Help, or suggestions needed related to Blood thinners i.e. Coumadin (Warfarin), page 2

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reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 06:40 AM by Mahree

I just about bled out with internal bleeding in the hospital from an IV of Heparin. They filled me up with new blood, but determined that even though I have Atrial Fibrillation, I could not use the common medication of Coumadin. I am limited to just 1 baby aspirin a day. It does seem that I do as well as all of my acquaintances who also have AFib and are on Coumadin. I do have to be careful of any natural blood thinners because they will cause me nose bleeds.

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 07:01 AM by tom.farnhill

reply to post by spacedoubt

when taking warfarin the instructions that come with the medication advise not to drink cranberry juice because this is also a blood thinner .
so maybe you could ask your doctor if drinking cranberry juice instead of taking the warfarin would help .

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 09:00 AM by spacedoubt

reply to post by tom.farnhill

That's right. No cranberry juice...I worry a little about consistent levels of anticoagulants. We've actually considered an experiment. But we've got to wait until we get a new Coag-U-Check machine arrives, and is calibrated. I don't know if any of you are familiar with those. But the the older ones are notoriously hard to keep calibrated. And we end up wasting the test strips.
There are some new models out now. Hopefully accurate, Plus we always keep avelox on hand, in the fridge, in case she gets a little tittle thick.

BTW, I have had more than one doctor tell me this.
Warfarin, the generic for Coumadin is permitted to have a 15 percent tolerance of the active ingredient.
Coumadin, the brand name only allows for 5 percent. That may be something to check on, if you have to use those as thinners..I've never gotten a straight answer. But it might be a reason for some of her wild INR swings.

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 09:07 AM by spacedoubt

reply to post by Mahree

That had to be a frightening experience, how are you doing now?

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 09:23 AM by Octoneo

Order the absolute hottest cayenne pepper you can find online (stuff from the supermarket might not cut it in this case) and have to take that regularly with garlic.

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 02:51 PM by Mahree

reply to post by spacedoubt

It was a bad experience. I am doing fine now with my baby aspirin. I should have mentioned that I also am on Sotalol HCL, to slow my heart down. From experience, other foods as natural blood thinners are cinnamon and ginger. Ginger Brandy was not a good choice for me. lol My sister and her husband are also on those machines where they can test their levels at home. They get along OK. I do hope you will find some solution that will allow a normal life.
Mahree

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 03:04 PM by davjan4

Check out serrapeptase.

Second.

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 05:03 PM by Lovely1973

Hi I'm sorry to hear what your wife has been through - it sounds as though she is having a tough recovery.

I also suffered multiple bilateral PEs just 9 months ago and am almost recovered but have to now take Warfarin for the rest of my life. For me, I see this as an inconvenience because of the associated side effect but also it's a huge relief as I am less likely to have a reoccurrence while taking it, therefore try to focus on the positives of my situation.

It has changed my life, however, I have a terrible memory now and also lack of concentration that I didnt suffer from before taking Warfarin. I can't horse ride any more, and have to be careful when using a knife, razor etc. I have my INR checked every 3 weeks and am lucky in that I have reached a point that my INRs are stable. I know it can take a while though. I think one of the keys is to eat a fairly consistent diet with not too many ups and downs of food that affects vit K absorption...( garlic, dark green veg, cranberry etc) and than the Warfarin dose can be tweaked accordingly.

I think the key for PE sufferers is to try to keep within therapeutic range and for this we need to have a measured amount of anti coagulants, something that would not so easily measurable if reliant solely on a dietary intake of foods/ herbs with anti coag properties. I would really guard against looking towards garlic/ herbs/ cranberry alone as I wouldn't imagine itwould offer enough protection and is not as measurable.

Is your wife quite newly diagnosed? I have come across a very helpful online support group for PE/ DVT sufferers called 'Daily Strength' ( has a PE support forum within Daily Strength) sorry can't provide link right now but worth Googling! It helped me enormously and offers some very sound advice on everything from drugs to emotional support. I would recommend it!

I have heard of various research being done regarding alternatives to Warfarin / Coumadin and was told there is in fact a new alternative to warfarin that may have been the drug mentioned by previous posters. Personally speaking, I would want to be sure of the effectiveness of any new drug before taking it.

I wish you and your wife all the very best for the future and hope that you find the answers you are looking for. If you or your wife ever need to discuss anything relating to this condition, feel free to U2u me as I'm pretty much in the thick of it all still and recovery is still very much part of my life at the moment.

Best wishes

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 05:36 PM by Bedlam

Get the doc to place a Greenfield filter.

Also, dabigatran (pradaxa) is a better alternative for most people because it doesn't have all the dosage and food interaction problems that warfarin has. It is, however, more expensive.

edit to add: never ever let her get in a situation where she might bang her head. No bicycling, no exercise that involves precarious balancing, no stepstools, slip-proof the bathrooms etc.

edit on 22-11-2012 by Bedlam because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 06:06 PM by LEL01

reply to post by spacedoubt

I know just how you feel, my son is on Warfarin and he's only in his twenties. He has been told he will have to take it for the rest of his life. They told him not to drink but you can imagine how that worked out, well I don't think once a week will kill him so long as he doesn't over do it.
I wish your wife well and I will keep an eye on this thread to see how you get on.

