Good-bye Wafarin!

[alesia]

Hey there! I made it through 3 months on Warfarin and now just a baby aspirin a day! I am so thankful for this site, it was like i was not alone! My goal is to stay away from the doctors office for the next 10 years! Thank you for helping me through all those tough times throughout my recovery!

 

[nngbwh]

Yeeeee- Hawww !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbup:

 

[Julian]

Hey there! I made it through 3 months on Warfarin and now just a baby aspirin a day! I am so thankful for this site, it was like i was not alone! My goal is to stay away from the doctors office for the next 10 years! Thank you for helping me through all those tough times throughout my recovery!

LUCKY! :thumbup: :biggrin2: :tongue2:

 

[Greg a]

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[alesia]

Thanks Greg you are too funny!

 

[Guest]

Way to GO.. i too got off warfarin as soon as possible. I am just at the 4 mo mark and feeling better all the time. I also see my naturapathic Dr. who has me on a very good protocol for me including Nattokinase . It was better than the warfarin . I got a small clot in my right calf while on warfarin , but after being on Natto for 3 weeks the clot was gone.. dissolved .
Congrats on your progress. . keep a'goin'

 

[Jkm7]

Congratulations.

My surgeon ordered three months coumadin after my bovine valve replacement but he let me stop at 2 1/2 months. I was a happy valver the day I took my last dose.

sounds like you are going great. Keep up the good work.

 

[Bina]

If you find a way to avoid doctors for the next 10 years, please share it with us....LOL.... Best wishes.

 

[BCMike]

Just curious here folks, why so happy to be off warfarin?

Also, alesia, was your surgery at RJH in Victoria?

 

[alesia]

Yes it was at RJH in Victoria. I am happy because i did not do well with Warfarin. The blood tests were once or sometimes 3 times a week and i run a daycare. My INR would go up high from 3-4 coolers and would go too low and nobody knew why. I chose a tissue valve for the reason that i do not want to take a blood thinner for the rest of my life. I hope one day when i do need surgery i will be ready for it as well. When i found out about my valve i was in for day surgery. They kept me for 2 days in Port Alberni as a in patient so i would be able to see a doctor and not have to wait. From there i was sent to Victoria. I had 3 days to figure out what i wanted a mechanical or tissue valve. Then 3 weeks later had my surgery. I do not regret my choice with the valve. One day when i need another surgery i am hoping i can get a mechanical valve with silicone. Or who knows what they will have out by then?

 

[BCMike]

That's what I went through when I had my first AVR in '99. My surgeon sort of suggested that 'who knows what kind of advancements will take place in the next 10 years' saying that they probably wouldn't even have to crack my chest next time around. Well, they do! Anyways, I'm going mechanical this time, so will have to be on blood thinners and am a little worried about how it's going to be. I know if I chose mechanincal when I had my first AVR, I'd probably be dead from internal bleeding from numerous accidents mixed with the thin blood! It probably is more realistic for you to expect some kind of technological advancement than me - and yeah - having to be on warfarin with a tissue valve would be a bit of a raw deal- especially if your choice was based on not wanting to be on blood thinners!

How was RJH? Did you stay in the new part? What's it like - are there private rooms? Last time I had to share with 3 others and it was far from peaceful!! Luck of the draw, I guess.

 

[Jkm7]

My surgeon told me in advance he always orders three months coumadin for his tissue valve patients for protection until he is sure tissue has grown over the newly implanted valve.

I had very up-to-date, informed ACT managers and they kept increasing my dose from test to test in the advised moderate percentage. I never reached my range (though I was very close) and was taking almost 100 mg of coumadin per week. That is a very high dose and it was clear I would settle at over that amount before I would reach range. There was no way for me to know in advance my body would require so much and had I opted for mechanical valve that would have been my regime for the rest of my life. I don't care how many times someone says the 'correct dose for each is that which keeps us in range' , it still made me nervous to gulp down so much daily. Yes, that is the correct dose if that is what I require but I was a very happy valver when my surgeon said to stop it. He didn't like me on so much ....enough so he instructed me to stop it early.

I hated going for the testing though my managaer used finger stick vs. vein but it was a nuisance to keep going. I got the result immediately so didn't have to wait for calls or any of that inconvenience some deal with. I always worried about needing some other medical or dental procedure done that would involve bleeding and dealing with health care professionals who are coumadin either uneducated or poorly so. Many are so worried about bleeding they don't take stroke into consideration and their orders often make no sense, from what I read here.

I think they all should be required to have coumadin education updates before being permitted to renew their licenses.

 

[piglet]

How was RJH? Did you stay in the new part? What's it like - are there private rooms? Last time I had to share with 3 others and it was far from peaceful!! Luck of the draw, I guess.

The new wing at RJH is really nice! No more than 2 patients per room, big screen TV with remote, HUGE bathrooms, big windows (blinds operated by remote built into your bed). The way the wings are set up there are no rooms across the hall so it's really quiet too. I believe there are some videos on-line that from the news that show it all. I had ear plugs and a portable DVD for, ahem, privacy!

