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Warfarin and alcohol use

Posted , 3 users are following.

john01637
john01637

New on warfarin I've seen various references to "use of alcohol while on warfarin".  Some places say "Avoid alcohol", other sources say "Limit alcohol use to one or two". 

I'd like to hear some reaction to this.

In addition I'm going to a wedding in several months and wonder if perhaps three or four drinks over a long period of time, (five or six hours) would be harmful?  I appreciate any response, thank you, John

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • nigel0151
    nigel0151 john01637

    Posted

    Hi John,

    Alcohol impacts the INR when taking Warfarin.

    When I was first administered Warfarin many years ago, the advice given to me was to avoid alcohol altogether!

    Happy to advise that attitudes have changed and that a few drinks over a long period of time would not do you any harm.

    Enjoy the wedding!

    • john01637
      john01637 nigel0151

      Posted

      Thanks for your remarks.  I'm am purely a rookie at this having had my first INR just today, only to find out that Warfarin does not affect me at the dose I was started on so I'm instructed to double the dosage and do another INR Friday.

      When asked about alcohol that gal simply says, "consistency is the most important thing". So it begins to sound like a very limited drinking habit might be ok, but VERY limited! Thanks for the reply.

  • paul72419
    paul72419 john01637

    Posted

    Hi John I’m on eliquis and first alcoholic drink I had which was a lager shandy had a bad effect on me. I had 2 pints, felt a bit dizzy so checked my body and it had dropped to 97/80. When normally it’s perfect. So that proved to me that alcohol is a blood thinner so consequently I went to a wedding and drank water all night.
    • john01637
      john01637 paul72419

      Posted

      I realize that any and all anti-coagulants a person might be taking will have the same precautions, that is use of alcohol should be treated cautiously. Yes, alcohol is a blood thinner in itself so along with medications that are blood thinners gets to be a bit risky, and certainly should be done with great caution.
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