Recent content by crawal

I thought I would post in this thread again for the benefit of anyone else who might be in the same boat. I am now coming up on 3 years post-op. I am a vegetarian who is taking coumadin at 15mg daily. I have been extremely consistent at this dose with INR's at about 2.2-2.5 (ideal range for...

Hi Martin I am in the same boat as you....vegetarian, mechanical valve and anemic post-op. I had normal levels before surgery. My surgery was 6 mos ago. I was tired and had a worn out feeling. My blood tests showed anemia. My dr ran tests to make sure it wasn't due to the valve (they check...

My fear was similar....I was afraid that I would reach a point where the coumadin would kick in and my INR would all of a sudden go sky high...but that never happened. I was testing once or twice a week forever until I finally leveled out between 2.5 and 3.0. Now I test every 2 weeks (because...

Hi Dee I am taking 15mg of coumadin every day. I did not respond to coumadin initially either.....I didn't hit an INR over 2.1 until after 3 mos post-op. I was usually around 1.2-1.6 for the first 12 weeks post-op. Now I am consistently between 2.5 and 3.0 (I am 5 mos post-op now). My...

Thank you for all of the responses ....it's comforting to know I'm not alone! Although bummed to learn that many of you still have sternum pain/discomfort at 9-12 months or more. I will say the body pillow helps..at least it minimizes the number of times I try to turn over on my stomach during...

I am a 40 yr old female and am having the same issues. My inr is all over (from 1.3 to 3.1) My range is 2-3. I am on 15mg daily and still bounce around with my inr. I am also a vegetarian too....which accounts for the higher coumadin dose. But I know how frustrating it can be! hang in there...

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you! Amy

Hi Larry! Glad to hear you're doing well overall ....and back to work full time. Hopefully the arrhythmia is short-lived and resolves quickly. I'll keep my fingers crossed!! Amy

Hello I am 11 weeks post-op and am doing well overall. I do not experience any pain during the day. I am fairly active...back at work, etc. and not on any pain medications. But at night if I try to sleep on my side or my stomach, I have pains in my sternum and wake up very achy along my...

Larry... Glad to hear things are going well now! Amy

Hi there I was where you are just 3 months ago. I learned about my aortic valve problem about 5years ago...but wad told I was mild and asymptomatic. 3 months ago I was told that I was now borderline between severe and critical .....I had surgery 3.5 wks later. This group was so helpful...

Thanks Heather.....I am 40 years old. Someone just told me that the more active you are,the higher your dose tends to be as well.....that your requirement may be higher..any thoughts on that? .

Protimenow: Thanks for your response. I am tested weekly as per my Cardiologist. 2.2 is the highest my INR has ever been ...including time in the hospital.

Thanks for all the responses. My cardiologist tells me that a diet high in soy bean oil, soy products, broccoli/leafy greens, chick peas...etc will cause me to have a higher requirement of coumadin. I feel like I am being managed properly...each dose adjusting slowly. I didn't think that that...

Hi everyone I am on coumadin for a mechanical AV (on-x). I am also a vegetarian and understand the whole concept of "dosing the diet" and making sure I stay consistent with my diet. I expected my dose would be higher than average due to diet. My question is this : how many others are at 15mg...