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 06:18 PM by spacedoubt

reply to post by Lovely1973

Thank you so much. Interestingly enough, her name can be deciphered to mean "butterfly".
I will have her check up on support groups.

reply posted on 22-11-2012 @ 06:37 PM by Coopdog

reply to post by spacedoubt

Check out Colloidal silver, and do not be dissuaded by the blue man videos which is pure disinformation to keep people from using this incredible substance. Colloidal silver is a better blood thinner than Coumadin or plavix, and has virtually no harmful side effects compared to either of those. It can be manufactured for next to nothing once you acquire an oz of 99.999 pure silver. (About 30 bucks at present time)

It is also an incredible antibiotic and is good for all sorts of topical wounds and infections of just about any type. I have seen it cure MRSA in very short order when other antibiotics were not working.

Following this post there are sure to be a few people flaming me for pointing you in this direction, but I assure you, I know from personal experience what a lifesaver this stuff can be. The blue guy in the videos was NOT using colloidal silver that was properly prepared, but instead used another silver compound and used it for years to make him turn blue, and this is disinformation in it's purest form.

To make it I use distilled water, two 9 volt batteries connected positive to negative, running a wire from one positive and one negative post with an alligator clip pinched on the ends of the wires. I cut the bar of silver into 4 strips and use one for each electrode so that the polarity makes no difference.

Clip the two pieces of silver about an inch apart to the rim of the glass container, and fill with distilled water up to the point that the two electrodes are partially submerged, but not up to the steel aligator clips. You want nothing in the water but the silver.

The small current from the two batteries will cause the silver to bond on a molecular level with the water, and it usually takes only two hrs or so to make a batch. I use a laser pointer and shine it into the water. After a couple hours the beam will become much more visible as it reflects the silver particulate in the water and you will know it is ready. You can use a simple PPM guage to get an even better feel for when it is right, you are looking for between 5 and 20 ppm if you use one of these.

Colloidal silver prepared in this manner will not effect the color of your skin whatsoever, but will work very effectively as a blood thinner if used regularly.

Good luck in your search...

reply posted on 23-11-2012 @ 11:26 PM by spacedoubt

reply to post by Coopdog

I have not looked into Colloidal Silver. And to be honest, because it was advertised on a certain conspiracy related radio show so much back in the 90's. That and pycnogenols. I seriously put it in the back of my mind as snake oil.
Not to say that it is or isn't, I was just jaded in advance. This was well before the blue guy made the news.
I do promise to you, that I will give it a second look.
I have to be very careful. And we won't be changing anything at all, unless we are convinced that there is a good level of safety involved.

In a way, it seems weird to even say that, because a majority of her hospital and Doctor visits, have been because of the cure, rather than the disorder. So Warfarin is no great shakes either. It's dangerous if not monitored VERY closely. Even then, bad things can happen.

Thanks very much for your information.

reply posted on 25-11-2012 @ 12:52 PM by Pardon?

Originally posted by spacedoubt
reply to post by Coopdog

I have not looked into Colloidal Silver. And to be honest, because it was advertised on a certain conspiracy related radio show so much back in the 90's. That and pycnogenols. I seriously put it in the back of my mind as snake oil.
Not to say that it is or isn't, I was just jaded in advance. This was well before the blue guy made the news.
I do promise to you, that I will give it a second look.
I have to be very careful. And we won't be changing anything at all, unless we are convinced that there is a good level of safety involved.

In a way, it seems weird to even say that, because a majority of her hospital and Doctor visits, have been because of the cure, rather than the disorder. So Warfarin is no great shakes either. It's dangerous if not monitored VERY closely. Even then, bad things can happen.

Thanks very much for your information.

Whilst silver preparations are used widely in medicine, mainly as an anti-septic (it's not an antibiotic) to fight or prevent infections you're correct in your thinking that colloidal silver is indeed snake oil.
There is absolutely no factual evidence to suggest otherwise (aside from the usual fabricated testimonies).

reply posted on 27-2-2013 @ 03:17 PM by tumbleweed45

I have atrial fibrillation, and also take pradaxa. I was on a research panel, and took apixiban for 3 years, but it is not approved yet, so my heart dr put me on the pradaxa, and I have taken it for over 2 years with no problems. It works by making the blood slippery, so it does not clot, not by thinning it like Coumadin. I can eat greens, and all the things that they forbid with Coumadin, and you just take it each day, and no tests are necessary.
I still have to be careful about bleeding, because it stops the blood from clotting, but not about eating the wrong thing, and making it too thin. I know they have ads against pradaxa right now, but for my part, it is a whole lot better and safer than Coumadin.
I avoid medicines as much as possible, and try to keep myself well with healthy food, but sometimes medicine is necessary.

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