Stop exercising because of health issue??

Sweet_Misery_

Starting weight was 420, I was obviously leading a very unhealthy life, bad food decisions and little exercise. I started exercising for 1-2 hours a day, drinking tons of water, and eating healthy. Lost 25 pounds so far, everything is great! BUT the problem is I have blood clotting issues, ended up in ER today with problems with my blood levels, caused by the sudden and drastic change in lifestyle (extremely elevated INR). ER said to follow up with primary doctor regarding exercise. But my doctors first appointment is not until August 8th!! Do I just limit exercise for 4 whole weeks? Or what should I do?

Mrsindepenant1

Go swimming. It will take pressure off your body. Did they advise you to take aspirin? That will help thin your blood.
I have AS and RA and working out causes inflammation which makes them worse but if I don’t I’ll get fat and worse as well. So swimming is amazing for it. I also have a family history of blood clotting. My nephew had a stroke last year. He has to take aspirin daily. So does both my parents and nana and Aunty. All for clotting.

ipmac22

Consider calling your doctor's office and see if you can ask if they can at least advise you on this. It really is best to get a health professional who knows your situation. I totally get your frustration, especially as you are doing well and taking care of your health. I'd hate for something bad to happen. My thoughts, focus a lot on your nutrition and food logging and keep everything you do as low impact as possible. And please see if the doctor will give you any advice prior to your appointment! Good luck!

Sweet_Misery_

chelseanoah8876 wrote: »

Go swimming. It will take pressure off your body. Did they advise you to take aspirin? That will help thin your blood.
I have AS and RA and working out causes inflammation which makes them worse but if I don’t I’ll get fat and worse as well. So swimming is amazing for it. I also have a family history of blood clotting. My nephew had a stroke last year. He has to take aspirin daily. So does both my parents and nana and Aunty. All for clotting.

No, I take warfarin. Have been on it many many years.

Sweet_Misery_

ipmac22 wrote: »

Consider calling your doctor's office and see if you can ask if they can at least advise you on this. It really is best to get a health professional who knows your situation. I totally get your frustration, especially as you are doing well and taking care of your health. I'd hate for something bad to happen. My thoughts, focus a lot on your nutrition and food logging and keep everything you do as low impact as possible. And please see if the doctor will give you any advice prior to your appointment! Good luck!

Thank you, I will try again to call and see what they tell me. I called earlier but the receptionist said the Dr would need to see my ER paperwork before being able to tell me anything so just wait for the appt.

workinonit1956

My suggestion would be to spend the time between now and your doctors appointment focusing on your food intake. You don’t need exercise to lose weight and although you were in an exercise groove and enjoying it, it sounds like it could be dangerous without medical advice. I know it’s disappointing but it’s only a few weeks, and with the proper calorie goal you can still make progress. Best of luck!

Mithridites

That seems like a lot of exercise all of sudden for someone who was not used to it. I would continue but cut it down to less than half that amount and monitor yourself closely. And drink a lot of water. Most importantly, keep tracking your food intake accurately. You can still make good progress with CICO alone. My fingers are crossed for you.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor.

mkculs

Call the ER and ask for advice about exercise if it was not specifically discussed about what you can do before seeing your doctor—they have your paper work. And my RN sister says find a new doctor bc it is the doc’s responsibility to see you within 24-48 hours when you have been in the ER and have an extremely elevated INR bc it can be life threatening. His office is wrong to make you wait—and I know from personal experience that my clinics—different ones over time—have always gotten us in within the same week of an ER visit.

crooked_left_hook

Interesting...I’ve never heard of someone getting blood clots from exercise, only from being too sedintary. I would call your doctor for advice and in the meantime dial it back to some easy walking (you are going to have to walk regardless and being sedintary isn’t going to help the situation either).

ShellyPru84

Elevated INR means your blood is too thin so clotting isn’t the concern. Uncontrolled bleeding is. I hope you received a shot of vitamin K or the very least a decrease in Coumadin dose. Call your doctor again. You need frequent blood tests until your INR is within therapeutic levels. This could potentially be a life threatening emergency. Good luck !

RN here.

GOT_Obsessed

What type of exercise are you doing for 1 to 2 hours a day? That seems like a lot.
I agree to focus on your food intake.

And great job on your loss so far.

PokeyBug

I'm in agreement with ipmac. Call you doctor to see what he or she would advise. She might say light exercise, like walking or swimming is okay before your appointment or she might want to exercise some caution if she thinks some tests are needed before giving you the okay.

GOT_Obesessed - It may seem like a lot, but for some of us with health conditions, you do what you gotta do. I try to walk at least an hour a day M-F (sometimes I walk more, but some weeks I totally fail) and do planks and light calisthenics, because my knee is wonky and I can't run or lift heavy.

