coumadin

jackjb2

My doctor wants to put me on Coumadin to prevent blood clots. Anyone have experiences with Coumadin? I have heard some things regarding gaining weight etc and am concerned it may wreck my weight loss journey.

healthygreek

I've read that Coumadin does not cause weight gain but that changing your diet to eating less veggies with vitamin k may cause weight gain if your calorie goal increases.

russkiballerina

Been on it for three yrs and am a lifer. It's pretty weight neutral. Even made me lose bcs of the restrictions which was bad bcs it made me underweight.
just make sure to stay away from vit k, leafy greens, cranberries and grapefruit. You don't want to bleed out and you want to absorb other foods well.
that said, coumadin is a bit hard to get used to, but its a life saver.

paperpudding

I don't have any personal experience with being on it myself. - but many patients I work with are on it.

I don't think it has any direct correlation to weight loss or weight gain.
Coumadin (or Warfarin) is not something you would be put on willy nilly though - if you have a cardiac condition or a blood disorder or have had a DVT - then your first priority is avoiding a clot and/or controlling your cardiac rhythm. Much more important than a theoretical and minimal effect on weight.

There is no need to avoid foods high in Vitamin K - mainly leafy green vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, lettuce.
your INR (blood test that measures your clotting time) will be regularly checked and your dose adjusted to your individual requirements, including your individual dietary intake.
It doesn't matter whether you eat lots of leafy greens or not - ideally be boring and don't vary your intake significantly though as this will cause your INR to be less stable - ie eat more or less same amount of them each week - don't go on a leafy green blitz one week and eat none the next.

The other thing to remember is that many medications interfere with effect of Coumadin - obviously any other long term regular medications you are on will also be factored in to your individual dose - no problems there.
But be aware that some OTC medications can also do this particularly Fish Oil supplements and St Johns Wort and any multi vitamins containing Vit K.
You need to let your Dr know if you start or stop taking any OTC medications or supplements.

Some antibiotics interfere with it as well - but if your Doctor puts you on antibiotics, they will usually keep a closer eye on your INR.
If you get put on antibiotics by anybody other than your regular GP, make sure you let them know you are on Coumadin.

russkiballerina

Of course you need to monitor intake of vit k, if you go crazy on it, your absorption goes as well and your INR is lost - I've lost count of how many times I've sabotaged my INR and ended subtherapeutic. And had a GI bleed because I was underrating and anemic.

There's a reason vit k is antidote once INR is >10 before FFP is. But I'd advise OP to consult with a nutritionist. For w/e reason he's being prescribed, he's getting the leaflet for sure.

http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/drug_nutrient/coumadin1.pdf

JeopardyLeyton

I have been on it for over a year, and have to be on anticoagulants for my whole life. It is very sensitive to changes in your diet, activity and other medications, which is why you need to have regular blood tests to check that your blood is clotting at the right rate.

You can eat things with vitamin K in them, but only if you are consistent about it and eat the same amount every day. It's the changes that will make a difference - if you rarely eat leafy veg, for example, and then eat 2 kilos of it one day, that would affect the way the coumadin works. But if you have the same amount every day, your dose will naturally be adjusted to take account of this through your regular INR tests.

I have been extremely fatigued since being on it - my doctor says he doesn't think it can possibly be the coumadin, but I have read a lot of reviews, comments etc from a lot of different people on different forums saying that it has made them very tired. This could cause weight gain if it prevents you from exercising. I've just yesterday switched to one of the new blood thinners, Xarelto, to see if that helps with the fatigue, so if you get similar problems or feel it is not making you feel well, then there are other options.

The most important thing is that you stay safe, and the coumadin will help with that. Good luck with everything!

MaggieLoo79

My husband stayed pretty thin on coumadin, but then he had just had open heart surgery. It was a nightmare for me in the kitchen. His doctor did say to stay away from Vitamin K. Do you know what it is like to take collard greens away from a southern boy!?! :noway:

jennifer_417

I was on it for 6 months and it didn't seem to affect my weight loss any. *shrug*

paperpudding

You can eat things with vitamin K in them, but only if you are consistent about it and eat the same amount every day. It's the changes that will make a difference - if you rarely eat leafy veg, for example, and then eat 2 kilos of it one day, that would affect the way the coumadin works. But if you have the same amount every day, your dose will naturally be adjusted to take account of this through your regular INR tests.

Yes that is what I meant in my previous post - this is what patients are told here - they are not told to reduce or monitor their intake of natural vit K in foods - just to eat those foods in a more or less consistent amount, not do huge variations in intake.

dorie577

I am a lifer. It does limit the foods I can eat, which can be a pain, but I do eat quite a bit of kale, just not as many veggies as I would like. Then you can not have protein bars or protein powder either, as most have soy in them. You have to watch like flax seed, chia seed. I find anything that is considered extremely healthy and a superfood, has some sort of effect on inr whether up or down. Tumeric is supposed to prevent cancer or something - can't have that.

The coumadin clinic will advise you. It is better than being on those other blood thinners though. If you get a bleed on them - there is no antidote. I don't mean the heparin shots I mean all those new drugs they advertise on tv commercials.

jackjb2

Thanks all!!!! Tomorrow I guess I will start--damn don't really want to, but no choice. Always seems to be something--guess that is one of the benefits of getting older. Again thanks for the comments and advice.:drinker: