Why My Warfarin Is So Up And Down

Hi I have been taking warfarin for 2 years now and cannot get it to stay between the 2 and 3 INR. I'm usually low under the 2 or high above the 3. Highest is almost a 5 once or twice. Lowest was under a 1. Is there food that I should not or should be eating?? I take alot of other medications would they interfer? If someone can answer these questions I would apprecaite it. I will have to take this medicine for the rest of my life due to a heart disease. I hate getting my blood drawn every 2 weeks. Help if you can. Thank YOU Cindi R. Stallard

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Salads and some other greens will cause the readings to go wacky. I'm not sure about other meds? I had 2 pulmonary embolisms in the last 3 1/2 years and have to take Warfarin for life also. I'm also stuck wearing very tight compression pantyhose 24/7 which has bothered me alot as a male who now has to shave his legs and endure stares when I wear shorts on hot days. At least I'm alive! Anyway, try to eat a constant amount of greens. Also, herbs like Flax Seed will drop your test in a hurry. I think greens make it go up? Give my failing memory some time and I'll be in touch with more info. lol Stay healthy and best wishes!

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I have been on the warfarin for 3 years and i still can't get mine stable either which is bad because a dentist won't do an exam if you are not stable. i have dvt with gentic fator so i will take this the rest of my life too. which really sucks because i was a really active person and took good care of myself for 25 year old.but after my c-section and the birth control patch here i'm with blood so bad i almost lost my leg. but i'm alive to see life so guess i can't complain to bad but just would won't to now why really but i guess noone really knows

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I hear ya Melissa. I woke up 3 1/2 years ago not feeling well. By the time I got out of bed and tried to put my clothes on I was so out of breath I was gasping. It was like I had just run a marathon. I couldn't get enough air to speak so instead of 911 I called my father. He used my caller ID and knowing my voice to come and get me. I spent 16 days in the hospital, 10 of them in ICU not expected to live from a massive pulmonary embolism. No one has been able to tell me why it happened or why I now have recurrent DVT and need warfarin and to wear compression hose? I do know that I have been told the hose are as important as the warfarin if not more so with DVT? Even with the 10mg of Warfarin I was taking I had another pulmonary embolism last fall and ended up in the hospital for 14 days. After 2 days in a hospital in my town I was transported to a large medical center an hour away. The specialist who met in my room as I arrived asked me about the pantyhose I had on? She said they didn't look like the normal white hospital stockings? I told her a doctor told me after my first embolism that I needed to wear compression pantyhose. She said that I was very fortunate to have a doctor tell me that because most don't. After several tests this doctor went over my options and then she told me that the reason I was most likely still alive was because I wore compression hose! She said most women won't keep wearing them and that men rarely comply but its a good thing I did! They ended up putting a metal filter in my Vena Cava to trap clots but its not a guarantee so I have to continue the Warfarin for life and wearing the pantyhose 24/7. Still, no one knows how or why my blood started clotting or why it continues? I had to have my 6th spinal fusion 3 years ago and because of my blood I had to be admitted several days early to be taken off Warfarin and then had to stay several days longer than normal to switch back to Warfarin from Heparin and get therapeutic.



Dental visits become problematic because of the bleeding involved while taking Warfarin and the liability for the dentist who would need to monitor a person very closely that would have to discontinue Warfarin a week before the procedure and then after until that person had returned to a therapeutic level. Some insurance's don't want to cover the extra medical doctors involved and the dentists malpractice insurance may not allow him/her to get involved because of the risk? Its makes our lives much more difficult! I have had a headache which I never get. My doctor sent me straight to the hospital for a CT scan last week because he said people on Warfarin have a high risk of bleeding in the brain! I freaked! Not only do I have to worry about if and when the next blood clot may hit and what kind of damage it may do? I have to worry that I may start bleeding in my head, abdomen or anyplace a weakened vein may rupture! It gets old being stuck with needles but getting a regular PT and monitoring is a must! At least it helps me know I'm doing what I can to stay alive. Maybe one day they will figure out why this started? Please look into compression hose if you have DVT? The clots that developed in my lower legs and ankles were very small. Without the compression hose they may have grown to fatal proportions? My doctors insist I wear pantyhose but you may only need an over the calf stocking? I now live in the south and wearing medical grade pantyhose all the time really gets old in this humidity! I used to melt with hose and pants but my doctors got on me and told me to wear shorts. They helped me to see that I am alive and have a right to enjoy that life and not let worries about what others might think or say control how I'm going to live/enjoy the gift I have! Nice thing is, no one seems to really care or pay much attention anyway! Guess my legs aren't worth checking out? lol Best of health and happiness to all!

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Something that not everyone is aware of, but which you really need to watch out for when taking this medication and trying to stabilize your INR is Vitamin K!

It affects your clotting factor and is found in a lot of dark, green leafy vegetables, such as spinach. So, make sure to look at your diet.

Learn more Warfarin details here.

And yes, other medications may affect it, as well, but it's hard for anyone to say without knowing what the other medications are.

I am, however, very happy to read the positive outlook that everyone has! Way to go! Life is short and we only get one go-round, so best to enjoy it while you can!

Are there any other questions? Is there anything else I can help with?

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