Warfarin

[Mike-tyson]

Been taking Warfarin for over 10 years now. No problems except have to have blood tests every week if INR changes but if you keep your diet and medication constant you will only need blood tests once a month 😊😊

[Hidden]

Hi,

I think you may find many consumers of Warfarin may well disagree with you. Many adhere to the 'regulation diet' yet have a swinging INR. I self test and am on 10 weekly reports to my INR Clinic but within those 10 weeks my INR is all over the place, regardless as to whether I follow the 'regulation diet' or not.

Been on the stuff now over 11years. At least I can self test whenever I feel like it.🙂.

[Hidden]

I’m not really sure of the point you are making Mike. It’s a long time since I took Warfarin but if I remember correctly, doses were adjusted to my diet and once stable, I was encouraged not to veer from the diet. It wasn’t too much of a problem because we tended to stick to regular but varied diet due to my wife’s cholesterol/IBS problems (hope she’s not watching me). Everything was OK for a year or so but I did experience some problems whilst on holiday touring Europe (we have a motorhome) but tended to eat in local restaurants. Testing in Europe wasn’t on my radar but when I was eventually tested back home, the readings were a bit scary high so I asked to be transferred to Apixaban. That was about 6 years ago and I’ve not looked back.

Not sure if any of this relates to your post, but happy to share......

[Mike-tyson in reply to Hidden]

My diet and what heart medication I take does affect my inr. But everyone is different. My nurse that got me on Warfarin said to get inr of between 2 and 3 she had some people taking 2mg per day and one lady was taking 10mg per day. So like most medications it can affect different people very differently 😊😊

[Dodie117 in reply to Mike-tyson]

Is there a reason you don’t want to go on one of the new anticoagulants. Most people have now moved away from warfarin although some still prefer it. I’m on Apixaban and no problems.

[Mike-tyson in reply to Dodie117]

Thought it better to have regular checks in inr

[Mike-tyson in reply to Dodie117]

Have just had call from Stoke warfarin clinic and my inr down to 1.6 so have to increase my warfarin as been told my blood sugar level a bit high so stopped eating cake and other sweet things. They think this could have caused the change in my inr? 😡

[Dodie117 in reply to Mike-tyson]

I used to self test when I was on warfarin and then you could tweak it yourself if it was out of range. Then I got hospital to test about every 3 months to compare. There is no INR issue with Apixaban as it works differently to warfarin. Might be worth reading up on as it’s very easy.

It took me a while to be convinced.

Anyway, good luck. ☘️

[BobD Volunteer]

Some of us are lucky to be very stable regardless of diet and my yellow book says I have been better than 85% in range . When I have gone out it is usually upwards but never worry unless I go over 3.5. Only time I went under was when I followed the clinic doses. That said the last six months I have been slightly less stable for no apparent reason other than trying to balance other drug intake.

[Mrsvemb]

I took Warfarin for 6 months. I kept my vitamin K intake consistent, but my levels were never stable. What concerned me, was that if was was out of range, say 1.8, I would get an appointment for 1 week. Get back in range and it would be 4 or 5 weeks. I was concerned as to what was happening in the meantime. I did plan to buy my own testing kit, but wanted to make sure first that I could tolerate it. As it happens, I got severe nausea after 6 months, which is quite usual for me on most drugs.

I am now on Dabigatran but will be rotating between that and Apixaban as the need arises.

[MarkS]

Hi, do you self-test with a Coaguchek? That is easy to do, I can get a result in 2 mins from start to finish. I highly recommend it to anyone on warfarin.

[Lindaj754]

I only took warfarin for a short time ,during which I was never in range,even adhering rigidly to diet. As a result blood tests were weekly and never the finger prick! Have been on apixaban now for a year.

[Hdev]

I’ve been on Warfarin for the 5 years I have had afib,,,,I can only recall a handful of times I have been out of range,,and not by much,,,My INR is between 2 and 3 and test at home once every 2 weeks,,,I have been off it several times for medical procedures or tests but get back in range within a week or so,,,I think I am a very fortunate person to use it so easily,,,my diet is pretty stable as I eat the same kinds of foods for the most part,,,a binge of blueberries threw me off one week but I learned from it,,,I think it all depends on the person and how your body reacts,,,you have to do what is right for you!

[segaw]

Recommend a self tester. Initial outlay but get testing strips and lances on prescription. We can go anywhere in the world, and have done, and just email in your result and they email back your dosage. Annual trip to anticoagulant where they check your machine. So easy and saves all those blood tests.

[Jetcat]

Hi mike, I was on warfarin for a couple of years+ and my levels were always up and down. I tried to stick to the same diet routine and watched what I ate and drank but it seemed to be all over. 😢

[jwsonoma]

I am on a plant based diet. K control is a challange so I am lucky to stay in range self testing every 4 days.

I asked my DR. about switching off Wafarin but was told not to because with self testing I can keep my INR down to the low side of safe when I am skiing, mountain biking or rollerblading which have a higher risk of impact.

I took a good fall rollerblading last year which separated my shoulder but because my INR was 2.1 there was no significant bruising or uncontrolled bleeding.

[Hylda2]

I was on Warfarin for several years and no matter how hard I tried I could not balance. Trip to the clinic every week, veins shot to pieces, out of sync more than 50% of the time. Horrified cardiologist switched me to Dabigatran. All systems go!!