Hello everyone. I wonder whether anyone knows whether we are supposed to drink alcohol?!

[KathrynRowley]

I don't know if i am supposed to drink (even moderately!!) with APS. I am only on asprin at the moment but want to keep as well as possible.

Thanks so much

Kathryn xxx

[Herb]

Alcohol has an effect on the way blood clots, so you really should talk to your doctor about it.

It will interact with the aspirin for sure.

I doubt there is a clear yes/no answer, it will depend on your history.

[KathrynRowley]

Hi Herb

Thanks for getting back to me. Think i will lay off and then talk to the doc! Good advice about the aspirin .... i was only thinking about the old red wine in moderation positive slant re blood clots.

Thanks again

Kx

[paddyandlin]

Hi Kathryn,

I completly agree with what herb has said but having saying thati do drink in moderation and it is 1 bottle of beer or a glass of wine may be a month. i just ensure that i balnce it out by eating more brocilli now before i get pounced on i know this not good and wrong but for me i made the decision that haveing an odd drink now and then is ok for me it is a risk i have taken and that i know if i have drink it will thin my blood.

[jessielou]

Hi Kathryn,

Welcome to the site.

Again I would agree with Herb, need to talk to docs,

I used to enjoy a Gin nd Tonic now and then. (Tonic got Quinnine in it which is in some Lupus meds). Well thats my excuse anyway!!!!

Any way on a new med (Lirica) as well as warfarin and a bucketload of others. Have to say they do not mix with alcohol at all!!!

So sadly probably going to be one of the few tee-total pub land ladies!!! Oh well can have lots of fun watching everyone else get drunk and silly.

As Paddy says in moderation it is ok, we have so much taken away, shouldn`t have to give up everything as long as we are careful.

Take care, gentle hugs, Jessielou xx(Sheena) xx

[Elisabeth]

Hello my first time to comment on this site so hello everyone. My understanding from Prof Hughes is one of consistency, it doesnt matter how much green veggies you eat (of course most contain the dreaded vitamin K) the trick is to eat them consistently. If you eat lots of broccoli everyday you adjust your warfarin levels accordingly, when you self test this is quite interesting to monitor. As i understand it eating a lot of veggies once a week and then eating none for the next 6 days gives huge is consistency in your INR level which is obviously a proble. A few years ago i suggested to Prof Hughes I should set my INR on broccoli and balance with red wine as i love both !!! I do get on my soapbox about INR clinics as they never seem to ask you when they test you if you have eaten greens or salads the day before, they can adjust your warfarin for a month and the "blip" in your INR might be just due to a high Vitamin K meal the night before. They may have changed recently as i haven't been to a clinic for a long while as have been self testing for about 6 years.

[jessielou in reply to Elisabeth]

Hi Elisabeth

Welcome to the forum, nice to meet you.

As you say the INR clinics never ask if you had veg, salad or had a glass of wine etc.

I knew about some veg, cranberry juice, alcohol having an effect, but will be looking further into what does affect INR.

Glad you joined us.

Take care, gentle hugs, love Jessielou xxx xx

[Storky]

Oh Heavens! I had no idea that food and drink affected your INR levels! I was on warfarin a few years ago and just told dont drink grapefruit or was it cranberry? I was never told anything about food!!! I am just about to go onto warfarin for life when I stop Heparin inj's. Can somebody post a list of the do's and dont's or is there somewhere we can go to see that?

[Hidden in reply to Storky]

Hi There !! Yes very confusing the old diet with anti-coagulants. I have asked many times what sort of diet i should follow but nobody in the last three years has given me a straight answer. I am still searching by the way !!! I am overweight and have been told to lose weight. Apparently, too many veg and too many salad foods can affect your blood because of the Vitamin K level in these foods. I stay away from cranberry and yes I do have the odd drink but not suppost to because Alchohol thins the blood so your blood can become too thin which is obviously dangerous. So overall all I have heard is certain veg and salad with high levels of vitamin K are to be eaten in moderation. Cranberry is definately a no. I have also heard that St Johns Wort and other herbal medicines are a no go area and alcohol is not really advisable. I have looked on the computer but just end up confused on what to eat and what not to eat especially when one is trying to shift the weight. Just try and stick to a healthy diet and watch the foods with Vitamin K in them. My diet is not as good as it should be -I must improve it but unfortunately I do like the wrong foods !!!! The best thing to do is ask your consultant see if you can get any information out of him and if you do, I would be very interested in the information he gives you.

[paddyandlin]

Hi All

I rememeberd i saw something on Vit K foods and drink and i saw it on the Hughes (APS) Support Group and it had a number of good responses please have a look and see what you think.

Paddy

Vitamin K will neutralize the effects of Warfarin within 24hr

ebulfin.myby.co.uk/medical/...

There are two main opinions on the daily requirements of vitamin K. The first is a recommended dietary allowances for Vitamin K for adult males is 80 mcg and for adult females 65 mcg, and is the amount that many dieticians recommend. The second is the Adequate Intake Level : In January 2001, the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the Institute of Medicine established the adequate intake (AI) level for vitamin K in the U.S. based on consumption levels of healthy individuals.For men ages 19 years and older: 120 micrograms (mcg) vitamin K/day and AI for women 19 years and older: 90 mcg of vitamin K/day .

Vit k contents for these foods are shown on the above link.

A. Fruits

B. Milk & Cheese

C. Eggs

D. Legumes & Nuts

E. Meat, Poultry & Fish

F. Grain Products

G. Vegetables

H. Snacks

I. Condiments & Sweeteners

J. Mixed Dishes & Meals

K. Fats & Dressings

L. Desserts

M. Beverages

N. Infant & Junior Foods

Chicken breast, roasted 3.5 oz <0.01 which means that chicken is less than 0.01 per Vitamin K1 Content (µg/100 gm)++. This means it has a extremely low content of vitamin k so no need to give up the chicken.

You do need to watch if food is fried as the content of vit k seems to be higher e.g. in fried chicken or fried egg.

< means less than

> means more than

* next to a food means that it came from the following source............Booth SL, Sadowski JA, Weihrauch JL, Ferland G. Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone) content of foods: A provisional table. J Food Comp Anal 1993;6:109-20.

+ next to a food means that it came from the following source........Calculated based on estimated portions to equal 100 gm from Pennington JA, Church HN: Food Values of Portions Commonly Used, 16th Edition, J.P. Lippincott Company, 1994.

++ next to a food means it came from the following source................Booth SL, Sadowski JA, Pennington JAT. Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) content of foods in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Total Diet Study. J Agric Food Chem 1995,43:1574-79.

# next to food means is comes from the following source...................Booth SL, Madabushi HT, Davidson KW, et al. Tea and coffee brews are not dietary sources of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone). J Am Diet Assoc 1995;95:82-3

N/A next to a food means that the information has not been published any where and is Not available

Of course you will not know whether or not you have any food intolerances unless you go to see a registered nutritionist and have a food intolerance test.

The higher the value in the right hand column then the higher the vitamin k content. It doesn't mean you can't eat these foods just don't binge on them.