Sweet_Misery_

Thank you for all input!! I called again and was able to get in to see a PA next week. I will just hold off on anything except swimming and light walking until then I guess? Although I think the water is the majority of the reason for the change, water thins your blood and I went from drinking 1-2 cups a day to 9-10. I can't imagine I should stop that or limit my water also!? To clarify, no I don't have blood clots caused from exercise. I have history of blood clots in my lungs several years ago and have been on blood thinners ever since. My blood level (INR) should be at 2-3. On 6/15 when I last had it tested I was at 2.7, perfect. But I started exercising and eating less calories as of 6/19. Today it was 4.5. It's dangerous to be that high and can cause bleeding out. Can also cause many of the symptoms I went to ER for: excessive bruising, dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, etc. It's so discouraging and upsetting to think that I was doing so well and by trying to get myself HEALTHIER I caused this 😔

Packerjohn

Sweet_Misery_ wrote: »

ipmac22 wrote: »

Consider calling your doctor's office and see if you can ask if they can at least advise you on this. It really is best to get a health professional who knows your situation. I totally get your frustration, especially as you are doing well and taking care of your health. I'd hate for something bad to happen. My thoughts, focus a lot on your nutrition and food logging and keep everything you do as low impact as possible. And please see if the doctor will give you any advice prior to your appointment! Good luck!

Thank you, I will try again to call and see what they tell me. I called earlier but the receptionist said the Dr would need to see my ER paperwork before being able to tell me anything so just wait for the appt.

Doctor offices around here have a phone nurse or a website where you can message with questions. Please get medical advice before going back to exercise or any medicine changes. Best of luck.

ShellyPru84

Drinking water doesn’t actually thin your blood. What has probably happened is when you are larger you sometimes have to have a higher dosage of medication. As you lose weight you don’t need as much. I imagine you just need a smaller dose and more frequent monitoring as you lose weight. Great job on your loss so far.

MelanieCN77

This is a question for your doctor's office for sure. If you're US, see if your health insurance has one of those phone a nurse services if you can't get to your doctor.

Tedebearduff

Just eat under your daily allotted calories and wait to see the doctor. Not sure why people ask doctor related questions on here, but like 1 medical professional said go to the doctors and stop exercising and you want to find a reason not to listen to her/him by asking people on here? they have 0 medical background and probably mostly FB article knowledge- I say this cause they're giving you advice on what you should be doing against a medical professionals opinion and not telling you to go/wait to see your doctor.

urloved33

water water water - if your doctor ok's it - sometimes I would just float....so good for you. water is no impact but great for your health

CSARdiver

Well don't stop, but move towards exercises that aren't so intensive or risky at this time. Walking & light swimming are low risk and have good results long term.

Water is helpful, but as in all things, don't make dramatic changes. Implement small changes which will have a dramatic over time.

viajera99

It might indicate a need for reduced dose, but many times when people change to a more nutrient dense diet (think broccoli for example), their warfarin dose needs to be increased. An INR of 4.5 is above normal, but it creates no danger of life-threatening bleeding and generally doesn't require treatment except to stop the warfarin until it comes down. Certainly, more frequent INR checks would be warranted until INR stabilizes.

One-two hours a day of exercise seems a bit much to start. That alone could be the reason for the symptoms that sent you to the ER.

Water has zero to do with this. It doesn't "thin your blood."

Congrats on your weightloss. I suspect this will get sorted out quickly by your MD.

Disclaimer: Physician here, but this is for general information only and should not be taken as specific medical advice.

tuolon

It's the receptionists that don't let you see the doctor. You need to explain to them that you just went to the ER and it is imparitive that you see the doctor ASAP. Doctors usually always have some wiggle room in their schedule for imparitive appointments. Tell them that you know they have wiggle room.
This is honestly unacceptable. I would find a different doctor who has wiggle room for after ER situations.
Good luck to you.
Honestly, In the meantime before your appointment, call/email the nurse or doctor at your clinic and ask them what you should do before the appointment. If that is not possible, call the nurse/doctor at the ER hospital you were at. Some one at either place should be on call.

RodaRose

What have your docs said about 9-10 cups of water per day? You might not need as much water as you think you do.

i_SWEAT_n_SWEAR

Did they reduce your Warfarin dose? Your dose should have been changed immediately following the higher INR reading. You need to have more frequent checks to get that number down. I am on warfarin also (for life, as of this past February) for a DVT.... this month is the first time I'll be going 4 weeks without an INR check (as my last 3 checks were within 2-3) and I'm freaked out bc I've been back to the gym for a week and eating on dietary plan---I can relate to the fear and worry you are feeling. My doctors are recommending that I switch to a DOAC---the new blood thinners don't require an INR check. Have your doctors recommended Eliquis/Apixaban or Xarelto at all?