Vitamin K helps me stabilize my INR

[dick0236]

When I had OHS and a mechanical valve I was instructed to eliminate vitamin K from my diet......and I did, as best I could, for decades. I even looked for daily vitamins w/o vit K. Three years ago, due to a lung issue (PAH), I began to lose weight and my doc suggested a dietary supplement to help with weight loss. I began to drink one 360 Calerie "Boost" daily. Boost also contains many vitamins, including Vit K (25% of daily requirement). That initially caused my INR to increase by .1 to .3 above my upper limit (3.5). I increased my warfarin from 5mg to 6mg daily and the result is that my INR now needs almost no adjustments to stay in my range of 2.5 to 3.5, I prefer to stay a little above 3. It has been three years since I added a daily Boost to my diet and I have had only five INR's .1 to .3 above 3.5 and no INR's below 2.5. It seems that a consistent amount of vit K is a good thing.

PS. The Boost also stabilized my weight loss.

 

[pellicle]

Good morning Dick

It seems that a consistent amount of vit K is a good thing.

it most certainly is ... its a topic I harp on about here a lot:

https://www.valvereplacement.org/threads/inr-of-1-0-with-mechanical-valve.888465/post-914720

https://www.valvereplacement.org/th...lation-therapy-in-warfarin.888309/post-912186

just to start that ball rolling

"Test and Know Thyself"

Hope you're well

 

[Chuck C]

Boost also contains many vitamins, including Vit K (25% of daily requirement). That initially caused my INR to increase by .1 to .3 above my upper limit (3.5).

Thanks for sharing this Dick. Strange though, because adding vitamin K, after you had been avoiding it, should have caused INR to go down, not up.

It seems that a consistent amount of vit K is a good thing.

I totally agree. I take in plenty of vitamin k daily, from eating lots of vegetables, but also by supplementing vitamin k2.

 

[dick0236]

Thanks for sharing this Dick. Strange though, because adding vitamin K, after you had been avoiding it, should have caused INR to go down, not up.

Chuck, you are right. I went back to my spreadsheet and my INR did seem to level out at a higher INR, but only .1 to .3 higher after I increased my dosage from 5 to 6mg. My INR had been +/- 3 for years on 5mg warfarin. I looked at my INR's over the past few years and they were all over the place, but not critically low or high, from early 2022 to July, 2024. In early 2022 I had PAH rear its ugly head and a lot of things changed for me. I am now on 24-hour oxygen as well as reduced strength, lifestyle changes etc. That said, my INR on 6mg warfarin has been consistently +/- 3 since summer 2024.......and with all my recent past I am not sure "what came first, the chicken or the egg".

Thanks for catching this. It also shows the value of frequent INR testing.......you catch the blips, and make changes before they can become a problem.