Sintrom

[RaquelSpain]

I have been on Sintrom for 6 weeks now and it is really getting me down.

I am vegetarian and have been told to watch my diet for Vitamin K (found mainly in green veg), no citrus fruits, berries, coffee, garlic, also not too much of certain other veg, chickpeas, beans, peanuts, there is a long list.

Any advice would be welcome as I would like to eat my vegetables again for the health benefits and get off the drug

[Chappychap]

I can appreciate how frustrating this must be, however you may have to park your objective to "get off the drug".

Anti coagulants, like Sintrom, are extremely effective at reducing the risk of stroke. Milder versions, like the anti-platelet medication I take, can reduce the risk of strokes by 20%, But clinical trials demonstrate that full bore anti-coagulants, like Sintrom, reduce the risk of strokes by an incredible 60%.

Given that your condition puts you at an elevated risk of strokes, effective anti-coagulant medication is therefore an absolutely central part of your treatment.

However, the good news is that there's a wide range of anti-coagulants, and they pretty much all share the remarkable benefit of cutting stroke risk by approximately 60%. So maybe there are other options that you could explore with your doctor?

It also occurred to me that medicine always needs to be understood within a local context, and Spain has an astonishingly low level of vegetarians. Well below 2%, compared to say Germany, the UK, or Australia at 10-12% and growing. Consequently the dietary limitations of this particular drug simply may not register with your doctor, but if you could emphasise how restrictive it is then together you might be able to find an equally effective alternative?

Good luck!

[RaquelSpain in reply to Chappychap]

Thank you for that posititve reply. I am back at the Medical Centre 17th May and will have a chat with them then. I am trying to do all I am told but I feel that I am lacking in something which I think I was getting through my food.

[Hidden]

Dear You

Life time vegetarian { past 30 Vegan now back to vegetarian } I am lucky, my Cardiologist is a vegan so it was easy to have open discussions on how best to get the right balance of vitamins and minerals in my diet, while on strong medication.

But you have been put on this hard line drug for a reason and as Chappychap has said there are other versions of all medication that you can discuss with your medical team, get referred { if you can } to a hospital dietician who can help you get a balance between your meds and your needs.

Please { not teaching Mum how to suck eggs } look at your mineral uptake as it is so easily overlooked.

Above all I wish you luck on your journey, you maybe a few miles away from us but we are here to help, when you need us.

I changed from Vegan back to Vegetarian { having never knowingly eaten meat ever } when I had my heart problems, purely for the way the body absorb the vitamins/minerals better from eggs/dairy that I needed to heal.

Take care

[RaquelSpain in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for that. I am life long vegetarian, the baby food with meat made me sick so have never eaten meat. I eat little cheese and no eggs, so am almost vegan. I will have a word when I see a professional as it is the vitamins and minerals I am worried about not getting. I do take a multi vitamin and mineral (which has no vitamin K) to give me the B12 but I have been really tired for a few weeks and I think it is the change of diet and lack of something.

[Hidden in reply to RaquelSpain]

its going to be a hard one to pin down but a full blood test will help, good luck with it all and please keep us informed.