Tipple.

[Dottilind]

Can anyone tell me what does alcohol do to you when you are one warfarin. I have not had a drink since I went on warfarin two ago. Some say yes you can drink others say no, but I do not know what it does the blood count or in other words INR reading.

[Bagrat]

My husband drinks about 4/5 pints beer a week. Usually on three evenings of the week. We're both on warfarin but he is less concerned about the effects of diet or alcohol while I try hard to balance the books so to speak

I may have one G&T in a week and a couple of glasses of wine ( never more than one alcoholic drink a day). probably one glass of something most days on hols but that seems to balance out with less greens when away usually.

Our GP who retired a while back said a glass of wine a day should be ok as quality of life might be affected!!

I could happily give up alcohol but I think the key is consistency as long it's not a trigger for your AF

Quote from NHS choices "Interactions with alcohol

It is dangerous to binge drink or get drunk while taking warfarin. Doing this may increase the effect of warfarin and so increase the risk of bleeding.

Do not drink more than three units of alcohol a day if you are a man or two units a day if you are a woman. It is not safe to save up units to have on one day.

One unit is roughly equivalent to half a pint of beer or lager or a single measure (25ml) of a spirit such as vodka. A small glass (125ml) of wine is around 1.5 units. Read more about units of alcohol.

Heavy drinkers or people with liver disease who are taking warfarin should not drink alcohol."

Best Wishes WendyB

[BobD Volunteer]

Well ignoring the nanny state and what we are told we should drink or not alcohol does increase INR. I notice that my INR tends to be a little higher in summer when a glass or two of chilled Pinot Grigio before dinner is the norm.  Alcohol does trigger AF with some people and if you are one then don't drink Simples!

The best advice for anybody with warfarin is to keep to a stable intake of everything, avoiding any binging on whatever and make your warfarin dose fit your life style. It has been working for me these last eleven years.

[GazzaD57]

I was told by everyone to avoid alcohol.  Im not on Warfarin but another anti coagulant called Apaxiban so im not sure if the same risk apply. I was told alcohol is also a blood thinner. I was also advised to limit my intake of certain green vegetables as they also act as a blood thinner.

Gary

[Beancounter Volunteer in reply to GazzaD57]

Hi Gazza

Not sure who told you this, but whilst there is an element of truth in it, it's not really good advice.

Firstly none of them are "blood thinners" and Yes I know doctors use that term all the time, but it's neither true nor descriptive, they are anti-coagulants. Your blood is not one iota "thinner" when you take them. It's a term that dates back to when Doctors would not use correct medical terminology or even name body parts for fear of alienating patients. In this case they got it very wrong as "blood thinner" is not merely scary but wrong.

Yes alchohol is a minor anti-coagulant, and yes Green vegetables are also minor anti coagulants, but neither of them should be avoided especially as you are on one of the newer anti-coagulants.

Green vegetables especially contain Vitamin K which is a part of the clotting process, and if you were on warfarin, (which is a Vit K Inhibitor) then you should never binge on them as your INR can be affected, but not when you are on Apixaban. It does not apply. It does not work on Vitamin K.

As for alcohol, as Bob D says for some people this is a triger, if it does not trigger AF for you then a minor consumption will not hurt at all.

Be well

Ian

[GazzaD57 in reply to Beancounter]

Thanks Ian,

Unfortunately i have been in persistent? AF since October 2015. Still waiting for the clots to clear before they will attempt Cardioversion. Until then i will continue to avoid alcohol and limit green vegetables. 

Thanks Gary.

[JonathanPittsCrick in reply to GazzaD57]

Hi Gary,

There are 2 separate issues with alcohol:

1) effect on the blood – very little effect with apixaban

2) effect on the heart – even quite a modest amount will keep you in AF and make cardioversion or ablation less successful. A larger amount can affect the strength of your heart and cause dilated cardiomyopathy (which is bad).

But probably one glass of wine (or equivalent) with a meal is unlikely to have any significant adverse effect.

[GazzaD57]

Sorry i referred to them as " blood thinners" and all the misconceptions that conjurs. I have learnt they are "anti coagulants" and how they act. I wasnt aware Apaxiban wasnt affcted by green vegies, I'll have to think of a new excuse not to eat them to tell the wife now haha. Keep up the good info everyone. Gary 

[PeterWh in reply to GazzaD57]

Or don't let her read this post string!!!!

[irene75359]

My daughter (in her thirties) was diagnosed with a coronary embolism 18 months ago.  She will probably have to take warfarin for the rest of her life.  At the Royal Brompton, where she was being treated, the dietician specialist told her two glasses of wine a fortnight (where did that come from?) and no broccoli.  The cardiologist who was treating her burst out laughing when she told him and said 'we want you to have a life, two or three small glasses a day is fine'.  When I started warfarin in December, I was told by my GP no cranberry, moderate alcohol consumption, and above all be consistent in your diet (spot-on, I think) and regular INR testing.

I have a Coaguchek monitor and test myself once a week.  No alcohol at all or moderate alcohol intake makes no difference to my INR.  However, alcohol does raise my heart rate so may well be a trigger for your AF.  You might find the following site interesting.

patientblog.clotconnect.org...

Good luck!

[GazzaD57 in reply to irene75359]

Thanks Irene,

As mentioned above im in persistent Afib so i dont need a trigger. Ill just remain off alcohol until i know more or the issue is under control. 

Thanks Gary 

[irene75359 in reply to GazzaD57]

Hi Gary - sorry, I was replying to Dottilind, I should have posted directly under her post - hope you get things under control soon.

[Dodie117]

Just to add my understanding is that alcohol contributes a little towards anticoagulation but greens do the opposite - contribute towards coagulation 

[tony85]

I find that beer up to 4 cans is OK, Wine about 3 glasses. But I did drink more than one bottle of wine once and it brought on a bad bout of AF