type.

Check out main st. Telluride last Saturday. They?re crying for snow.... still making their own on the mountain.

 

[dwfreck]

Al,

I was hoping to hear from you, since I figured you'd know people who've actually skiied.

With respect to my skill level, the last time I skiied: I could do a short double-black-diamond slope, if I was feeling particularly fit and flexible, about once per ski trip, I could do groomed single-black-diamonds comfortably depending my level of fatigue and muscle stiffness, and I could easisly manage blue and green slopes 'till the cows came home. That was seven years ago, and, of course, I haven't forgotten my skills, but I may not be able to get my body to execute those skills quite as easily.

I'm not planning on skiing any time soon, but I want to be able to get back to skiing, so I need to factor it into my valve choice.

Speaking of skiing, I read elsewhere you were recently in Geneva. Congratulations on that honor. Did you get the chance to ski in the Alps?

 

[dwfreck]

Skiing horror stories.

Skiing horror stories.

Rain, or anyone,

I'd be interested in hearing the skiing horror stories as well as the success stories, so don't be shy!

 

[Guest]

Rain,

What is that Playmate Pink outfit in the picture. Are you getting ready for your birthday tomorrow?

 

[catwoman]

Rain:

Why did your cardio say not to water ski???
There aren't any ski areas here in TX , but I was looking forward to water skiing next summer at my sister's lake house.

 

[Ross]

Hey everybody, you cannot stop living your lives because you may bleed a little more. Use common sense and take precautions to avoid devastating injuries, but for all you know, you could be killed in a car accident today, so go out and enjoy the things you love to do. Be aware, but enjoy!

Why be an unhappy mushroom when you could have been a happy one?

 

[Rain]

INR = It's Never Right

INR = It's Never Right

Hey Dale & Marsha,

My cardio is worried about me bonking my head really hard or breaking a bone, etc. I hate to tell INR horror stories here in vr.com. He tells some really scary ones...ones that could happen to anyone. When I was so adamant that I didn?t want to wear a tag around my arm or neck saying I had a health problem .... he told some things about people being in car wrecks who weren?t wearing a medical ID.... I went home and ordered one!! When I got it, I put it on and haven?t taken it off.

I certainly wouldn?t want anyone making a valve choice based on something I said. So I try not to express how much I really hate having my life dependant on a pill I have to take every day... and then all that taking that flippin' pill entails.

I bruise really, really easy since I started taking coumadin and the bruises last forever. They don?t just go away like they used to.... and they hurt. I think I could snow or water ski...but those careless, carefree days of zooming down the mountain or around the lake a hundred miles an hour are gone. Ya just gotta be careful. Realize the consequences if you crash. My cardio convinced me it just isn?t worth it. I still enjoy taking our boat to the lake, I enjoy watching my kids & friends ski almost as much as skiing myself. There's a lot of things to do at the lake beside ski... lol But when the kids go snow skiing, I usually stay home and...... make cookies.

Ross, I?ve never been a person to ?sweat the small stuff?. I haven?t stopped living my life because of health problems. The truth is I probably haven?t conformed as much as I should and that?s why I have so many problems with coumadin. But I?m not ready for a rockin? chair yet. I?ve determined that?s the only way to stay ?consistent, consistent, consistent?. I?ve still got a ten year old to raise! I?ve got things to do, places to go, people to see!! Reunions to plan!

?Playmate Pink??! lol Well.... ya know, I am 43 years old today. What?s a girl to do when she feels 33 but the calendar says she?s 43?! LOL

 

[LUVMyBirman]

reasons why I quit skiing....

reasons why I quit skiing....

You can control yourself 'most often' it's the careless actions of others you have to be leary of.

Our daughter is enrolled in Ski school over the holidays.
Will watch from a distance with a smile and savor the moment. And, a few 'Cokes' too.

 

[Granbonny]

Dale

Dale

Where do you ski? We owned a condo at Sugar Mountain in Western North Carolina for 10 years..And they would bring children and Adults all over from the South...for a week....Never been on ski.s ...And they would give them poles Poor..kids and adults alike. Poles and ski's flying every where... My 2 children stayed on expert runs to stay away from flying ski's.. and they were age 10... My son took his age.. 5 month old down in a backpack. And at age 11 now..should see that boy ski now..Fearless.I go every year and take camcorder...He skiing so fast..I cannot keep up when he comes down and back on lift. But..have to be careful ..camcording him for all the crazy skiiers. have had a few to come in right at me.Standing right in area of Lodge area. We have the Florida crowd.. Bonnie

 

[dwfreck]

Bonnie,

Southern Ohio isn't known for it's massive vertical drops , and I haven't been on skis since my wife got pregnant (on a ski trip!) with our first child (now age 6.5) , BUT...

