Are you eating a lot of green, leafy vegetables?

Green Veg (vit K) will lower it.

Alcohol, some antibiotics, cholesterol meds (statins), cough syrup, OTC meds like motrin, aleve, cough/cold products are some things that can cause it to increase. Did you change any medications recently...either new med or stop a med?

my bad. THanks for the correction, marikay. I knew it affected it but didn't know which way.

I have the same thing...

Been around 2.4 for the year, and all of a sudden it went over 3.

No, don't eat much green leafy vegetables, and not much alcohol.

Though it may be the herbal tea, so I cut that out.

I do 5 mg, and 7.5 on alternating days.

Wonder if it's me reacting the the drug.

Thoughts,

Robert

Coumadin interacts with so many different things....sometimes you will never figure it out. Herbal tea could be a possibility but I'm not sure. Sometimes it is just trial and error.

The key to keeping the INR stable is to be very consistent in everything. Eat the same, take it at the same time, never miss a dose, take all other medications the same. Even cough drops can throw it off!

My INR was staying in the middle pretty good then dropped and got it up and dropped again and first time they added one extra and now I take 2 extra so at 45 a week.

I though it the calicum had soy oil in it. I got tablets and still on that. Why it changed I do not know. Month ago 3 and this time 2.6. I go again in early June no pill change in anything. Does brands make difference? I moved and this pharmacy has different brands.

I try to eat the same. Yesterday I ate too much lettuce I am sure. But no salad dressing on it. I eat one serving of like pea, grenbeans or lettuce a day. That should balance my K to warfarin. Today I should cut my Vit K down to make up for yesterday?

Soybean oil (shortening) in things is hard to figure. A piece of cake or dressing or fried something what does it have or what is in it. Pie crust I know not to eat and biscuits has it too. Trying to eat out is hard. Vitamins have it.

I am still trying to figure mine. I new brand of milk and bread here. Maybe frenched greenbeans I get more in half cup then the cut kind. Yes, I measure peas and greenbean and some things. I can not measure lettuce and I ate at the senior center yesterday. Trying to guess it. Green stuff makes it go down right? Cake was size of brownie. Flatish . I do not use margerine as soy oil and I did not butter my bread lunch as I donot know if real butter or margerine. Of course the mashed potatoes yesterday could have had margerine in them some. At price of butter the senior center may use margerine as they put out good meals for the price. I do not eat out very often. But I want to go with the senior bus trips and such but not eating at center, Yesterday was my first. I quit bake bread after a fell and hit my head. My bread has no shortening in it. I use canola oil instead. Should not be much in bread.

Interesting - even cough drops can make a difference. My INR has been slightly elevated to over 3. My diet has been pretty much the same. That may be the answer. I now take 3mg 6x/wk. 4mg/1x/wk.

Instead of worrying about your INR why don't you change to Pradaxa? I am so glad I did because I do not have to worry about my diet.
Moy...

I take Pradaxa also. The only problem I have is slight heart rate increase when I watch bad drug.com on TV and lawyer ads.

petey

OK, answers...no I don't even eat greens to be honest....very occasionally a piece of lettuce. I'm not taking any new meds, and I only have like a glass of wine once a week or so. I'm doing absolutely nothing different, and that's why it's surprising.

I stay on warfarin, because I don't trust new drugs of any kind, and I have my own monitor so I can check my INR anytime I want.

Anyway, I've skipped 2 days of it, so I shall see tomorrow how it is.

Thanks for all your help.
Dee

Hi Dee,
I'm interested to know if your insurance paid for your INR monitor? Do you call your results to your Dr for instructions after a reading?

I've been on coumadin for 5 months. I guess I'm weird but I let my Dr. worry about adjusting it. In the beginning I was a nervous wreck. He told me to eat normal and he would take care of the doses.
Just to talk to him before I added any new supplements.
I'm not going to worry myself into a frazzle over the doses. I've got a life to live. Not much time left LOL

Good luck

Hi Marikay, my insurance paid for everything. I have Medicare and a supplemental policy with AARP. They pay for the monitor and all supplies. I call my results into them and they call my Dr. Mr Dr. was calling me the other day within 1/2 with instructions to hold the warfarin for 2 days. Medicare alone with cover 80%, but you are too young for that aren't you?

tomorrowsdream: How do you feel about new PROCEDURES of any kind? Like ablation and the new techniques? Thanks. -Petey

Petey, my EP tells me that they have been doing cardiac ablations for the last 10 years, with a lot of advancement in those 10 years of course, so it's not new.

If I didn't have my own INR monitor and had to go to the hospital all the time to get my INR checked, I would most definitely switch to a different med. Pradaxa costs more for one thing, even with insurance, so why should I pay $30.00 a mo. with insurance when I can get a 90 days supply of warfarin for $7.00 through my online pharmacy and have the convenience of testing at home?