Valve Decision For 44-year old who loves beer

[johnmarkos]

Hooray for beer! Did you get the go-ahead to be able to drink occasionally from your cardio?

Yes, I did!

 

[ninjasam17]

Love the constant updates and positivity on this thread! Glad to hear the valve decision was sorted out successfully

 

[almost_hectic]

Got back home last night. Feeling pretty good. It’s gonna take some time adjusting to the clicking in my chest. This has really impacted my sleep. Hopefully brain tunes it out over time. Doing lots of breathing exercises and walking inside house. Also, starting to take some work calls and reading work documents.

the only time clicking sometimes annoys me is when I can’t get to sleep. In those times I’ve come to rely on some noise tracks. White noise, rain, and I’ve recently found a track of nighttime in the woods; crickets,an occasional owl. It’s cool I focus on that and forget about my clicking

 

[Coleniuk]

Hi everyone. New to the forum. I am a 44-year old man. Well, after monitoring my bicuspid aortic valve for years, I am scheduled to have valve replacement and aneurysm repair in a few weeks (aortic stenosis is severe; root dilated about 4.2). My surgeon seems to be pushing a mechanical St. Jude valve given my age but she has good things to say about the new Inspiris Resilia tissue valve as well. I am very active and love downhill skiing, cross country skiing, water skiing, and several other activities. Surgeon is confident I can continue with all these activities even if I go for a mechanical vale and have to take thinners.

My main concern with the mechanical valve is warfarin’s interaction with alcohol. I love beer (I do not drink anything else). On an average weekday I have about 3-4 super light Miller 64s (Miller 64 is 2.2% alcohol-not even real beer). But I do have 4 real beers on most Friday and Saturday nights (plus some 64s mixed in) and maybe 3 beers on Sunday. 4-5 times a year I drink 8-10 beers throughout the day at get-to-togethers and special occasions.

My question is whether this level of drinking is dangerous on warfarin/thinners?

Thank you.

Hello. I'm 24 years old, got my Aortic valve put in at 18. I have a St. Jude 21mm valve.

I realize this is an old post but I will reply anyway.

Can you drink on blood thinners? Yes, you just have to be careful. I often go out with friends or family and have drinks, with little too no thought anymore. I can manage my own Warfarin, and I have an at home tester that I often will use after I do something that could affect my INR, Drinking for example. When I go out people have no idea about my health history and never would guess. I've drank larger amounts as well and as long as your careful and know how to adjust your warfarin accordingly it seems to work out. Like I said I have an at home tester to I can check it after to make sure there isn't any crazy spikes. I managed to figure this overtime, I would not recommend just drinking a ton without knowing how your body will react. It can be a risky activity, I won't diminish the risks, but its possible. A couple beer throughout a day seem to not do very much to me.

Will it affect your active activities? Nope, It will work just fine. If you look at my avatar that is me back country snowmobiling 4 months after my surgery. I also ride pedal bikes often. I Ride my dirt bike lots as well, and often ride the motocross track, I hit jumps and the whole 9 yards.

You obviously have to be aware that you are on blood thinners and make sure your prepared. For example, in my kit I take riding I have a basic first-aid kit and lots of other supplies so that if i ever have an accident I can stop/treat a bleed if need be. I also never ride alone and my friends and family are all aware of my added risks. I make then all aware so that if I need help they know how to help.

Just make sure your cautious, and are prepared. I have never ran into an issue personally knock on wood!

Cheers guys, just figured I would share my experience!