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taking warfarin

Posted , 5 users are following.

pauline_5
pauline_5

why dont consultants tell us about warfarin, meaning having blood test most weeks, i love veg but because i dont have it every day   my I N R  goes all over the place  so we have to take more or less warfarin and im so sure thats what makes me feel so cold  plus tired there are other things we can take and you dont have to have blood test all the time is it because warfarin is the cheapest, and do any of you get woken up  with the discomfort

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • derek76
    derek76 pauline_5

    Posted

    The write ups say to keep your vitamin K veg and everything else at an even rate so as not to disturb your INR.

    First thing you get is a yellow book with the do's and don't about warfarin plus the warnings and facts about testing. When it is under control testing can usually go out to four or six weeks unless you are prescribed and new drug or stop one. 

  • Merryl
    Merryl pauline_5

    Posted

    Hi I was diagnosed with Afib 4 months ago and the Dr said to go on warfarin, I said no because of all the blood tests. He then said I can have the new type rivaroxiban. I had a blood test before I started taking it  and another one 3 weeks later and one more in April to test my liver.

    The rivaroxiban cost more than warfarin.  

  • marion12117
    marion12117 pauline_5

    Posted

    I cannot be consistant with my daily food intake of vitamin K.  I eat brocolli (which is high in vitamin K) every other day but the day in between I`m supposed to eat vitamin K again but it doesn`t work that way for me. So consequently I have to have my INR checked on a regular basis.  I`m not about to give up eating brocolli as it is good for you.  I worked it out that on the other days I could eat spinach so as to match the brocolli intake but even that isn`t always possible.

    Very difficult to keep your vitamin K intake consistant on a day to day basis. No win situation.  

    • derek76
      derek76 marion12117

      Posted

      When taking warfarin I ate brocolli probably four days a week and sprouts, cabbage of cauliflower on the others.

      Repeated changes in medications and needing a lot of periods on antibiotics caused my fluctuations.

      The biggest leap in my INR was when I was prescribed Amidodarone by a cardiologist who did not know of its effect on someone already taking warfarin. Another leap was on the day after having had a very garlicky, herby Greek meal.

  • Carneuny
    Carneuny pauline_5

    Posted

    Hi Pauline,

    My consultant spent quite alot of time explaining to me about Warfarin and the dsay I was discharged from hospital he came back and saw me and gave me a mini test to check thast I'd understood everything. I think I'm fortunate in that I tolerate Warfarin and make no concessions to it in terms of food or alcohol, everything in moderation AND CONSISTENCY I learned at the beginning to eat what I liked in small quantities to a regular timetable - so to speak. Your intake of all 'these forbidden veggies' must be consistent. You do not say what other meds you are on ... but if you are on beta blockers, like Bisoprolol, that will account for the tiredmess/weariness and coldness. Yes, Warfarin is the cheapest - it also has an antidote, the newer drugs called NOAC's at this stage do not have an antidote and they are quite a bit more expensive. And yes, since I've been on Bisoprolol (5 years now) my sleep patterns have been crap - but if thats the price I have to pay to stay in NSR - so be it. I just pace myself and my lifestyle better.

    John

    • pauline_5
      pauline_5 Carneuny

      Posted

      hello there, well i like veg but no way can i have it every day  maybe the days i dont then i might have a brandy which i hardly have now  i just want to keep my I N R steady so i wont have to have blood test all the time the consultant put me on sotalol  which i now relize is giving me cold hands and feet  as for sleep i could sleep on a clothes line as im always tired ive been on warfarin and sotalol since june it does help have you not been offered ablation 5 years   seems a long time
  • Carneuny
    Carneuny pauline_5

    Posted

    Hi Pauline,

    Yeah, Sotalol will do the cold hands and feet. Same family as my Bisoprolol - a beta blocker. Why no ablation you ask ... a few months after diagnosis I connected the onset of AF with food and digestive disorders and elected to treat them. I declined an ablation. I really didn't want anybody barbequing my heart unless as a last resort - and so far it isn't a last resort ! I have gone gluten free and adopted most of the FODMAPS diet and I now cannot recall my last AF event. This has had the effect of calming my vagal nerve, a main nerve in the central nervous system which controls both heart and digestive system.

    John

    • pauline_5
      pauline_5 Carneuny

      Posted

      hello   i find it very intersting  about your diet and that you havent had AF since thats great i have a firend who is gluten free but i must amit what ive tasted i dont like,    i dont want ablation i used to nurse    people with strokes and its heartbreaking so the small risk of having a stroke  to me is really frightening i shall look up FODMAPS diet  it sounds like it might be worth a try
    • Carneuny
      Carneuny pauline_5

      Posted

      Hi there,

      Yes, I agree ... I tend not to be greatly fussed by AF or the medications, or now my diet ..... except, as you say this outside chance of a stroke. That puts the fear into me like nothing else on this planet. More so since there seems to be a genetic thing on one side of my family. My grandfather died from a series of stokes in 1964 ... and AF wasn't known then, I have AF, my second cousin (same side of the family) also has AF(his grandfather and my grandfather were brothers) and now my daughter (32) has AF. So I have some massive incentives to try and get this monster to lie down. The diet process is a pain and has taken several years now to master it and to calm the vagal nerve but it seems to work. I still get the occasional and random palpitations, but, nothing that would cause me to go back to my GP for anything but a repeat prescription. The link I made between food and the onset of AF was massive and painful bloating which I could actually feel impact on my heart, loud burping, intestinal gurgling and diahorrea. My GP had me checked out for Coeliac Disease and IBS but all clear. I was offerred further tests but declined. I went to a Nutritionist who pointed me in the direction of diet and going gluten free. The gluten free is an absolute, the FODMAPS, well I experiment. Its a bit severe, but experimenting and picking the eyes out of it seems to produce the results ... all in all requiring alot of patience. But it seems to work for me.

      Hope thats of interest.

      John

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