Flaxseed may interfere with the clumping of platelets. People taking blood thinners are advised to consult their doctor. Well I did consult more than one doctor, because I have another blood disorder that affects clotting. The coagulation management people fretted about it that it could increase the risk of bleeding. The hematologist said to go ahead and try it. The imjportant thing is that once you start you should take it consistently. You will probably need a slightly smaller dose of the Coumadin. I choose to use natural products that act as a blood thinner and reduce my reliance on the drug.

Flax seed is a good source of omega 3 fatty acid (also in fish oil). Omega 3 fatty acid will make the platelets in the blood slippry, in another word, it makes your blood thin. So, it might interfere with the action of Coumadin if you are taking it.

As Carol pointed out in her comments, you should take the same amount of falx seed everyday.

Carol, are you taking Nattokinase to thin your blood? Of course, with natto, you really don't thin the blood. Natto makes the platelets slippry and as a result, it prevents blood clot in the heart or brain. I was wondering what natural product you take to prevent blood clot. I have been taking natto for the past 10 years. The same with my mom who is in permanent AFib for the past 15 years.

Please let me know. Thank very much.

I have never heard of Nattokinase. I have not only Afib. I also have a blood disorder which produces too many platelets. No doctor has been able to tell me how to balance these factors. I do take Coumadin/Warfarin. By taking a consistent amount of Flaxseed Oil and red wine (which I consider natural) I have been able to reduce my dose of the blood thinner.

Hi Carol,
Sorry about your blood disorder :-( Thank you for your response.

Nattokinase is actually make the platelets slippery so they don't cling to each other. Some Jappanese doctor found it in fermented soy beans. Actually, you can buy Natto (the fermented soy) from the oriental stores and eat it with some rice. It has a strange taste, which either you love it or hate it. Nattokinase comes from that. You can Google it and read about it. Also, you can go to iherb.com ( an online vitamin shop) search for nattokinase and read the reviews about the natto. There are lots of reviews by people.

The reason MD doctors do not know about it, is that it is natural and cheap. The drug companies can not patent it and sell it like Plavix, which does the same thing but with a lot of side effects (as you might know). Natto does not have any side effect. If you overdose, at the most you get a couple of drops of blood from your nose when you blow. However, Coumadin actually thins your blood and you can really bleed if you get injured.

I go hiking far. So, I could not really use the Coumadin because of danger of bleeding if I fall and get injured. My mom almost died because of dosage mistake by her doctor. That was about 10 years ago when she was taking Coumadin. Then, she switched to Natto even when her cardialogist objected.

Now, even MDs who are combining the Western with natural stuff are recommending it. Doctor Rowen MD, recommended Nattokinase in his newsletter recently instead of Coumadin in response to a question for a sound aternative to Coumadin.

Also, I understand that the drug companies are working on something like Natto to replace the Coumadin. You have to be very careful with Coumadin but not with Natto. Coumadin thins the blood, but natto works on only the platelets in the blood.

By the way, I take the strongest dosage of natto (100 mg) twice a day (morning and at night). The same with my mom.

Please research it yourself. Of course, your doctors will scare you if you want to use it. That is what they have been doing to me and my mom for the past 10 years.

I forgot to add the following for the Nattokinase:

Also, the advantage of taking natto is you don't have to watch your diet. You can eat anything and everything. For example, I eat lots of green vegetable plus I take vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is needed for calcium absorption into the bones. In the absence of K2, the calcium might be deposited in the arteries (arterial calcification), which is not cool.

Research shows that Coumadin causes bone loss due to reduced amount of vitamin K in the body. Unfortunately, doctors don't say anything about this fact to the patients. They just treat one thing and not the whole body.

So, I would suggest anybody on Coumadin get a Dexa scan for osteoporosis every 2 or 3 years. Coumadin might be okay short term but taking it for a long time, well, I am not so sure.

I tried the Nattokinase for one week in advance of my scheduled Protime . My INR was slightly higher rthan last month and within my recommended range between 2 and 3. I will continue to take it cautiously. I think that my use of what I think of as natural supplements--Flaxseed, wine, and now Natto--may enable me to use slightly less Warfarin. I will still pay attention to MD advice, but I wil make my own choices.
Carol

Carol,
Please clarify if you took the natto in addition to your Coumadin. If so, then, I am not sure why your INR went up rather than coming down since natto is anti-clotting too. Please let me know. Thanks.

I just take natto (2 a day, morning and at night, 100 mg capsules). However, I have never tested my PT/INR. I am not sure if PT/INR works the same way with natto as it does with Coumadin. I guess it should since the test measures the clotting time. Correct? I am not sure if there is something else that I am not considering!
Scott

Thank you for your reply.
Why is it so difficult to get the basic information we need to make our own choices? My HMO has a coagulation management service which functions without regard to any personal distinctions. They want my INR to be between 2 and 3. If the number falls below 2, they issue dire warnings about clotting, strokes, etc. If it goes above three they punch a button that sends warnings about bleeding. Then they mandate an adjusted dose of Warfarin/Coumadin. Take more if the number is too low. Take less if the number is too high. My goal is to get the slightly higher INR with the smallest dose of the drug. My most recent number was 2.5--practically perfect by their standards.
They would prefer that I just follow their orders. Because regulating the exact amount of other supplement use would be thought too difficult or dangerous.

Okay, thanks very much. Now, I understand the meaning of the INR. So, I think if you take more natto, your INR will go up and you will end up taking less Coumadin. I think I am going to try to get an INR test to see where I stand since I only take natto.

As far as the entity, which manages your INR test, they are just doing everything mindlessly as they are told. Sure, it is easier for them to tell you not to take anything but the Coumadin so they can have total control over your Coumadin dosage. In a way, I see why, since not everybody is as informed as you are.

By the way, you can buy the INR blood test online yourself if you like. The actual test is done by the Lab Corp. However, the blood test order comes from a doctor who works for the place that you order your blood test from. That is the reason you do not need an order from your doctor. I buy all my blood tests online (usually on sale). I have done that for the past 5 years. I take the results to my doctors if necessary. It comes out a lot cheaper. I buy mine from Life Extension (lef.org). I bought the INR blood test for $22. However, their INR test also includes PT and PTT too.

For example, now, I am experimenting with Synthroid dosage for my thyroid since my doctor only goes by numbers from the blood test. Sure, my numbers are within the acceptable range but they are closer to lower limits and I feel pretty tired and I am losing hair/eyebrows (signs for low thyroid). But, my doctor thinks my synthroid dosage is good enough. So, I am trying higher dosage of Synthroid on my own now. I have bought thyroid panel blood test online. I don't need my doctor to give me a blood test either. Hopefully, I can determine how much Synthroid I have to take for optimal health.

The advantage of buying blood tests online is that you don't have to argue with your doctor to give you a particular blood test if you see it necessary. Just food for thoughts.

By the way, I am pretty bad at taking orders if they are not logical :-)
Scott