Turmeric & Blood Thinners

I got on the internet and googled anti-inflammatory diet and read everything that popped up, plus I checked out a couple of books from our local library. The gist of them is to knock out sugar, salt, and the things we all know aren't good for us, and to increase the fruits & veggies. Certain foods have more natural anti-inflammatory properties like garlic, onions, broccoli, fatty fish, dark leafy greens, nuts, peppers, tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, etc. I'm not on a particular diet, I just tried to clean mine up and incorporate as many of the good things as I can. I started this immediately after I started on the prednisone and I haven't gained a pound either, which was another good reason to do it.

Thank you for the information.  Very helpful.

It doesn't actually matter WHAT you eat or take PROVIDING your INR is checked regularly AND you eat/take the substance regularly. That means that eating/taking something every day or 3 times a week or whatever will be taken account of in the dose adjustment. What you mustn't do is assume your INR is OK and then binge for a couple of days on something and then not for another few weeks and binge again.

Here where I live the INR is checked every month providing you turn up to get it done - but you have to to get the prescription and they only hand out a restricted supply. In some countries though they do it far less regularly, sometimes as little as every 3 or 4 months and of course some people just don't bother to get it checked if they have a lot of tablets on hand. If you have the right INR one month and then take a lot of something that raises/lowers it for the next few weeks your INR could be way out and you are at risk of either developing clots if it is too low or bleeding badly if you had an accident when it was far too high. If then you haven't been eating whatever it was in the weeks before the next test - you might never know.

Warfarin is funny stuff - you have to titrate the dose to find the right one for you - and things can change quite suddenly. I was on a related drug and after years of no problems my INR suddenly started swinging about when I had to go to a higher dose of pred. It would go from OK (2 to 3) down to 1.3 and back up to OK and then back - or up to well over 3 - in a matter of a few days with no good reason. We simply couldn't find the right dose and I was having it checked every few days to see what was happening. Which really isn't particularly practical!

The original "don't drink cranberry juice" warning came because an elderly gentleman was admitted with bleeding and found to have an INR in the 30s (or so). The only strange thing in his home diet was cranberry juice, he was a cranberry farmer. But he was drinking gallons of the stuff. The normal amount people drink is unlikely to do that - but even so, if it is a regular part of your diet, no problems.

Hi,  EileenH, and thanks for your reply. I'm fortunate that where I liove (in the US) there is a clinic in my community, and I can regularly get my inr tested wvery month. I have been hesitant to discuss the issue of turmeric with my doc (actually shes a nurse practioner) due to the forbidding disucssion about the contraindication of combining turmeric with warfarin. It's good to hear that you, at least, see no sure-fire danger in combining the two substances so long as I keep getting tested.

I think it is the effect of where I live! When I discussed diet and anticoagulants with my GP here in northern Italy she looked at me as if I was crackers! They just tell patients to keep a regular diet and not overdo anything - and check monthly! 

In the UK the GPs often run a warfarin clinic where everyone turns up to a session and gets it checked with a handheld device - like blood sugars. But some patients make a big fuss about the inconvenience and just don't go - which no doubt happens all over the world!

Hello again, EileenH. It's interesting to hear how diferently patients are cared for in different places. I think it's generally considered tood practice in the USA for patients to be checked monthly. BUT how the check is done does vary. I've not heard about having a "warfarin session" but that's not a bad idea.

Presently I visit my practicioner's office monthly and get a finger-prick. It is relatively quick and comfortable. However, starting in July my insurance will require me to make a co-payment every time I visit the office. Therefore, I plan to schedule a visit with a lab every month. The lab comes to the same office - only difference is that I'll have to have a jab and the results will not be instant. Still, saving a few dollars every month is not bad when one is on a fixed income. Oh - and I didn't mention - insurance covers 100% of lab fees so there will be no co-pay.

Best regards, J

Doesn't cost me anything however it is done as it is for anticoagulant therapy which is exempt the copay charges. The cardiologist told me this morning though that using the new generation anticoagulants becomes cost-effective compared to warfarin and the monthly checks it needs after only 10 months. I have to say - not having to have monthly blood tests is rather nice!!

Hi, again, EileenH. Good luck with the "new-generation anticoagulants". I had spoken with my NP about them and decided to stick with warfarin, though tempted by the lack of blood spillage. Reasons: 1( the side effects, though rare, seemed rather nasty, and 2) it's a good rule of thumb to avoid new-to-the market meds for the first 5 - 10 years to be sure there are no unforesen problems with them.