I have skiied in the greater Cincinnati area at a tiny little place called Perfect North Slopes; it's owned by the Perfect family, and doubles as a working farm in the summer; it's terribly crowded on weekends with the usual collection of over-eager beginners on imtermediate-to-advanced slopes.

Our favorite nearby skiing haunt was Seven Springs Mountain Resort in western Pennsylvania; it's about six hours away by car, and they have night skiing and great weekend and long-weekend lift ticket packages, an excellent resort hotel complex and "luxury" condos on site, and many affordable hotels in the nearby towns of Donnegal and Sommerset. It can get crowded, but not claustraphobicly so, and it is well laid out so there aren't as many people skiing beyond their abilities as one might expect with a big crowd.

My wife's aunt owns a condominium in Dillon, CO, and we have used that as a base camp to ski Copper Mountain, Brekenridge, and Keystone. There is a HUGE difference in the quality of snow in Summit county, CO as compared to anything I can drive to. Needless to say, we loved skiing there!

While I was in college and after I graduated, but before I met my wife, my parents lived in Paris, France. So, I have skiied in various locations in the French and Swiss Alps: Le Grand-Bournand, Tignes, Val d'Isere, Val Thorens, and Courchevel (1800m), in France, and Zermat in Switzerland (in June on the glacier at the base of the Matterhorn!). I'm terribly spoiled by this experience, because my father's employer paid for my overseas travel, and my parents paid for the rest. My wife and I dream of taking our own family skiing in the Alps some day.

Before I went to college, my family and our best friends "discovered" skiing at a tinier little place in greater Cincinnati called Sugar Creek (now defunct). This is where I first learned how to "snowplow" and to "tuck", so it has a sentimental place in my heart.

So, there, in a nutshell, is my entire ski history. Now you all know why I'm so curious about skiing with coumadin: I really don't want to give up that French Alps dream.

And, yes, Ross, I know I don't have to give up my dream or stop living because of warfarin; I just want to make as well-educated a decision as I can about the relative tradeoffs involved in chosing a replacement valve, and skiing is important to me, so I'm asking...

Is anyone out there taking blood thinners and skiing? If so, how do you manage the two?

 

[Gisele]

I ski

I ski

I was on Coumadin for 21 years and although my doctor was not comfortable at all with the fact that I enjoyed skiing, he knew I was going to ski anyway.

I did fall a few times and so I was probably a bit more cautious than most skiers. I knew the risks involved by being up on the slopes.

I am hoping that this year I will be able to go skiing. I still have difficulty with my balance due to a stroke that affected my left foot and I just had my valve replaced four weeks ago. I am no longer on Coumadin so once I am all healed I will be up on those slopes again.

Just be careful when you ski and watch out for the snowboarders and other skiers.

 

[Guest]

Gisele,

I only monitor the warfarin forum, so I did not know that you had a successful valve replacement. That is such great news. We get to feel like we know each other so well on this site. It will probably be the best news that I hear today.

There are special adaptations skiiers with special needs. You might look into the poles with outrigger little skis on the end. These work especially well for people with balance problems.

 

[dwfreck]

Gisele,

Yipee ! Another skiier. I knew there had to be one somewhere...

While I haven't always been a carefull skiier, I've been getting more and more carefull as I get older. My dad fell head-over-heels (literally) into fresh powder he hadn't seen once, and got up VERY slowly. He wasn't hurt, but when I'd finished laughing and he still hadn't gotten up, I started to get worried. I think that was the start of my more-carefull phase...

Congratulations on your replacement, and good luck with your recovery and regaining your balance. Sounds like you'll be on the lifts before me.

 

[Ross]

So Dale, are you getting enough education yet?

 

[Gisele]

Oh yeah.................

Oh yeah.................

Al, let's just say that it is such a relief to not have to worry about INR's and Vit. K, and everything else that would affect my level and cause it to bounce around. Of course the downside is facing another surgery sometime in the future but the neurosurgeons and cardiacsurgeons felt this was in my best interest. I couldn't handle another subdural. Ouch!

Dale, there are a few Coumadin skiers out there so you won't be alone. Just be careful though and good luck.

 

[dwfreck]

So Dale, are you getting enough education yet?

Ross, I'm insatiably curious, so "enough education" is an oxymoron for me.