Wheat germ and flax

[MNmom]

Im sure all these questions are going to be annoying at some point, but I will continue until someone stops me
I have been taking more ground flax and wheat germ with my cereal and or yogurt in the morning. According to the cardiac rehab dietition, these things are good...(I knew that already, but good to be reminded). Anyway, with the additions of these and other heart healthy adds like soy milk, should I expect to see a drop in INR this week? I test on Friday. What I am worried about is that since i missed last Fridays dose and made up half the dose the next morning, I may be low anyway, and wondering if the addition of ground flax and wheat germ is going to really throw me off- or would the skipped dose of last Friday not even register one week later? It seems as though all of the heart healthy choices are those that affect INR. I know I can eat whatever I want in theory...but in practice when it affects INR I feel like i need to ask permission first- I have made enough extra calls to my PA lately- can I just wait and explain any potential changes when the INR results are in? Ug- too wordy, sorry, I am being very distracted right now by my kids- hope this makes sense.

 

[Ross]

Flaxseed will raise the INR some.

http://www.ptinr.com/data/templates/article.aspx?a=530&z=25

 

[MNmom]

Thanks, will be interesting to see what happens. Anyone else use ground flax in foods?

 

[terryj]

Soy dropped my husbands INR.

 

[Marguerite53]

Thanks, will be interesting to see what happens. Anyone else use ground flax in foods?

I figured more might be better, so started generously scooping ground flax seed into my morning cereal. About 2 weeks later my face broke out and I started reading up on flaxseed. As I recall, it is better for you in a baked form. Something about arsenic? Anyway, for me....I stopped using it. But I'm sensitive to just about everything. Just be aware.

Can't help with the INR....as I'm tissue.

Soy milk is now available with added Omega 3's. that's what I use every morning on my bowl of Kashi (like puffed wheat). A blessing since I'm lactose intolerant.

Marguerite

 

[MNmom]

So the soy may lower the INR and the flax may raise the INR. Again, will be interesting to see what the INR looks like on Friday. As far as testing frequently- I do not home test, and currently the longest I have gone has been one week, since it is still jumping around, though in range (ex. 4.1-, 2.8, etc)
I am going to continue to eat what I am eating, since it is supposed to be healthy for me. I had used flax pre surgery when I was eating very healthy- put it in smoothies, etc. So I still had some in my fridge- my point- it isnt new for me, just hadnt been eating it much post surgery. Now that I am trying to be more aware of what I am putting in my mouth, i have increased my flax, wheat germ, and soy milk. We get soy for my 3 yr old, so it is in the house, and I go back and forth betwen hers and the regular skim for variety, but like the soy better in cereal, coffee, smoothies, etc.

 

[Bina]

Rice Dream (non-dairy milk) is great in smoothies and won't mess with INR.

 

[Ross]

Do whatever, but be consistent about it once you start. Don't start, stop, start, stop or your going to go up down up down.

 

[aussigal]

Dont worry about bothering us with all these little dietry questions...as long as you dont mind getting the same answer 99% of the time...LOL...if it eases your mind to ask...then feel free to ask away!

Lots of us had the same concerns when we first started doing this too...its only with time that you get the confidence to eat freely without permission and to try new foods...

Here's my experience with soy milk....Vanilla soy milk is yummy but I hardly ever buy it and when I did, I got carried away and drank a litre of it, my INR bottomed out , so now I just dont buy it ...if I was to drink it regularly ie. several times a week my warfarin would be adjusted and my INR wouldnt crash...

You are doing great!

 

[Jkm7]

I always have soy milk with my cereal so it's probably 1/2 c. per morning. Though I had many conversations while in the hospital re: which foods contain a lot of Vitamin K and which foods would effect INR, no one mentioned soy to me. I eat edamime and sometimes Trader Joe's soy nuggets for lunch. I was unaware soy has such an influence with INR. My cardio encourages his patients to eat soy and many must be on coumadin so clearly he approves of 'dose the diet' but I think the nutritionists who advise about effects of food on INR need to be more careful to include soy in their discussions. My coumadin manager never metioned it.

This is clearly one of the reasons I required such high dose of warfarin and still never got to range. If I ever have to go back on warfarin, in the future, I will know the impact of eating soy.

 

[MNmom]

well

well

Here I go again being afraid to eat (drink) something that makes such a drastic effect on my INR...THis is what drives me crazy- if i am going to drink soy milk, then i have to drink it every day- but i dont typically work like that. but yes, as I have read already, its a small price to pay- I should not be complaining, but enjoying life.
I get my INR tested tomorrow morning, and then am going out of town overnight- I will get the result on my cell phone- I think I will bring some lovenox with me just in case I think I could handle it a lot better if I were prepared for it. The kicker is though, that I missed a dose last friday night and made up half of it the next morning. So would that show up tomorrow???

 

[Ross]

Hon you don't have to drink soy everyday, but try to drink the same amount every week. Key word is Try. It's the same with anything. If you know something is going to affect your INR, go ahead and add it to your diet, but be prepared to change your dosing to match your new diet. It's simple. Diet actually plays a very small role in INR, so you may or may not see any changes, but if you do, be prepared to adjust. Don't modify your diet, but eat like you always have.

You'll probably be a little low this week since you only took half of the missed dose instead of all of it.