Welcome to the asylum! If your a little left of center, you should fit in perfectly.
I'm mechanical and I too had the fears you have about "Anticoagulants" (Please don't call it a "thinner" as it makes it sound like your blood turns to water and it does not
) and I've found most everything I've heard about it to be myth and nonsense. I eat what I darn well please, drink whatever I feel like drinking and do whatever I feel like doing. It hasn't stopped me from enjoying life.
With that being said, as part of your decision process, please visit Al Lodwicks site at
www.warfarinfo.com and read all you can about Coumadin/Warfarin so that you'll know BS when you hear it and see it.
The largest problem facing anyone on Coumadin are the people that manage you. For some reason, the medical community is not up to speed on proper dosing and management of anticoagulation patients. Some of them are living in the dark ages of early history and not up to date. We will always help you with your issues if you choose to go mechanical. Most all of us have experienced this and for the same reasons, most all of us are home testers and some, self dosers like myself. Yes, home testing could be available to you.
As for the tissue valve and how long it will last. Well the jury is out on that one. The newer valves could last 20 years or so, but we haven't yet reached that plateau to give study numbers. Until then, plan on 10 to 15 years with current available information.
There are plenty of people here your age with tissue valves. I'll defer to them to answer the questions that I cannot.
I'm all in favor of anything that is going to keep you from possibly having another surgery again. There are no guarantees, even with mechanical, that you won't, but mechanical would certainly be best choice to avoid any more. This is one surgery that no one should have to go through once much less a few times. Some will tell you it's no big deal. On the other hand, there are many of us that will tell you it is a big deal.
Take the advice we give, analyze it and apply your own judgment. This is one choice you have to make all on your own. None of us can do it for you.