warfarin

[Ross]

Don't worry Wood butcher? I love it too but when I was in Croatia last year I had a lot of spicey meat and what looked like and tasted like very salty bacon and my INR shot up to 4.5 so I had to leave off the Warfarin for 2 days then back to 6mg daily and it went back to 2.1 and I stopped the spicey food .Just a thought, I have a list provided by the hospital and it does say about Bacon or liver can increase INR.......Kevin

It must have been the spices that nailed you.

This ought to answer everyones questions here:

http://www.ihconline.org/toolkits/Anticoagulation/GeneralTool.pdf

What specific things can affect my INR?

Diet: High amounts of vitamin K can decrease your INR because vitamin K “works against” anticoagulation
therapy. Large amounts of vitamin K are found in dark green leafy vegetables, liver and nutritional
supplements (e.g. Ensure, Osmolite, Carnation Instant Breakfast, etc). This does not mean you can’t eat
these items, just that your intake must be consistent.

Health: If you have a fever over 101.0 F or nausea/vomiting or diarrhea for more than two days, this can
increase your INR. If you have shortness of breath that is unusual for you, please call AMS to discuss
these symptoms.
Herbal/Alternative medications – many herbal medications have not been tested to see if they interact with
Coumadin® or warfarin. Many have the potential to do so. If you start or stop any herbal medication,
call the AMS to ensure that it won’t affect your INR values.

How does alcohol affect my INR?
Alcohol interacts with your liver. Warfarin is cleared out of your body by your liver. If you drink large
amounts of alcohol, your liver is processing that, not the warfarin, and so your INR may increase. If
possible, you should not drink alcohol while on an anticoagulant. If you do drink, limit to 1-2
drinks/day and tell the AMS staff so that any high INRs may be explainable.


You'd have to eat a heck of a lot of liver or green veggies to affect your INR that much.

 

[dick0236]

It seems like some of you have been on warfarin before your surgery, I'm not.
Wondering how they know how much to give you to start after your operation? How often you get tested to start etc. I don't really know anything about this, except that I'll be on for life.
Is it true you need to stay away from alcohol? I rarely drink now, but am only 41 and sometimes might want to have fun with my friends

Buffy41, Warfarin is a drug that, for me, has had few, if any, side effects. It is a drug that I have found to be very predictable. If I binge on vit K foods, alcohol, exercise etc. it will affect my INR and I will need to adjust my dosage. If I pursue a balanced and consistent diet or lifestyle, there has NEVER been anything I couldn't eat, drink or do that materially
affected my INR. You only need to use common sense to successfully manage ACT. Unfortunately, for me, I screwed around with ACT management when I was young and "bullet proof"and it "bit me".....I don't do that anymore

I have been coming around this Forum for a couple of years and have never understood why this drug gets so much "bad press". Recently, I asked my PCP (he is really a good warfarin "savvy" doctor) about this "warfarin witch hunt". His response was that "it is not the drug. It is the non-compliance of the patients who take the drug". He also agreed, that poor professional ACT management was sometimes the problem.

Buffy, I just noticed that you and my valve are both 41....happy birthday

 

[Karlynn]

Thanks for all the great advice, Now you have me concerned about something else.....alot of you seem to enjoy liver, I can't stand it and hope I don't like it after AVR.......LOL

You go girl! Laughter is the best medicine!

 

[westie]

ulcers

ulcers

Alcohol---Best to stay away from it because of the risk of stomach ulcers from it's use

ross, are you implying that alcohol drinking warfarin users have a higher incidence of stomach ulcers than the general population or is it just a case of stomach ulcers being more dangerous for us?

buffy, as for having 2 or 3 wines etc per day, do not worry! but avoid heavy drinking sessions, it is bad for your liver! personally i have no problems with that level of consumption. also, you can "cheat" and drink lower alcohol beers and wines. there are even ranges of zero alcohol wines available, but i have never had the courage to try them!!!!!!!

the most important thing is to live a happy and normal life

 

[duncanjo]

ya, you can't shave anymore either you cut ur self and you'll bleed to death on the spot, plus no drinking after one beer you may bleed to death insid don't eat any green foods vit K stuff, ur inr will drop and you'll probably have a stroke or two. LMAO-LOL Myths about warfarin my god..I eat and drink wat i want with little affects to my inr. But i did change my choice of drinks, instead of rum and coke i stick with red wine. You'll know wat ur capable of drinking and eating when u test the waters. its taken me 8 months to know my limits some people are different..

 

[Ross]

ross, are you implying that alcohol drinking warfarin users have a higher incidence of stomach ulcers than the general population or is it just a case of stomach ulcers being more dangerous for us?

Just a generalization for all of us. We shouldn't, because if a GI bleed gets going, it's very difficult to stop. Been there and nearly didn't make it back here to tell you all. That being said, call me stupid. I still drink my Bloody Marys when I want too, wine when I feel like, etc,.

 

[KristyW]

ross, are you implying that alcohol drinking warfarin users have a higher incidence of stomach ulcers than the general population or is it just a case of stomach ulcers being more dangerous for us?

Westie,

I don't like to speak for Ross...(he's more than capable of speaking for himself ) but I didn't want to leave you out there either. The second half of your statement is the correct one. If you are already prone to ulcers, the anticoagulation therapy will make it more dangerous if one starts bleeding. We are no more likely to get ulcers than the general population as far as I know.

 

[Gnusgal]

I still drink my Bloody Marys when I want to.

Hey, doesn't the V8 and alcohol cancel each other out? Bloody Marys all around!!! LOL

Buffy, I've been on coumadin for 6.5 years. I have not changed a thing about how I live my life. I eat what I want, and on the rare occasions when I feel like having a drink, I have one.

When I was in the hospital last month (ICD surgery) the nurse looked at my coumadin dose (8 mg) and said "That's an awful high dose for someone your age." Huh??? Never heard that one before! How does one's age determine their dose? Besides the fact that I don't think it's all that high, is it?

Oh well... One more instance of us telling them how to do their jobs.

 

[catwoman]

Don't worry Wood butcher? I love it too but when I was in Croatia last year I had a lot of spicey meat and what looked like and tasted like very salty bacon and my INR shot up to 4.5 so I had to leave off the Warfarin for 2 days then back to 6mg daily and it went back to 2.1 and I stopped the spicey food .Just a thought, I have a list provided by the hospital and it does say about Bacon or liver can increase INR.......Kevin

Kevin:
It's possible that if you ingest a lot of salt without compensating with a lot of water that you could possibly become dehydrated, which would in turn make the warfarin in your blood more concentrated, which would in turn increase your INR. But you'd probably have to eat a heckuvalot of salty bacon to do so.
FYI on liver (and other organ meats): Organ meats are high in cholesterol. I cooked liver once for a boyfriend but didn't like it. After I read about the high cholesterol content in organ meat, that gave me a good reason to avoid it.

 

[R&N Brown]

Hello All,
I'm relatively new to Coumadin; I've only been taking it for about 6 months or so. I agree that the scare info you read is generally much to do about nothing.

I have had a couple of experiences;
I missed a dose two days before a test and I dropped below range, stayed on dose for the following week and was back into range at the next weeks test.

At a party two days before a test I had a couple of Gin & Tonics, (I don't drink often enough to have it be considered in my dosing) I was a point and a half over range that week.
In both cases within short order I was right back in range.

I now, 1; Make sure not to miss a dose, 2; Order a bowl of broccoli with my gin!
It works!

Rob