Vitamins/Supplements

[Perrster]

Al,

What's your best advice for us Coumadiner's/heart patients to take when it comes to supplements and vitamins?

I have heard I should add Calcium to my regimine.

I am taking the following daily (advised by my Cardiologist):

Vitamin E (400 I.U.)
Magnesium (500mg)
Vitamin C (500mg)
Selenium (250mg)
Centrum Silver

I also have a Soy Protein "cocktail" two or three times per week.

Just curious about the Calcium.

Thanks.

 

[Sagebrush]

I jusr talked to my cardios nurse about that. I don't drink milk, not allergic to it just don't like it. He said to take 3 Tums a day since I was having heart burn too. I guess it is a great sourse of calcium.
FAYE

 

[Granbonny]

Vitamin E?

Vitamin E?

Perry, Have a friend on Coumadin who had a severe nosebleed and fainted taking Vitamin E.... Thinned his blood too much? Bonnie

 

[Christina]

Hi Perry,

What I know is that men and women alike need more Calcium in their diet. Not all Calcium is alike though and you need to choose one that is easy absorbable. I have learned that TUMS do not have the correct kind of Calcium. It has Calcium Carbonate and that is the kind that is not easy absorbed by the body. Calcium needs to be taken with vitamin D to be absorbed properly. A good kind is Calcium Citrate w/vitamin D, or Citrical.
I personally switched to Seasilver in the last two weeks. I got tired of taking my vitamin pills three times a day. Seasilver is so much easier for me. No more gagging to get the pills down. Seasilver is a liquid vitamin and has everything the human body needs on a daily basis. You just take 1-2 ounces a day and that's it! Needs to be refrigerated after opening.
For more information go to: www.seasilver.com or call: 1-800-299-8256


Christina
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
Tucson, AZ

PS. I have been taking 800 IU of vitamin E per day for the past 15-20 years. The same after my surgeries. I have never had one nosebleed or any serious bleeding because of vitamin E. There must have been something else going on there Bonnie. I know it is easier for the doctors to blame vitamin E.

 

[Creed3]

I have always taken a multivitamin before my surgery so I was interested as to whether I could continue taking one after the valve replacement. When I asked my docs they just told me to continue my multivitamin. I asked my surgeon, cardio and pcp. They all said the same thing. I think I just need to be consistant and not just take it once and awhile. I have to make sure I take it every day. If you haven't been taking one while on coumadin it may send your INR levels off a little and they may need to tweek your dosage until you get back to your normal INR. I don't know if this helps much.

Take Care!
Creed

 

[Guest]

Perry,

I have several blood vessels close to the surface on my cheeks and I bleed from one of them every time I try to take vitamin E. But if you are taking it and have no problem ...

There is a potential problem with Sentrum Silver. Do not stop it or run out of it for a few days because it has quite a bit of vitamin K and your INR will probably go up to about the 6 range. I've seen this in elderly people who ran out and did not have enough money to buy more until they got their next Soc Sec check.

 

[azpam]

vitamins/supplements/environmental nursing is somewhat my thing! christine is right about the tums. doctors don't always know good advice in this field. taking tums(calcium carbonate) is not a good calcium supplement. calcium carbonate is the least absorbable,least digestable calcium available. plus it decreases the hydrochloric acid in your stomach of which you need that to digest your food. if heartburn,GERD,etc is a problem,start on a good digestive enzyme(you are not digesting your food well). the best calcium supplement is finding a formula with 2-3 kinds of calcium in it along with magnesium,phosphorus,boron,and vit. D. Boron is the bone knitting mineral here that is all important!this type of formula will go to the bones where needed. milk is not a good source of calcium due to it lacking some of the above. i am not a believer in centrum vitamins either. yes i know everyones doctor recommends them! i do not agree at all! they are synthetic vitamins that don't get absorbed properly. (kinda like the synthetic hormones that doctors give out too-the recent big study on hormones did not surprise me in the least). studies have shown taking synthetic vitamins like centrum develop "expensive poop" and found at the bottom of outhouses,port a potties,etc. invest in a natural multi-vitamin. vit.E (get natural again-not synthetic!) is a natural blood thinner and good for the heart. a natural vit.e can be determined by looking at the label. does it say D or DL alpha tocopherol? D is the natural. DL stands for darn lousy and is synthetic. read label carefully as the l in dl blends in well. coumadin levels would need to be adjusted but then again do you want to take vit.e or coumadin in bigger doses? i would prefer to take vit.e daily and have the coumadin dose adjusted around that. kinda like the dietary adjustments one does also if inr is low or high. To get true healing of any disorder, one needs to invest in natural stuff that gets to the cells of the body to do any good. of course some natural herbs,etc. do need to be avoided to those on coumadin. that subject has been talked about in the past. hope this helps on the vitamin/calcium mystery. if personal questions, email me privately. i don't sell over forums. just wanted to give basic info to those interested. stay healthy!!

 

[ALCapshaw]

GOOD Question Perry !

I've been advised by one of the Cardio Nurses NOT to take more than 100% of the RDA of ANY vitamins and NOT to take CoQ-10.

Since I've had A-Fib events plus PVC / PAC's, I'm interested in taking magnesium. I'd also like to get back on aspirin therapy (probably the 81 mg dose) since I also have CAD. I'll discuss this with my cardiologist at my 6 month appointment (next month).

