I have a pacemaker and was put on Sintrom in March this year as I have AF.
I am finding I bruise really easily and also I get scrapes and scratches in my skin that I don't know what I have done.
Is there anything I can do to:
Help with the bruises? (They can be painful and big)
Help improve my skin's quality again?
Can collagen suplements help?
Thank you
Are you also taking aspirin or an anticoagulant.Often bruising and more fragile skin happens because of the medications we need to take to improve our blood flow and reduce clotting risks .
Collagen supplements would not help with this problem. I also have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome which is a connective tissue disorder which affects collagen production and even people like me are not recommended to use collagen supplements but to increase collagen production by eating more animal based proteins . Unfortunately people like myself couldn't be vegan even if we wanted to be . Collagen supplements make no significant difference from my experience and that of a number of people I know with different skin problems .
Some tips I can give you are:
Prevention Techniques
Try to be aware of your movement and activity to reduce hitting or pressing parts of your body too firmly against things as this will cause bruises in a way you never got them before.
I've been known to get bruises on my wrists by leaning them at the edge of a desk too long while on a computer or wearing a heavy bag on my shoulder. If you feel obvious pressure on the body even if it isn't causing pain move back or it will bruise.
Cover your arms or legs with light clothing or use protective sleeves or leggings when doing an activity that might cause scratching or bruising when you wouldn't notice it. Like when you are gardening , doing housework or on a hike in the outdoors.
If you enjoy massage you need to swap to light touch variants options and avoid deep tissue and intensive sports methods. And have no massage around any pace makers etc to prevent them being displaced.
Treat your skin from within to reduce the problems
Eat a nutrient and protein rich Mediterranean style diet with lots of B vitamins , Vitamin E , C, and D , this helps to make your skin more able to heal quicker when you do get a bruise or scratch as well as making the injuries smaller.
Drink water and get fluids throughout the day even if you don't feel thirsty . This also reduces the chance of bruising by making the skin more elastic as well as speeding up healing because it stops skin being dehydrated.
Treat your skin from outside
People can help reduce skin dehydration and loss of the oils in the skin which help protect it by ....and it might sound bad.... reducing the amount of baths or showers they have each week , or if they need them daily reducing the time spent in the shower.
Moisturise daily with a zinc and magnesium based fragrance free moisturizer cream or lotion.
This is for the men too.
Improving the elasticity of the skin reduces the severity of bruising and will stop skin tearing as easily .
Recommended lotions are Unisex ,
Epaderm 2 in 1 is a great option , has an easy pump action bottle it is light and absorbs better than E45 type creams and can be used in the shower as a body wash in place of dehydrating shower soaps.
Change your shower soaps to ones that help to clean while protecting the skin from loosing its oils , and with as little artificial products as possible.
Another unisex product which is also cheap is African Black Soap.
I use Dudu Osun soap bar.
It only contains natural hydrating ingredients and lathers well.
It has a lovely unisex citrus smell , can be used as a shampoo , and leaves skin elastic and soft.
This is a hidden secret in the skin community and us recommended for people with psoriasis and eczema.
At the most it costs £1.50 a bar on Amazon.
If you get a small scratch or spot stop the bleed and dry it well and keep it to the air , it waterproof it , especially before swimming or a shower with a dab of vaseline.
Hope that helps , Bee
Thank you for the info.
I take the blood thinner Sintrom and nothing else.
It limits my diet as I have to be careful regarding Vitamin K. I am also vegan so eat a limited diet anyway.
I try to eat a whole food plant based diet and avoid sugar as much as possible.
I live in Spain and follow the local diet and eat local produce, I drink my 2lts water every day.
It is in the last few weeks I have noticed the bruising is worse and lasts longer than it did.
I have changed my soap and shampoo to ones that are PH nutral and I have bought some Rosa Mosqueta cream which I used on my skin after my pacemaker op to help it heal.
Thank you again
Do you eat a lot of B vitamins , particularly B 12 and Folate?If there isn't too much of these in your normal vegan diet you could benefit from a supplement of them.
Try to increase your vegan protein foods if you can.
No. I have to suplement them as a vegan diet gets no B12. I have a folate problem as I have to limit any green vegetables and fruits due to the Sintrom and the Vitamin K issue. I will have to try and use other sources.
I think part of the issue is I feel I can't eat a balanced diet on the Sintrom.
It is hard when either our illness or the medication we need to use affects which diet choices we can make.I was never a vegan but was a vegetarian in my youth but the collagen production issues that come with EDS mean that I couldn't continue that type of diet even if I wanted to , it caused more weakness in the joints and more dislocations. I have pancreatic enzymes insufficiency as well which causes B 12 and Folate Deficiency Anaemias which has caused even more changes in my diet needs. It's one of the sad side effects of having a chronic health condition , the right to decide on a diet type becomes a privileged choice which we may not be able to make in the same way as the generally healthy population.