 

[piglet]

YAY!!!
You so have to come to the races for a bevy!! :thumbup::cool2:

 

[dick0236]

I have been on warfarin longer than anyone on this forum....and have had one problem (in 1974), that I take responsibility for. I have no trouble with INR management (test once per month) and have only been slightly out or range twice in the past three years (I keep a computer log). Both times, I made a one day 1/2 tablet(2.5mg) dosage adjustment.

I had an INR check last Wednesday and ask my PCP if he had much trouble managing INR with his other patients. He said "not really"....he said his last big problem was a lady who he had raised to 15mg/day(105mg/wk) and could not get her up to range. Upon questioning her family, he discovered she ate cabbage at every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner)....hence the need for hi level of warfarin to counter the vit K effect.

While I am sure that there are some patients unable to adjust to warfarin, they are a very small minority of the millions who do OK on the drug. As for the argument "I don't want to take a pill everyday"...you will find that as you grow older, you WILL take more and more meds or supplements daily.....it's just a fact of life:tongue2:

 

[Jkm7]

Why am I feeling like this is 'blame the patient'?
I had just had my second OHS and was very aware of healthful eating and am well educated from my years here on Vr.org as to moderation and consistency with foods rich in Vitamin K? There actually are some people who do not do well on coumadin despite their intelligent management and consistent compliance with proper eating and taking their pill every day.

For me, big deal.... another pill. That is not an issue.
My issue was how much of a certain pill I was required to take at very high dosage. Given the choice, I would rather not.
For me, I was lucky I opted for tissue valve and thus far have been able to remain coumadin free. My body and that pill are not a good match.
Whether there are many like me or I'm the only one, the issue was the same.

 

[Julian]

As for the argument "I don't want to take a pill everyday"...you will find that as you grow older, you WILL take more and more meds or supplements daily.....it's just a fact of life:tongue2:

Ah Sir Dick, the wisdom of the ages. I've noticed that "older" people live as "older" people a lot longer than "young" people live as "young" people. In example, you got young couples worried about getting this "perfect" match of a person when half the criteria will literally fall off after about 10 to 20 years of marriage (looks, energy, strength, stamina :biggrin2: )... The funny thing is you have to live with a person in marriage well after their out of their "prime".

I guess what I'm trying to say is you best make the "best" of it because if you marry a person for being "good looking" or a "good provider", what are you going to do when the looks are gone and the provision is gone? :tongue2: It's a fact of life LOL.

In a far off distant way so is with "pills". Best enjoy being pill free while you can because most likely you will be poppin' something for "most" of your life. I started poppin' young :redface2:

 

[Julian]

There actually are some people who do not do well on coumadin despite their intelligent management and consistent compliance with proper eating and taking their pill every day.

For me, big deal.... another pill. That is not an issue.
My issue was how much of a certain pill I was required to take at very high dosage. Given the choice, I would rather not.
For me, I was lucky I opted for tissue valve and thus far have been able to remain coumadin free. My body and that pill are not a good match.
Whether there are many like me or I'm the only one, the issue was the same.

I hear you loud and clear. I made a similar comment weeks ago. I wish there was some type of test that would determine weather or not you were going to have "coumadin" problems before you have the surgery. Some of us have years of notice before needing surgery, doctors should give the patient the option of taking coumadin for 3 months as practice (not through insurance) to see how THEIR bodies react to it. Other than that you are taking a chance. I mean seriously the chances of you having issues with managing your coumadin is probably under 10% when done right but I would like to know if I was going to be part of that 10%.

This is truly a "risk" that can be prevented, if you have a serious hard time with coumadin then now we know that a tissue valve might be a better option for you. Right? No lets skip the logical thinking, put a foreign object in your heart and ask questions later. :thumbup:

 

[alesia]

BCMike
Hey there! RJH in Victoria was so clean and the nurses were hot! No one is gonna believe but the meals were good too. I had my own room and was very big as well. I brought my I pad to watch movies...but there is a huge TV if u needed. And i am enjoying life without having to take blood tests, seeing any doctors, and taking coumadin. I am glad now with my choice of valves. I will definately try to go to Woodwards Pit for a Lucky dog forsure!

 

[Jkm7]

I hear you loud and clear. I made a similar comment weeks ago. I wish there was some type of test that would determine weather or not you were going to have "coumadin" problems before you have the surgery. Some of us have years of notice before needing surgery, doctors should give the patient the option of taking coumadin for 3 months as practice (not through insurance) to see how THEIR bodies react to it. Other than that you are taking a chance. I mean seriously the chances of you having issues with managing your coumadin is probably under 10% when done right but I would like to know if I was going to be part of that 10%.

This is truly a "risk" that can be prevented, if you have a serious hard time with coumadin then now we know that a tissue valve might be a better option for you. Right? No lets skip the logical thinking, put a foreign object in your heart and ask questions later. :thumbup:

Even it that was something that is offered, I didn't have time. Between when my cardio said I needed the surgery and my admission to the hospital was only one month. Just long enough for my surgeon to get the tests he wanted and for me to be off certain medications for the length of time he directed. (My memory was no aspirin for 3 weeks or something like that.... among other meds that had to be stopped.)