I was told NOT to take Tums / Rolaids etc with Coumadin. I 'assume' that meant within a couple of hours of the time at which I take my Coumadin. I take Prilosec (and sometimes Pepcid) for GERD.

'AL'

 

[mommywri]

Hi,
My 13 year old daughter had a St Jude aortic valve replacement in October. She currently has a persistent sinus infection (she has a primary immunodeficiency -- she doesn't produce an immunoglobin found in mucous) She was on bromelein/quercetin prior to the surgery but we were told to stop it because it interacts with the coumadin. Has anyone here any information about using bromelein/quercetin while on coumadin?

Thanks,
Martha

 

[Sunshine susan]

Christina is right on!

Christina is right on!

Christina is right about the calcium. Calcium carbonate is NOT what one wants to take for strong bones. And it does need to include some Vitamin D, ca. 400 units a day. Calcium citrate is the proper calcium. I learned the hard way as I now have osteoporosis and have to take the calcium citrate + D and a weekly dose of actonel plus all the strength training I can muster. Fortunately, none of that interferes with the heart regimen (2/99 avr) and coumadin! Susan

 

[Guest]

Bromelain/quercetin has the potential to cause a high INR.

If you give it to her be sure to have her INR checked once or twice a week for 2 or 3 weeks until you are sure that the INR has stabilized.

 

[Christina]

For Sunshine Susan..

For Sunshine Susan..

Hi Susan,

I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis in the spine in December 2000 after a DEXA scan. The doctor wanted to put me on "Fosamax" once a week but I politely refused as I don't do prescription drugs unless it is a question of life or death. But I knew the diagnoses and knew what I needed to do. I switched to taking Citrical and tarted taking 1200mg a day (Citrical is the calcium Paul Harvey advertises) and Glucosamine. Don't confuse it with the combination Glucosamine w/Condroitin, but just the Glucosamine sulfate. I just took the suggested dose on the bottle. Then I had another DEXA scan done a year later and the Osteoporosis was gone. SoI can tell you what worked for me.
Since than I have switched to Seasilver, and no longer have to take pills three times a day. I was having a difficult time with swallowing the pills and I always had to have food on hand to get them down. Seasilver is a liquid vitamin and everything the human body needs on a daily basis is in there.


Stay well.


Christina
AVR 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
Tucson Medical Center
Dr. Gulshan Sethi, surgeon
Dr. Lou Lancero, cardiologist

 

[Rich]

I have been on Coumadin now for about six years and four months but that sure doesn't make me an expert.
After my surgery I was told to stop taking vit E.
Other things were to of course regulate my intake of vit K and not to take anything like Pepto-Bismol,Alka-Seltzer,etc.
I was told to take only Mylanta products which have worked quite well.
Was also told never to take any over the counter medications containing aspirin such as for colds and flu.
Speaking of flu I thought I saw a report recently that indicated a possible problem with flu shots and Coumadin.
I have never changed my dosage of Coumadin since day one and my INR has always been in range.
Just recently made a small tweek not in my dosage but on the days I take either 5mg or 2.5mg.
It's probably due to my advancing age which I read that older people may start to require less due to the natural thinning of their blood.

 

[sharon]

osteoporosis

osteoporosis

Hi Christina,
I can't believe that you were diagnosed with osteoporosis. When we met in Scottsdale I remember that you said you were a weight lifter and it seems odd that you would show signs of the disease, as they are telling people that weight lifting is just what the body needs for overcoming osteop. Could your first test have been a mistake?
Sharon

 

[Zipper]

Hi Rich,

I've had the flu shot every year before and after coumadin. I worked in ER admitting and was exposed 'big time' to all 'flu bugs'...I've not noticed any problems from taking the 'flu' vaccine. This will be the 1st year (I'm out on a workmans comp injury now) that I won't have the 'exposure' I've had in years past...it'll be interesting to see if my exposures built up immunities or made me more vulnerable. I beleive that each year you get the 'flu shot' you have now built up more immunities to any future strains. No scientific data...just me...thinkin' overtime...LOL!

Zipper *~*

 

[Guest]

The flu shot doesn't really cause a problem -- except that it can raise the INR for a few days after you get one. So, if you have an unexpected INR in the 3.5 to 5 range, and just had a flu shot, it might be due to that. In this case, it would not be a good idea to lower the warfarin dose.

As far as lowering the warfarin dose with age, it is probably due to slowing of the activity of the liver enzymes that metabolize the warfarin. This causes a gradual rise in the INR and requires a small adjustment downward over time.

 

[Herb M]

You need to do your own research about vitamins and supplements. The information provided by physicians and nurses varies from place to place. A high percentage of herbs and supplements are reported to have an effect on Coumadin. Generally the effect is small and often not notieable unless high doseages of the supplements are involved.

I take several of the herbs and supplements that have warnings about coumadin, but they seem to have no effect on me. Probably every person will react differently, just as not all of us take the same Coumadin doseage. If you decide on herbs or supplements, go slow and see if your INR is effected.

I am not a health professional, but have found via personal experience that many physicians do not stay up to date on recent advancements on medication, whether prescription or alternative methods.

 

[Guest]

Sometime they are dramatic though. I consulted on a lawsuit where the woman went blind in one eye from a hemorrhage cause by taking St. John's Wort on an intermittent basis.