Are there any other options for you to take apart from Sinstrom that don't involve the same dietary restrictions, or does your heart condition also mean you have to limit foods you used to rely upon?
Sintrom works well. There is another but it would cost 70e per month and I can not afford that.
I can not stomach animal fats, they make me sick. Even meaty baby food when I was a baby made me sick. I hate the smell and taste of fish.
My diet is not a choice, it is a problem now and I am just feeling stressed by everything.
As though... Do I take the medication and have a poor diet or have a good diet and let it affect the medication?
I feel for you as I'm stuck in that situation to some extent myself , it's not a great juggling act at all , you eat one thing and it's good for one issue but bad for another. Hope you find a solution soon. Has the GP suggested that you might require certain supplements? Take care , Bee
I am a life long vegetarian, but being a vegan raises a whole load of other questions as such a diet severely limits the nutrients and minerals that the body receives.
The Vegan stuff on supermarket shelves here in the UK is full of very unpleasant ingredients, many of which come from the far corners of the world and don't 'save the planet.' For some reason they also try to make the stuff 'meat flavoured' which is bizarre for those who don't want to eat meat.
Eating natural foods rather than manufactured ones as Raquel seems to do is best but the vegan diet is still very limited and not balanced.
Covering your body with light clothing is a good tip rather than wearing shorts or a short sleeved shirt is a good tip. It is amazing how often you brush against something in the course of a day.
I avoid the processed vegan stuff as it is full of rubbish. As I have never eaten meat I find it odd too, to have meat flavoured stuff. I have lived in very little clothing during the summer and I think that may be why I have bruised more. The stay a long time though and go through a rainbow of colours.
I have been educating myself on the whole food plant based eating and have made sure I suplement B12, which is the only thing I do not get. I make sure I eat enough protein etc but having to avoid high vitamin K foods is difficult. Anything green basically has to be eaten in small amounts and this is where I think my problem is.
This meat flavoured business is bizarre and some of the processed ingredients really unpleasant. The Vegan ice creams in particular are full of nonsense. Clever marketing but also deceitful.
More light clothes seems to be a partial solution whilst you work through the other consequences of your diet and condition.
Sounds like you have identified a particular problem regarding greens. Presumably those living for research purposes in places like Antarctica have to take special supplements to replace the total lack of green vegetables. Might be worth finding out if these might help
Vegan processed food is marketed as healthy and is usually full of junk.
The problem is the Vitamin K. It affects how the Sintrom works, also citrus fruits can affect it.
It has made me change my usual foods, Avocado, salads, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes etc all have to be limited. I also have orange and lemon trees in the garden.
I don't know how the vegan processed food makers get away with it. Very unhealthy, highly processed meat flavoured junk! Stick the words 'Healthy' on it though and people don't seem to realise what they are buying.
Have you ever consulted a food nutritionist as your required dietary needs seems to be complex? Presumably that was done as part of your medical analysis and this has enabled you to determine what works and what you need to be careful of?
No. It was never done or offered to me. I have done some nutrition courses online and a lot of reading to learn to help myself.
Junk is junk even if it says vegan, low fat, low salt etc. I don't know how they are allowed to get away with it.
It is as though nobody wants you to be healthy. If you didn't need a drug then drug companies would not get money so they don't want to cure you. Food manufactures want profits so use the cheapest ingredients to maximise profits and Government want as much in taxes as possible from industry so want these companies to make as much profit as possible.
Many thanks for this. I have horrifically dry skin which bruises badly and rips at teh slightest touch. Nothing teh doctor has given me has helped and some have been so greasy they're dangerous in the bath. I'll be trying y our suggestions. I know zinc is wonderful for skin. My son, as a child had big lesions on his feet and had to have zinc coated bandages wrapped round them every night as well as taking zinc supplements.
Thank you very much for all your help. I have Sintrom clinic in 2 weeks so am going to chat with them, see what help they can be.
Thank you for this thread - I have learned so much!
Hi,
I too have similar problems and being on blood thinners doesn't help.In my case I think it is something passed down by families. My maternal grandma had exactly the same problems as I now have, but she wasn't on blood thinners.If I get even a small scratch, which like you I don't feel,I bleed profusely and it takes quite some time to stop. It might be a good idea to see your GP, there could be something that would help you.
bludnut
I am going to see the nurse on Thursday and get some advice. I hope there is something that will help.
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