Possible replacement for coumadin???

[lev]

Are these drugs possible replacements for coumadin? Wonder if they'll be used for mechanical valvers.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...S?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Good article..

And quoting here: "The need is substantial" for an easier alternative, says Dr. Richard Becker, a hematology and cardiovascular specialist at Duke University Medical Center who is monitoring the pipeline. "I don't know of a drug that has the inherent complexities and potential for harm that Coumadin does."

Isn't that the truth..

 

[CThrock]

I'm not getting my hopes up!!!

 

[KristyW]

Good article..

And quoting here: "The need is substantial" for an easier alternative, says Dr. Richard Becker, a hematology and cardiovascular specialist at Duke University Medical Center who is monitoring the pipeline. "I don't know of a drug that has the inherent complexities and potential for harm that Coumadin does."

While I agree that it would be nice if warfarin was easier. I don't agree that warfarin is that difficult or complex when you have informed patients who know what to do, and informed ACT managers. The problem right now is that we have patients who do whatever their uneducated (in many cases) ACT managers say. That creates complexities and potential for harm.

Maybe someday, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Ross]

"But the ultimate goal is an alternative to that old standby warfarin, also called Coumadin, the nation's most troublesome lifesaver because of side effects and restrictions its 2 million users face."

That statement irritates me to no end. If only the U.S. medical field would learn about the drug and how to dose it, it wouldn't be such an issue. The LARGEST PROBLEM ISN'T THE DRUG, BUT THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW HOW TO DOSE PROPERLY. We see it every single day in here. Constant barrages of old time thinking and myths. What really bothers me is that they'll blame the drug and the patient or his/her valves, but fail to own up to their own shortcomings. Until they fess up and understand that it's a problem across the country and none of them are on the same page, it's always going to be this way.

According to Al Lodwick, there is a whole host of drugs being worked with and he thinks there will be a replacement within the next 10 years. I'm not holding my breath either, but this is the word.

 

[Jkm7]

We can hope.

 

[Dina]

"But the ultimate goal is an alternative to that old standby warfarin, also called Coumadin, the nation's most troublesome lifesaver because of side effects and restrictions its 2 million users face."

That statement irritates me to no end. If only the U.S. medical field would learn about the drug and how to dose it, it wouldn't be such an issue. The LARGEST PROBLEM ISN'T THE DRUG, BUT THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW HOW TO DOSE PROPERLY. We see it every single day in here. Constant barrages of old time thinking and myths.

According to Al Lodwick, there is a whole host of drugs being worked with and he thinks there will be a replacement within the next 10 years. I'm not holding my breath either, but this is the word.

Do you know if any of the hopefuls will be herbal or have herbal
components? I read in my "Herbal PDR" that cloves is the most promising
for those with arrhythmias and mechanical valves. But that ginger, garlic and others are only good for DVT or MI prevention(like Asa). Even though my cardio practically laughed at me when I asked him about this, here I am asking it again

My Best-Dina

 

[Philip B]

Nope

Nope

Nope, I don't agree with Dr. Becker at all. If coumadin is the worst drug Dr. Becker knows about, he's got a case of tunnel vision. Of course, he's entitled to his opinion just like I am.

-Philip

 

[Ross]

Do you know if any of the hopefuls will be herbal or have herbal
components? I read in my "Herbal PDR" that cloves is the most promising
for those with arrhythmias and mechanical valves. But that ginger, garlic and others are only good for DVT or MI prevention(like Asa). Even though my cardio practically laughed at me when I asked him about this, here I am asking it again

My Best-Dina

I highly doubt it, but check with Al Lodwick. He's the "Staying on top of it" guy.

 

[catwoman]

Nope, I don't agree with Dr. Becker at all. If coumadin is the worst drug Dr. Becker knows about, he's got a case of tunnel vision. Of course, he's entitled to his opinion just like I am.

-Philip

According to a pharmacist friend of mine, there are very few other drugs that require altering dosages to allow for variables.

But I agree with Philip -- many drugs are dangerous under certain circumstances. For instance, Flagyl (metronidazole), a very common antibiotic used in human and veterinary medicine. It can become very toxic.
BTW, it also increases your INR.

 

[Nugrandma1]

Interesting, I am a newbie here but not with heart disease, been throught "warfarin/coumadin with my late Mom and Dad. Hubby and I decided to go with the bovine aortic valve because you don't have take coumadin. Just a baby asprin. He has a tendency to well be clumsy and bang himself up a bit and small cuts and abrasions are pretty normal for him. Although the valve has life expenctacy of only 12 years or so and hubby is 62 we figure by the time he's in his mid 70's the surgery would be much improved.

You have to be so careful with coumadin just the bi-weekly blood tests were a pain in the butt...and being so afraid to do anything that might cause a bleed or bruise was debilitating.

Wish you all the luck in the world

Wife of new (July 14th) arotic valve replacment hubby.

 

[Ross]

Interesting, I am a newbie here but not with heart disease, been throught "warfarin/coumadin with my late Mom and Dad. Hubby and I decided to go with the bovine aortic valve because you don't have take coumadin. Just a baby asprin. He has a tendency to well be clumsy and bang himself up a bit and small cuts and abrasions are pretty normal for him. Although the valve has life expenctacy of only 12 years or so and hubby is 62 we figure by the time he's in his mid 70's the surgery would be much improved.

You have to be so careful with coumadin just the bi-weekly blood tests were a pain in the butt...and being so afraid to do anything that might cause a bleed or bruise was debilitating.

Wish you all the luck in the world

Wife of new (July 14th) arotic valve replacment hubby.

