I am off the pain meds. Withdrawals were the worst. Nightmares, cold sweats, the feeling of being pinned down, waking up every hour screaming in pain. Now I can sleep and have normal dreams which is a lot better.
INR is taking its' dear sweet time. 2 weeks ago it was 2.1 and then 4 days later it was 4.2..... go figure.
Then back to 2.2 and again a 4.2 and the last check a 3.4
I started out on 6mg Warfarin and now down to 4MG. I have a feeling I will end up around 3-3.5mg daily to maintain the 2-3 INR. I go-in to the clinic twice a week to get checked and it is about 2 miles from my house so real close. I keep the same diet, which includes a beer a night or a Squirt grapefruit soda a day to every-other day. It's all consistent and my Dr has approved having those in moderation. I still eat my greens in moderation as well and more than likely have the exact same diet.
Most days I don't hear my valve and sometimes forget I even have a new one. However when I get a severe muscle spasm that feels like a heart attack.... then I know.
I take 1000mg Tylenol 3 times a day for pain management. That's it. Plus the 750mg of muscle relaxer, which I might get a refill of. I take one blood pressure pill in the morning to keep the pressure down while the valve tissue heals. I have about 2 more weeks of that then I'm done with lower blood pressure. I have to do clinic INR checking for at least 6 months before they will approve me for home checking. Meters and strips are not cheap and my insurance will pay for all of it. My surgery cost around $200,000 USD for everything so far and my insurance has paid 90% of it.
