Drinking alcohol on warfarin
- Thread starter Tinsley99
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Having a few beers or mixed drinks a few times per week should not pose a problem and you can test your INR after drinking to see what, if any, effect it has on your INR. Your bigger problem will be if you fall off the barstool on your head.
Warrick
Well-known member
Im not saying get rats but have you tried a big night and tested a few days later to see if theres an effect?
My fathers been on warfarin 30+ yrs and he used to get regularly hammered when I was a kid and it never affected his INR at all, whereas Iv found 3-4 drinks a day over a few days raises mine up over 4.0, everyones different so test and see would be a good start.
My fathers been on warfarin 30+ yrs and he used to get regularly hammered when I was a kid and it never affected his INR at all, whereas Iv found 3-4 drinks a day over a few days raises mine up over 4.0, everyones different so test and see would be a good start.
Hey Tinsley. My alcohol consumption is generally moderate, but goes up on holiday for some reason 
I do find it has an effect on my INR, but not massive. As @Warrick says, you should experiment and test yourself - do you have your own home meter? If not, get one: they give you freedom, as well as better management of your INR. Here in the UK only one meter is recommended on our NHS - see this report for details of that machine and the good reasons to have one. I never travel without mine and do a quick finger-prick test once a week, or more frequently if something has changed, eg going on antibiotics.
Also, remember it is not just your INR you need to think of with alcohol. If you get so drunk that you might fall over or down stairs, your risk of internal bleeding being an issue might be something to worry about. That and being in embarrassing selfies on social media (but do send those anyway!)
I do find it has an effect on my INR, but not massive. As @Warrick says, you should experiment and test yourself - do you have your own home meter? If not, get one: they give you freedom, as well as better management of your INR. Here in the UK only one meter is recommended on our NHS - see this report for details of that machine and the good reasons to have one. I never travel without mine and do a quick finger-prick test once a week, or more frequently if something has changed, eg going on antibiotics.Also, remember it is not just your INR you need to think of with alcohol. If you get so drunk that you might fall over or down stairs, your risk of internal bleeding being an issue might be something to worry about. That and being in embarrassing selfies on social media (but do send those anyway!)
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
as it happens I help a guy whos a few years older than you manage his INR.
Now and then he gets 5h1t faced and we deal with it. I'd say that he's been a good 90% in range.
I understand that at 21 the temptations there, so ... well just do it. There'll be a rise in your INR for a few days, but its managable
What you DO NEED to make sure of is that for the rest of the time you're taking your warfarin daily and you have multiple layers of double check.
Reach out if you want me to assist you a bit to take the reiins ... after all, you're on this for life now.
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Yes, everyone is different! I have no tolerance for alcohol...one Mojito, or 8 oz wine, or one beer raises my INR up to 4!
I don't want to pile on Warfarin, it could be aging for all I know but the lack of sleep, sweating in bed after a good drink does not make up for the happy hours. I have been forced into moderation by terrible after effects and the hangovers the morning after.
If you can still do it, knock back a few for me too.
If you can still do it, knock back a few for me too.
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
done ... had nearly 1/3d of a bottle of burbon lastnight
sorry you are having issue with it
ATHENS1964
Well-known member
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I had 500 ml of 4.5% beer yesterday, I did not have a change in inr in the current measurement (inr 2.9) I am moving in a range of 2.5-3.2
Foxtail118
Active member
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Sit down with an empty sheet of legal sized paper and a pencil - on the left side of the sheet start writing all of the reasons that you should not drink alcohol (there are at least 10...). Then on the right side, list the reasons you should drink alcohol - not very many. A radical prostatectomy and a full sternotomy within 6 months of each other scared the hell out of me. I drank bourbon, scotch, and whiskey for 40+ years and can still taste it. Haven't had a drop of any type of alcohol since July 4th this year. I still miss it every day, but walking away from it (cold turkey after the open heart surgery) is the right thing to do for my long term health.
I'm 29 so I know how you feel. My surgeon told me that there are no restrictions with alcohol while on warfarin outside of normal "don't overdo it" recommendations. When I asked her about the safety of going outside of "recommendations" maybe once or twice a week she said, "Well... as a doctor I can't really endorse drinking that amount to anyone, warfarin or not, but... I'm not going to say it's really unsafe for you to do that. Aside from getting so drunk that you fall and hit your head or something." Good enough for me, I'm going to continue getting hammered and partying once a week.
The title of this post was Drinking Alcohol on Warfarin. I found that it's a lot better to drink alcohol on something else. For example, pouring tequila over an slice of lime, or pouring a mix of alcohol and juices over muddled mint, or something like that. I'm not sure if putting alcohol would make it dissolve, or just taste bad.
The idea of listing listing reasons you SHOULD drink against reasons you SHOULDN'T drink is a false equivalent -- you may want to drink three times more than you don't want to drink -- the simple list doesn't work, unless you add weight to the most important reasons.
The idea of listing listing reasons you SHOULD drink against reasons you SHOULDN'T drink is a false equivalent -- you may want to drink three times more than you don't want to drink -- the simple list doesn't work, unless you add weight to the most important reasons.
Make sure you get a pill box........and use it so you can remember whether or not you've taken your pill after you've "gotten hammered"
.Don't forget, getting hammered is a good way to make serious mistakes, get robbed or run your car into something. Rolling a drunk is easier than pie. Also, there are mean people who get their jollies messing with drunks and taking them down. As you get older, getting hammered regularly can be a good way to lose friends and girls/boys.
Perhaps I gave the wrong impression, since two people seemed concerned with my "getting hammered" statement. I definitely do not condone getting irresponsibly drunk in any way, and definitely not in public. I've made those mistakes, learned from them, and I'm done. I merely meant that I will continue partying responsibly in the way I have been for some time now.
W. Carter
Well-known member
I have been on it for 8 years. Drinking a few beers a day or smoking weed is fine. You can just adjust your dosage to whatever your lifestyle you live.
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You mean I can still drink if I choose a mechanical valve? Great! This is actually a very interesting discussion for me. I would never make my valve choice over this issue, but I am trying to visualize my future life on warfarin, as I am leaning mechanical at this point. And, about 2-3 times per month, I really enjoy watching the fights and having a few beers- last Saturday, I watched the UFC and had 6 light beers over the course of 3 hours. I don't get even close to fall down drunk, but just like getting a good buzz going as I enjoy watching the fights. To hear the doctors talk about life on warfarin, they basically say that if you have more than one drink you will be near the edge of death. So, the thought that I likely will be able to have a few beers from time to time is good news. One more thing that I might not have to change. At the same time, as others have noted that they get big movements to their INR with one drink, I realize I will need to closely watch my INR after drinking to see which category I fall into.
Superman
Well-known member
I received my mechanical valve when I was 17. Quite literally all of my drinking experience is while on warfarin. That said, I was a bit of a joke as a cheap date around my friends when I was younger. At 6’ 4” and around 200 lbs, I have a very low tolerance.
