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I could use some advice. I've been on coumadin for 5 years now and have never had blood in my urine with a high INR. This week I had bright red urine so I tested my INR (4.6) and then visited my primary care doctor. The PC doc called the coumadin clinic and they told her that they would instruct...

I have a hard bump about the size of a large marble on my sternum that is causing me a lot of pain when I lift, push, or pull things. Has anyone else had these bumps after OHS. My surgery was 3 1/2 years ago and the scar was always flat. I'm scheduled to see a general surgeon later this week...

Just last Saturday, I got my seasonal flu shot. It was suppose to be effective within 2 weeks but I came down with the flu yesterday. So it hasn't been effective. I was having great luck getting my yearly flu shot and avoiding the flu for the past 7 years. But apparently, I wan't fast enough...

Does anyone know the risks of drinking small amounts of alcohol while taking both coumadin and plavix? In November I was having stomach problems, possibly the start of an ulcer but I tested negative for the H. pylori virus that causes most ulcers. Nonetheless, my primary care doc put me on...

I enjoyed reading the thread about how often people think about their heart surgeries. Like others I tend to think about it mainly when I run into problems (and tend to come back to this forum only when I have problems--sorry!). So the problem this week is that a blood clot damaged an artery in...

I saw this in the news today.... FDA Okays Stripped-Down Version of Human Heart Valve ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 8 -- The FDA has approved the first prosthetic heart valve made from decellularized human tissue as a replacement for a diseased or damaged pulmonary valve. The CryoValve SynerGraft...

I need some advice. A couple weeks ago I was having some back and shoulder pain so my doctor put me on a muscle relaxant, Skelaxin. Last Monday my INR was a bit high at 3.7. It might have been due to the Skelaxin but it was probably because I wasn't exercising as much because my back hurt. I...

I had an appointment with my cardiologist this past week and he said that there was no need to check my new valve (1 year, 3 months) with an echo in the future as long as I have no symtoms. Is this true? Does anyone know the recommedations for follow-up of a mechanical aortic valve? Part of...

Does anyone have any experience with increased menstrual bleeding when your INR is too high? My INR was at 4.2 last week and I've had a period that has lasted for 22 days. :( I lowered my weekly dose (skipped a dose and took 10% less per week) and will test again on Monday but my period still...

I could use some help. My INR has dropped again and I have no idea why. In March (and most of the winter) I was in range with an INR of 3.2. But since then I've had trouble reaching my range of 2.5 to 3.5. 3/27 INR=2.1, increased from 26 to 28mg per week 4/10 INR=2.3, increased from 28 to...

As some of you know I've been having trouble getting my INR back into range since March. About a month ago I bought a copy of Al's protocol and started following that instead of the Nurse's advice at the coumadin clinic. She would suggest these tiny increases when my INR was below 2.0. This...

I'm always unsure of which websites offer the best information. So I was happy to see that the Arizona Health Sciences Center did a research study to find the most dependable websites for information on medications for consumers. Here's their top 10 websites (in alphabetical order): Anthem...

My INR has been too low and I was trying to figure out why it had not gone up more this past two weeks. At the last visit to the coumadin clinic, the nurse was trying to get a drop of blood from my finger to drop on the machine. Something went wrong and she had to replace the strip. It took a...

Ok, my curiosity has gotten the best of me and I missed seeing anyone else ask the question....Who's the baby in your avatar, Ross? He (or she) is adorable. I assume he sees all those breasts and is thinking he could get an extra dinner?!? Or maybe he just has a warped mind like our fearless...

Ok, here's my photo. I had the surgery almost 9 months ago so the scar is much lighter than it used to be. My cat wanted in the picture as well, but I couldn't get him to do the john travolta pose.:( So does the shirt go to Rain in Colorado next?

I had my INR checked this week and it was low, only 1.7. The nurse said that lots of people have low INR's in the Spring because the fruits and vegetables have higher levels of Vitamin K. This seemed strange to me (especially since I haven't eaten any fresh fruit and vegetables lately--I need...

Hi everyone. I?d be interested to hear from anyone else that had nerve damage after their OHS. I?ve spent the last few months with lots of chest and arm pain. My cardiologist did all kinds of tests and found nothing?my heart was fine. He referred me to a gastroenterologist who did a bunch of...

There's something I always wondered about but have never asked my doctors. After my surgery (back in august) I was doing great and then on the 3rd day, I was extremely tired and couldn't get out of bed. The nurse, trying to simplify things for me, said that I had regular "dubs" but I was...

I need some advice. I've been on coumadin since August when I had my arotic valve replaced with a mechanical valve and a dissecting aortic aneurysm repaired (go gortex!). Since then I have had some strange symptoms such as gray spots that block my vision in one eye, dizzyness spells, and...