Warfarin and Alcohol

[Guest]

hi everyone!

What is everyones experience with alcohol and warfarin? Do you need to stop drinking? Is there a "safe" amount. Would my INR go up or down after drinking? Should I check my INR a day or two after? Any information on alochol and warfarin would be fantastic!

I'm primarily a beer drinker btw


MVR - St Judes Mechanical Valve - INR 2.5 -3.5

 

[tom in MO]

This has been discussed a lot on the forum, there are some good threads. What I was told and believe is that if you drink so much you puke out the warfarin that will effect your INR. If you drink so much you fall down and hit your head, you will take longer to stop bleeding (e.g. 2x longer if your INR is 2). Other than that, alcohol doesn't effect your INR or warfarin uptake. Many patients, particularly older ones, are told to stop or limit drinking. One health care professional told me that this is due to the risk of falling and bleeding more with warfarin, not due to any change in one's INR.

I had a Cardio nurse who told me I couldn't drink on statins, but that's not all statins only some of them. I wanted a statin that you could drink with but didn't cost as much as Crestor. Then she told me I shouldn't drink due to my warfarin. When I corrected her on that she got mad and told me I should listen to the doctor. I found out what statin was alcohol friendly and cheap, pravistatin, called her back and told her I wanted the doctor to prescribe that. She wasn't happy with me, but I was unhappy about her moral decision on drinking driving what she told me.

 

[pellicle]

hi everyone!

What is everyones experience with alcohol and warfarin? Do you need to stop drinking? Is there a "safe" amount. Would my INR go up or down after drinking? Should I check my INR a day or two after? Any information on alochol and warfarin would be fantastic!

if you search this site you'll find probably hundreds of threads on exactly this subject (Google seems to be the worlds best kept secret)

The short answer is no...

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/anti-coagulation/879834-another-alcohol-thread

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/heart-talk/43055-alcohol-or-beer-w-tissue-valve

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/anti-coagulation/856271-can-i-drink-a-damn-beer

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/post-surgery/867690-alcohol-consumption-after-avr

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/anti-coagulation/873489-alcohol-inr-just-for-fun

and many more

Drink and be merry, but don't drink and fall down the steps

 

[pellicle]

also as you seem to be new to this, even if you don't mange your own INR I strongly suggest you read my blog post here:
http://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2014/09/managing-my-inr.html

and of particular note, pay attention to the chart showing "incident" vs INR

Best Wishes

 

[Seeker]

I consume about 3-4 glasses of wine a week and beer on the non wine days.. I intentionally drink no more than 2 glasses of any type of alcoholic beverage in light of the Warfarin. HOWEVER, I've been sh*t faced twice (hugging the porcelain) and thankfully haven't fallen down and hit me head. Moderation is key. I home test my INR and haven't noticed any large swings within my range (2.0 -3.0)

 

[Agian]

Drink away. No problems here.

 

[ValveViking]

You will find that those who are not in need of warfarin will tell you not to drink, but those on warfarin will tell you that you can......but it´s all a bit subjective and you carefully has to set your own standards of moderation by experiencing how your INR are effected. Always try not getting drunk as banging your head or falling is the thing you do not want to happen. Apart from that, I merrilly say; Cheers!

 

[Superman]

Makes me a cheap date. All the fun, half the cash!

Or it could be that I lack conditioning.

 

[Eva]

INR will go up after alhohol, and this rise differs from person to another. You’ll have to drink and test to find out how your body reacts. I, personally, am a social drinker...I cannot handle more than one beer or one Mojito, or 6 oz of wine.

After ten years of self testing my INR, I now automatically would take half a mg less my usual warfarin dosage when I have that one drink.

 

[Poyda]

Hi All!

Thanks for answers! Been massive help!