Does Aspartame affects INR

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R

rajeevg

Hi

I am 6 months post AVR. During my last post operation review in last month, it was found that my cholesterol and triglycerides were high ( 230 and 330). I was recommended a diet control and 1 hour brisk walk in the morning which I am religiouly following for last 1 month. I cut down on Carbohydrades, Sugar and Fat. I have started using Low calorie Sugar substitute ( Aspartame). Yesterday I checked my INR in the lab after one month ( made mistake Should have checked earlier ), it was quite low 1.1. I got scared and called my cardio. He increased my dose of anticogulant from 3 mg per day to 4 mg( I am on Acetrom a generic available here ). He was also surprised how it went down. He recommended a repeat INR after 2 days. I wish it is a wrong reading. I will know tomorrow.

Any ideas what is causing my INR to go down. Is it Aspartame !! I understand from this forum that exercise do affect the INR but not this much. I generally have a low INR always been 2-3 range. I thought cutting down calories and carbohydrate should actually increase INR .

Rajeev
 
Here's one article that mentions aspartame and coumdin;
At:
http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cach...spartame+interactions+coumadin&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
>>>>
Because the artifical sweetener aspartame(NutraSweet) increases bleeding time on its own (Clin. Pharmacol. Ther., Feb. 1998), it too should be usedwith caution by people taking Coumadin.
>>>>
But the interaction appears to be to make the INR higher not lower.
In general about aspartame:
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/aspartame.htm
>>>>
Aspartame is made of 3 components, 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid and 10% methanol (wood alcohol). In the body methanol breaks down into formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and formic acid.

Aspartame banned in Europe for children's products
>>>>
It may be the wood alcohol component that interacts with coumadin - some say use stevia instead but I don't know it that interacts with coumadin.
I've had trouble with fluctuating INR's too - I found eating tomatoes and olive oil lowered my INR. Was the blood test a finger prick or a venous draw? Did they double-check it?
 
I don't know about the INR< but I do know that Aspartame is very bad for you. You wouldn't eat formaldehyde, would you??
I've heard that Stevia is a good product and plant derived, so maybe that will work for you, also try, (my personal favorite) HONEY!!
Good luck (and lay off the aspartame!!)
 
I began using aspartame as my sweetner in coffee and cereal after my surgery, and did not notice any difference in my INR. I have been drinking diet soft drinks for several years, but adding the additional artifical sweetner did not seem to affect my INR.

Elena, No I would not eat formaldehyde but I do consume rat poison nightly!!!
 
I use splenda when I can, and drink diet colas that have aspartame. Some days I have a lot, some days none; and consumption or noncomsumption of artificial sweeteners doesn't seem to affect my inr at all.

Rajeev, I think it's probably the increased exercise combined with just getting better as you're farther out from your surgery. My understanding is that as you get better and exercise more (and that includes the increased activity you're able to do because you're well) you tend to metabolize more warfarin, therefore the inr sinks. It's not unusual for us to have periods of inr instability. But they're enough to drive you crazy. And sometimes it just seems there's no answer.

The alcohol should raise the inr, unless a "peg" is a liter. ;)

I think I'd have gone back for an immediate retest with that reading.

Good luck getting it stabilized.
 
I have seen several people who greatly increased their exercise and caused their INR to drop to your level. Here is how it works. Warfarin is only metabolized in the liver. The reaction is almost instantaneous. Increased exercise increases the heart rate for longer periods of time. The increased heart rate pumps the warfarin through the liver more efficiently, thereby removing it from your body. This does not happen with a slow heart rate - it is the number of trips through the liver that is significant, not the amount of time the blood spends in the liver like with a sluggish heart rate.
 
Thanks for your inputs. It seems that 1 hr brisk walk in the morning is the culprit. I have increased my dose by 30% ( 3.5 to 4.5). Today my INR is 1.6. Hopefully it will go back to appropriate level in couple of days. My cardio has checked up my heart and found OK ( as of now).

Thanks Allodwick for explanation. Isn't it better to take the daily dose of warfarine after the walk. This way I can replenish the lost warfarin due to exercise. Currently I take in the night before sleeping.

Rajeev
 
Rajeev wrote:

"He recommended a repeat INR after 2 days."

One cautionary note Rajeev:

My understanding of Coumadin and INR is that it takes 3 or 4 days to fully stabilize so a reading after only 2 days could lead to overdosing. If the dose is changed too often, your INR will fluctuate continuously. The procedure I've had recommended is to change dose by 10% (increase 10% if INR is Low, decrease 10% if INR is high) and recheck in 4 days. You may want to confirm that with your Doctor or Coumadin Clinic (or Al Lodwick who manages a Coumadin Clinic).

'AL'
 
Warfarin is a very slow acting drug. It makes no difference when you take it. This is also why it is not a good idea to check it after only two days of a new dose. You need to wait longer to see what the effect of the new dose is.
 
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