Thanks...more questions

[kimfusca]

Thanks for all of your responses. Looks like there might be a glimpse of hope for some pain relief. My knee isn't bothering me now, but I worry about what the future holds for me as "regular" aging begins (be that now or 10, 20 yrs from now).

How did you all adjust to being on coumidin? I don't mind the blood tests, checking my INR, but I think I just need more education about it. I haven't really had time or the inclination to think about being on coumidin yet, with all of my other ailments. As my wound heals and there is talk about removing my PICC line, I have begun to think about it more.

For example, I was reaching for a container of frosting for the Halloween cupcakes, and it fell on my nose and mouth. I looked for bleeding or bruising, but nothing. I'm typically a better safe than sorry gal, but I didn't really want to go to urgent care for 3 + hours to have some kind of a test to make sure I was okay. Aaah, add this to my list of worries!

What about diet restricions? I'm not that consistent with eating green leafy veggies everyday, so I've cut them out for now. I will add them in eventually, but I can only deal with so much. I don't like being threatened by the couminidn clinic with come kind of unpleasant injections in my tummy.

What about physical activies? Anyone feel limited? Help me get used to this stuff! It's not that it's soo bad, I just don't know how to feel about it yet - I don't know how it affects my life.

Janea, I was doing great health wise until about 5 years ago. My AV problems are called a late effect of the radiation treatment I had in 1982. It seems to be a bonus prize for surviving cancer My surgeon didn't seem completely convinced until he got in there. Then he was.

Susan BAV, I had my surgery at Scripps Green. I was under the impression that Scripps Memorial was better, but I think not now. I LOVE my surgeon. He was fantastic! The nurses in ICU were the best. Once I got to the regualr floor....well, not as consistant, but still okay. Apparently they treated Mother Teresa there for some kind of heart problem. I even had her room for a while!! Ocean and golf course view. Can't complain!!

 

[JimL]

For coumadin information, it is hard to do better than Al Lodwick's site, www.warfarinfo.com. You can also get all that information in book form from his site.

 

[catwoman]

Kim:

At first, I was wrapped up in "I'm on Coumadin, I might bleed to death." Many people feel that way at first.

And then I realized it ain't gonna happen.
(It's other people who freak out when I cut myself, get injured, etc.)

My life is pretty much the same as BC (Before Coumadin)
I eat the same. I've always loved green vegetables, so now I have to be mindful about being fairly consistent. If I eat a whole lot of dark green things, such as a spinach salad, for lunch and something with broccoli for dinner, I might just skip my green stuff the next day. And then, again, I might not. But it gives me a little leeway to do so.

I am more observant of cats' body language now. I show pedigreed cats and am a shorthair judge. I notice if a cat is hissing, growling, hunkered down with ears lying low, etc. Sometimes a cat gives no warning until you return it to the judging cage, and then it whirls around and tries to bite. I just give those cats a puff of air, and they back off. (BTW, we must disqualify "recalcitrant" cats.)
I do carry a little Ziploc bag with first-aid items -- just in case: amoxi capsules, clindamycin solution, bandages, steri-strips, triple antibiotic, Tylenol.

I'm a person who just happens to need warfarin because of a mechanical heart valve that keeps me alive.

 

[Karlynn]

Coumadin - what's Coumadin? Oh, you mean those pills I take every night. In otherwords - I really don't give it much of a second thought in my day to day life. I home test weekly and eat and drink what I want and have for many years. You'll get used to it.

Just because you are on Coumadin doesn't mean that a bump or a cut is something that should automatically send you to the doctor or ER. If you are showing signs of head injury (blurred vision, faintness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness or listlessness etc.) then check it out. After a while, you'll learn to stop giving it any more of a thought than when you weren't on Coumadin. You should see the scar on my knuckle where I tried to slice it off cutting vegies. Probably should have gotten it stitched up, not because I'm on Coumadin, but because it was a nasty cut. I just wrapped it and kept on fixing dinner.

Here's a thread to check out:
http://valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17116

 

[Blanche]

Kim:
Here is another site to check-out. Our resident anticoagulation specialist, Al Lodwick, has said that this is an excellent site. You could spend many hours traveling around this site, which has tons of info for those on anticoagulation.

http://www.clotcare.com/clotcare/index.aspx
http://www.clotcare.com/clotcare/ptinr.aspx
http://www.clotcare.com/clotcare/oral_anticoagulation_self_management.aspx
My husband has been taking Coumadin since 1990 because he has a mechanical mitral valve. I began taking Coumadin this past July for a-fib. We have made no changes, except for adding the Coumadin to my daily meds.

Coumadin clinics sometimes have some very misguided and misinformed individuals in their employ. No one should be threatening you at your clinic. Have you thought about home testing? You would not have to put up with the disagreeable person in your clinic.

Kindest regards,
Blanche