Now taking aspiring after 2 years

[lisou]

Hi everyone, just curious and need imput on this, after 2 years since surgery I was told by my surgeon today that I have to start taking a baby aspirin 81mg every day since apparently I'm taking too much coumadin (15 mg) a day, and INR not that high, so he says I need to protect my valve. Did this happen to someone else and did you have to decrease coumadin by much? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You
Lise

 

[Jkm7]

What did your INR test? I would never try to second guess anyone's doctor and I'm certainly not a medical professional but most of us here have been taught the correct dose of coumadin for each patient is the dose that keeps them in the desired range.

Aspirin helps to make blood less 'sticky'. Makes it harder for blood to form a clot if it doesn't 'stick together' as easily.
It's usefulness in treating the blood is different than what coumadin does. Coumadin causes blood to clot more slowly.

Many heart patients take an aspirin a day, both those who do and do not take coumadin. Baby aspirin is 81 mg and regular is 325 mg. Many people actually take the 325 mg daily.

 

[Eva]

Hi Lise,

What is your INR? and
how often have you been checking it? How long have you been on this does?
Do you check at home?!
How do you feel at 15 mg of Coumadin?
Is your Coumadin the original Brand name?? what if those pills are not potent and this is why you have to take this much!!

Did the doctor explain why you need so much....is it your diet, lifestyle, or ?? I am just curious.

As for me, tThe highest dose I took was 13 mg which was after my surgery when my INR was up and down.

Since this is your surgeon's recommendation, make sure your stomach is not sensitive and try to take the coated pills. Look at the brighter side of its benefits which is not found in Coumadin: Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory and it will reduce pain and any inflammation you may have. I wish I could take a Advil a day...I love Advil. There was a story on the Disc. Channel one time about twin sisters. One of them had Alzheimer's at age 78 and the other one had great memory. The study researchers did on them showed the one whose memory remained good used to have lots of headaches and pains and used Advil a lot during her life!
[I wonder if this is why my brain is deteriorating...since I stopped taking Advil/Aspirin.......just kidding!].

I am curious who else is on high doses. Keep us posted. :smile2:

 

[Bina]

Hi everyone, just curious and need imput on this, after 2 years since surgery I was told by my surgeon today that I have to start taking a baby aspirin 81mg every day since apparently I'm taking too much coumadin (15 mg) a day, and INR not that high, so he says I need to protect my valve. Did this happen to someone else and did you have to decrease coumadin by much? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You
Lise

Hi lise,
The important thing is to keep your INR in range, and I really don't think that 15 mg per day is unreasonable or why your doc thinks there are other solutions.
Coumadin is a very good anticoagulant with a long history.
Aspirin is a very good antiplatelet with a long history.
Both have their specific purposes and neither one replaces the other.
How has your INR been?
Perhaps there is some extra Vitamin K in your diet that you don't realize or need?
Greens are good, but all the extra K in mayonnaise and oils and fats is not always necessary.
Keep us posted.

 

[hook]

As Bina says I think they do different things. A 81mg aspirin seems to be a good idea for anyone based on what I have read thus far. I started Lavasa (prescription fish oil) and it seemed to reduce the amount of coumadin I needed. I take about 21mg per week.

 

[Greg a]

Even though it is OVER THE COUNTER always include it with your meds

 

[njean]

You know Lise, for years I was told by my cardiologist NEVER to take aspirin after my OHS.

So for 30 years I avoided aspirin like the plague! And then what happens? I go in for my 3rd OHS in 2006, & came back w/aspirin added to my medication list!! I couldn't believe it! I asked why & was told that I needed a baby aspirin to help prevent strokes & help control my BP. And to keep my INR between 3.0 - 3.5. In fact, one cardio said he wouldn't be concerned if my INR was at the high range, closer to 4.0!!!! And, to never stop taking the aspirin abruptly because this may trigger a clot!!!!
So go figure!!!

It's a puzzler indeed & I don't think I've ever been given a clear answer by the doctors either!

 

[Bina]

Norma, yes, the docs routinely tell us not to take ASA after mech valve replacement because the general public will tend to take a 325 mg or 500 mg pill for any headache or body pain a couple of times a day. We don't need that high a dose added onto our already anticoagulated blood. But, 81 mg is routine maintenance for many patients.

 

[Protimenow]

15 mg to me sounds pretty high. I've been taking 7 mg daily for years. Another on this forum, five weeks post-op, is taking only 2.5 mg./day.

It seems to be a matter of what dosage actually brings you within range. I'm not aware of any studies that say a high dose of coumadin can cause other problems in addition to just the anticoagulant effects. (In other words, even if 15 mg is the correct dosage to bring your INR within range, is the coumadin hurting you in other ways?)

As others have pointed out, aspirin has a different effect than warfarin, so one can't really replace the other in its effects. In fact, I'm not sure that the effect of aspirin will even show up in an INR test, since it effects the platelets and not the actual clotting time.

FWIW - although aspirin is actually pretty inexpensive, if you can take uncoated aspirin, you'll find that baby aspirin is also 81 mg and may be a bit less expensive than a coated 81mg pill. Or, if you want to get really cheap - you can break a 325 mg aspirin into quarters and take 1/4 a day (for what should cost you less than a penny a day).