Regards, J

Good luck EileenH, thanks for all your help! 🙂

Pradaxa has been around for several years having been licensed for widespread use since about 2011 with several years of clinical trials before that. For the last year an antidote has been available for emergency use and, since it is taken 2x daily its effect is gone in 24-48 hours max for elective surgery and starts immediately you take it afterwards. I was discussing it with the cardiologist yesterday and she says very few patients have any problems at all, just the occasional one who complains of indigestion and since the cost-benefit evidence is good almost all patients requiring anticoagulation are started on it now so there are a lot of patients around.

I was offered one of them 4 years ago and declined then on the same grounds you did, even cardiologists were saying something similar at the time! However - things have moved on, there are a whole range of them and antidotes are being developed. According to the cardiologist Pradaxa is the only one so far but the others are following. After all - even aspirin, ibuprofen and paracetamol have side effects that are just as nasty!

Great post Eileen, I've been on warfarin for over a decade following a series of PE's. 

I abandoned the "can and can't" eat lists some years ago. The simple rule is everything in moderation and don't binge.  This allied to regular INR monitoring. Obviously in the Uk our little yellow book keeps us on the straight and narrow with regular blood testing.

I was diagnosed with PMR six months ago and found that Prednisolone at high doses did raise my INR but having now tapered to 12mgs my range is back 2 -3. I have found the same happened with some strong antibiotics. My GP does insist I take Omeprazole to prevent any stomach problems that might arise from any steroid/warfarin contra indication.

I don't really like cranberry juice that much but still find it a decent "go to"  for minor urinary tract infections.

Thanks for your interesting letter. My first intro to pred. was about 10 years ago when I had a bout of PMR. A couple of years later I was dx'd with MDS (yyelodysplasia(sp?)) which I think is also an auto-immune condition. The MDS causes me to be anemic, but seems to be stable.  My hematologist said there are no meds to take for it, but later changed his opinion and suggested I take a daily 5 mg of pred, which he assures me can be tolerated w/o problems. He said that since I still have aches and pains occasionally, it may be from the PMR, and the pred will help with that too.

I've now been on the pred for several years with no untoward effects. I did read up on MDS in an alternative med site, and learned that turmeric will "control" its progress.( I didn't mention it before, but as I have Atrial Fibrillation, I've been on warfarin for several years.) I was concerned about the interaction between pred and turmeric, but decided to try it cautiously. I've now been taking both for at least 3-4 years with no problem. I do get my INR checked monthly, and everything is steady. I finally confessed taking turmeric to my doc, who said I should just watch the INR carefully, but otherwise not to worry.

One last word to you: be cautious about Omeprazole. I was taking it for several yers as an endoscopy showed that I might be about to develop a stomach ulcer. When I started on pred, my rheumatologist had me get a bone density scan, and it showed that I had borderline osteoporosis. Several years later I learned that a common side effect of taking Omeprazole  is bone loss, aka osteoporosis. So, please be careful about side effects!

Best wishes to you from Florida.

Hello James just a comment I'm new here, but I've been on Warfarin since 2012 and will.  be for the rest of my life. Your doctor can give you a form to turn into your insurance and you can get the same machine they use to test your INR at the doctors office, as well as supplies. Also after you get your free INR meter then go to WILBURN medical and buy your strips, insurance will only pay for 6 strips  a month so if you have to retest or make a mistake you will be short strips if you check weekly like I do, and I'm 90% in line. So if you buy them from WILBURN I get 48 strips at 1 time and there like 3 bucks each. Good luck - Dan

Thanks for your note, Meck. I didn't know about my insurance paying for a test meter, and that's good info. However for a couple of reasons, I'll skip it for now. For one thing, I live very clolse to the clinic where I get my INR done so that's no hassle. Also, my INR is remarkably stable: I haven't had to change my dosage in several years, despite dosing myself with turmeric.. If either of my circumstances should change, I will definitely look into my insurance coverage!

Cheers, james80202

Your welcome James, I just like to let life time user know about it the doctors wont tell you about it. Also 1 more note on the subject, if you do decide to get your own meter, they set you up with a direct e-mail to you personal doctors office where as every time you test your INR you report it on very nice spread sheet that is free and it is immediately sent and reviewed by your doctor. If you are out of range the doctors office will call you and advise what to do.

​Take Care

Dan