coumadin and beer?

[scuba_898]

Its football season and I like the brew when i am watching. I have not yet had surgery, am planning to have it shortly, but had a question of drinking when on coumadin and how much is too much.

I've been told that i can still drink but in moderation, so to me that means 1-2 but definately not 12. so my question is around football sundays. If i were to watch a game at 1pm and have 2-3 during that game and watched another at 7p.m and had 2-3 during that game, is that way tooooo much? if i were to cut it down to 2 per game is good? Or do i need to approach it as per day meaning 1-2 per day? I am a bigger guy 6'3" 260 does that come in to play too?

Like i said before though i am not yet on coumadin, but am just trying to figure out what my limitations would be when i do go on it. thanks

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Scuba

I can tell you that my husband's cardio told him that a glass of wine every day is absolutely ok, but a bottle in one sitting is not. The important thing is to be consistent.....my gut would be that 2-3 per game X 2 on Sunday would be too much, but that would just be my gut. I'm sure you'll be getting lots of responses about this. Good Luck.

Evelyn

 

[dick0236]

Its football season and I like the brew when i am watching. I have not yet had surgery, am planning to have it shortly, but had a question of drinking when on coumadin and how much is too much.

I've been told that i can still drink but in moderation, so to me that means 1-2

A couple of beers during a three hour game should cause no problem.

 

[ctyguy]

Scuba...

I took am a Sunday football watcher. I can tell you that my INR jumps anywhere from .5 to 1.0 usually by Tuesday because of my beer consumption. I will have two 22 oz beers and maybe a 12 oz as well. Other than that its maybe one or two if we are out to dinner but thats about it from an alcohol standpoint.

I think 2 or 3 over a few hours won't be an issue for your INR, you need to be more worried about how it impacts you. I absolutely think that my alcohol tolerance is less than what is was pre-surgery. Does the coumadin have anything to do with that ? Not sure but I blame the Coumadin for my thinning hair, alcohol tolerance, bad golf swing, disposition of my teenage step-son, low bank balance, and anything else I can think of.

 

[wcasey5]

Personally, I think you will be good. But YMMV. I've had to cut down on my drinking, but I have had up to 5 - 7 over a 8 hour period with no issues, although that is a rare case. After the effects on my INR, my fear with drinking too much would be falling down and hitting my head, and the complications from that.

 

[Megan]

HI! well here is my point of reference:im 3 months new to coumadin and went on my first Girls weekend Away. Saturday night, over a 6 or 7 hour period, i had 5 drinks i think. Granted one was very weak. i wasnt affected at all. Keep in mind im only 5'2 but a "heart"y 140 lbs. anyways. had my inr checked monday morning and oops- it was 4.0! yikes- I had no idea that could happen. so i had to readjust my dosage and now im a little stressed about it but hopefully tomorrow im going to go get it checked again. I catn wait to get my own machine! Even so, I would say- go for it- and then get your inr tested so you know how it affects you personally!. goodd luck and keep us posted.
Meg

 

[Philip B]

Beer

Beer

You really won't know how your body will respond until you get there. I've never seen drinking a few beers or glasses of wine affect my INR in a noticable way. I check my INR closely when I get caught-up in a moment here or there and indulge too liberaly.

As others have noted in their posts, they've noticed changes in their INR's after consuming alcohol.

Your INR might be sensitive to alcohol consumption and it may not be. That's one of those things you'll get to figure out after you have surgery and start taking coumadin. Predictions based upon the experiences of others at this point are simply guesses. What's that saying about crossing that bridge when you come to it?

-Philip

 

[MarkU]

I rarely drink beer, but I have a couple of glasses of red wine most evenings at dinner.

On weekends I might have 3-4 glasses over a period of time while watching sports on TV.

I've been pretty consistent with my alcohol consumption since my AVR eight years ago and haven't noticed any direct impact on my INR.

Mark

 

[witzkeyman]

go Dolphins!

 

[Sherry]

I've had my St. Jude's for over 12 years and haven't had much trouble (personally) with moderate drinking and my INR. What I did experience this past summer, however, was a lovely bleeding ulcer. My doc attributed it to my daily aspirin that I take along with the coumadin, but alcohol can certainly exacerbate the condition. I may drink a few small glasses of red now, and that's it. A bleeding ulcer is no fun...

 

[DarrinDNelson]

I was specifically told upon discharge to avoid beer while on Coumadin in favor of a glass of wine, or drink of liquor. My understanding was beer had an irratic effect on INR levels.

 

[westie]

no effect

no effect

.
personally, alcohol seems to have no effect on my inr level. both surgeon, cardiologist and our family doctor say 3 beers/wines etc a day are no problem, and i have found that to be the case over the last 18 months.

last week i had dinner with an old friend, met at the occidental in vulcan lane and had 4 belgian beers (dark brune) followed by 2 lao beers at the monsoon colonial restaurant and finished the night with a great meal and 2 more beers down at the america's cup viaduct (indian kingfisher beer, great taste, but reading the label we discovered it was made in auckland just down the road!)

next day, i made a point of telling the nurses about my big night out, ha, ha, "you are not allowed to drink, one drink is good, two is ok, and three is bad, blah blah.

yeah, yeah, i know 8 beers is too much, but we had it with food and i do not do that often. and i had no beer pump head, no hangover and no inr problems.

well, thats my experience.

 

[westie]

how we choose the beers

how we choose the beers

.
ha
belgium girl behind the bar = belgium beer, lao girl = lao beer and indian chic waitress = indian beer

quite logical i reckon!

 

[R&N Brown]

Westie, I commend you on your ordering practices, variety.

Scott, I like the blame game! I share a lot of the same conditions. Now I know why they exist.

I have a formula; If I go to drinking I put the salad and broccoli to me too. Seems to cancel each out. May sound numb but it works for me.

If I put a few beers to me on Sunday without the salads it shows up on Tuesdays when I test.

Rob

 

[Kristian]

Well, I was told in the hospital that I could have pretty much anything in moderation. Then I skipping teh internets and found all sorts of odd interactions. The biggest for me were soy (love tofu), beer and ice cream. All three were said to have a potential interaction beyond excess vitamin K - that they could, in some people, contribute to a high INR.

I home check and haven't noticed much difference, and the only side effect I've had so far beyond a wine headache a few days ago (ugh) was that one particular kind of beer gave me palpitations. Dangit, I actually like Beck's Octoberfest. Oh well, good craft beer doesn't seem to give me much trouble.

My advice, especially if you don't monitor weekly/regularly, is to make sure that you don't totally abstain the rest of the week (I call my nightly glass of vino my medicine, lol) and then, when it comes time for #3, or that last one, maybe hang back a bit. Big difference between 4 and 6.

But ultimately, the advice I was given at the hospital mainly centered around drinking and cracking the noggin open and bleeding out. What doctor or hospital is going to tell you to drink more than anyway? Sheesh.

 

[Ross]

But ultimately, the advice I was given at the hospital mainly centered around drinking and cracking the noggin open and bleeding out.

You mean you didn't order the deluxe installation of the hard shell cranium at time of valve replacement?