Things have change so much. Home testing and self dosing has meant really big changes in alot of ways. There are far too many Medical Pro's that don't know how to dose nor how the drug works. You might say that we folks are a new generation trying to bring about change through PROPER EDUCATION. Something they don't seem to want to do. They're stuck in the days of old and have never left it.

 

[Bina]

I am on the same wave length as Ross.....we are a more "independant" generation. We take alot more responsibility for our medical care and treatments than our parents or grandparents did 30 years ago. I'm excited to see what the next 20 yrs brings.

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Phillip..

Phillip..

Nope, I don't agree with Dr. Becker at all. If coumadin is the worst drug Dr. Becker knows about, he's got a case of tunnel vision. Of course, he's entitled to his opinion just like I am.

-Philip

I would be most interested in his response to your post and the "tunnel vision" comment. Why don't you contact him personally and then let us all know his comments..?!?!

Correspondence to Richard C. Becker, MD, Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Director, Cardiovascular Thrombosis Center, Duke University Medical School, 2400 Pratt St, Durham, NC 27710. E-mail [email protected]

 

[Karlynn]

Interesting, I am a newbie here but not with heart disease, been throught "warfarin/coumadin with my late Mom and Dad. Hubby and I decided to go with the bovine aortic valve because you don't have take coumadin. Just a baby asprin. He has a tendency to well be clumsy and bang himself up a bit and small cuts and abrasions are pretty normal for him. Although the valve has life expenctacy of only 12 years or so and hubby is 62 we figure by the time he's in his mid 70's the surgery would be much improved.

You have to be so careful with coumadin just the bi-weekly blood tests were a pain in the butt...and being so afraid to do anything that might cause a bleed or bruise was debilitating.

Wish you all the luck in the world

Wife of new (July 14th) arotic valve replacment hubby.

As others stated, ACT management has greatly improved. Unfortunately the old info still seems to remain in many medical managers' minds. Take a look at our Active Lifestyles forum and you see how "un-careful" many of our Coumadin users are. We find in our Anticoagulations Forum that most of the problems arise from medical people who don't know how to manage the drug. We keep hoping and praying that the US will catch up with Europe in it's warfarin understanding.

Also - I think, given what I've read, that at 62 your hubby should get more than 12 years out of his bovine valve. Best wishes.

 

[catwoman]

You have to be so careful with coumadin just the bi-weekly blood tests were a pain in the butt...and being so afraid to do anything that might cause a bleed or bruise was debilitating.

Actually, it's not that bad now. When my father-in-law had his 2nd MVR in 1989, his doctors required that he stay at a nursing home in Fort Worth for maybe 6-8 weeks so they could monitor his anticoagulation levels. He got porcine valves (1st aortic + 2nd mitral replacements) + quad CABG, so he was put on warfarin. Back then, they weren't able to monitor it in his hometown (Stephenville TX).

Most doctors use POC machines (such as CoaguChek, INRatio, Protime 3), rather than lab draws. Many warfarin patients have home testing machines and even do their own warfarin dosage adjustments.

But many of us are just as clumsy as pre-op. Sigh.

 

[Philip B]

Contact?

Contact?

Sheza,

If you're interested in hearing the doctor's repsonse to my comment, you should probably contact him and ask him about it. Personally, I have no desire to contact him about his statement. The doctor is entitled to his opinion; I just happen to disagree with what was said. I disagreed with President Bush's reasons for invading Iraq a few years ago and I didn't bother to e-mail him either.

Perspectives on the harmful effects of different prescription drugs will undoubtedly vary. Both of my in-laws were placed on prescription drugs that messed them up pretty badly. Neither took coumadin. I think the area of harmful prescription meds is pretty broad given all of the side effects of what's available. But again, that's simply my opinion and others including the good doctor can disagree if they wish.

Taking a couple of pills every day and doing a home test every week is not a big deal for me. I know people who take several over-the-counter pain meds on a daily basis.

Yes, I do on occasion cut and bruise myself, but that is nothing new. I did that before I had AVR surgery. Life would be lots simpler for me if I didn't have a habit of bouncing off things so much.

Yes, it would sure be nice it alternatives to coumadin were available, but things are presently as they are. I can live with that.

What are the odds that whatever replacement they develop won't have some kind of undesirable side effect? Anyone ever see the legal ads which encourage people who have taken certain drugs to take part in class action lawsuits? I haven't seen on on coumadin yet.

It's probably time to move on and rant about something else.

-Philip

 

[Rain]

Rat Poison...

Rat Poison...

They?ve found Warfarin (rat poison) very effective in killing just about anything.. with a dose adjustment.

 

[geebee]

I guess I still get confused at the negativity brought out in the folks who seem to hate coumadin whenever the word comes up. If you don't like it - fine but why dump on those of us who are happy it exists and does not cause us any issues. It's almost like some folks imply that those of us who don't have problems are under some form of mass delusion and, if we hear the bad stuff enough, we will pipe up someday and say: "Oh man, you're right - I have been miserable for 28 years".

Sorry - not going to happen.

 

[njean]

Ditto Gina!

I've been on coumadin for 33 years & I've had 2 other major surgeries besides my 3 OHS & the fact that I was on coumadin didn't present too many major problems but off course, I had excellent doctors who monitored everything like hawks!

For 25 out of those 33 years, I only use to have my INR checked every month & my dosage was almost always consistent & I never watched what I ate or when I ate! And I rode bikes, ATV's, hiked & climbed mountains, & lots of other stuff, & coumadin was never an issue.

Since my last OHS in 2006 however, & because of the fact that I do have CHF (which is under control at the moment), my INR fluctuates quite a bit & I have to check it every week not really knowing what to expect from week to week.

But all things considered, & the fact that it could always be worse, I've never really questioned "why" I have to be on coumadin or thought of it as a terrible drug. It has helped keep me alive & for that, I'm grateful!