Julie's Posts

Yes, Helen Daw had this surgery this fall. I am sorry that I don't know the direct route to Helen's guestbook so that you can send her a post regarding your questions but here is the long route. You will notice in your journal Catie B. sent you a post. If you click on Catie's name, you will find Helen Daw's name😊

Are they having you omit any doses? Any changes usually take a few days to show up in bloodwork. Kale, collards and spinach are some of the foods with highest amounts of Vit. K. My INR ran low, so I personally didn't have this struggle, the few months I was on Warfarn. They used to always tell my mom to eat collards for a couple days, which she normally avoided. I don't think she felt any different when her INR was high.

I am a pediatrician, so I don't manage blood thinners in young, healthy children. However, I would expect you to need to avoid taking warfarin for some time, possibly a day or two, plus eating some greens. It seems it takes some time to get the INR right for some people. If you haven't already, I would talk to your doctor immediately about what to do.

I am sure it will. I am planning to get a mechanical heart valve in May, and my cardiologist recommended a home INR machine. Depending on how long you will be on warfarin, it may be worth having such a machine for your home, if you don't already. Not sure about insurance coverage, but I have seen them cost from $650 to $1200. Since I will be on warfarin forever after my surgery, I definitely see a home INR machine being worthwhile for me. I don't want to have to make time to get blood draws regularly, plus one can check INR's weekly or even more frequently at home, if needed. Take care, all the best!

Hi Julie! I had my aortic valve replaced with a mechanical valve on January 30 and have been on warfarin since. My first inr test after I was released from hospital was low at 1.8, the second was 3.2, then 3.8 and finally yesterday's test was great at 2.4. I have greens twice per week. I had broccoli tonight and will have another green on Sunday. Hopefully that will balance out again. It's takes a while they say... trial and error. Good luck finding the right combination of greens and warfarin dosages.

Thanks. Melissa, they say I have to wait 3 months before I can get the machine at home, but I will look into it. I'd much prefer to self-manage. I got a mechanical too. So yes, for life. Thanks Laurie. I'm glad you are therapeutic now. I am not (was not) a medicine taker, and on no meds before surgery, so this is all new to me.

Hi Julie...managing at times can be somewhat of an art...I have been self testing for years, and recently my INR jumped to 4.8..one change in meds can have an impact, particularly antibiotics...that's what jumped my INR up, so I purposely missed two doses...and then was back on track...having said that, be careful, as mentioned I have been doing self testing for years and can gauge when it will jump...not an exact science, but the nice thing about self testing you can check it often as you like to get to that sense of INR. Good luck!

There is often no explanation. It can be very hard to stabilise INR as your body gets used to meds. This takes time. So the doses of meds you take now will not be your final doses. What you are going through now is common and normal and not because of something you ate or something you did. You need to carry on eating as usual and continue to modify your anticoagulant doses by very small increments. At some point down the line you will be able to guage what you need in the way of a dose and understand more than the nurses/doctors about what works for your body. But it took me months. Afterwards I did not understand why no one told you that it would take time and that is NORMAL (unfortunate, but still normal).

One doesn't technically feel "different" with a high or low INR, but emotionally it can be very difficult so your brain will tell you you feel odd when the INR is not right. It is easy to freak out especially as you start this process. I speak from experience... I go into hospital tomorrow (for another operation, not heart related, on Monday) and have to have my INR lowered before, and then raised afterwards. Thankfully it's been a few years so I don't let my brain freak me out as much as it used to over high and low INRs...

Hi, I had my mitral valve replaced two weeks ago. To your second question I would let your doctor know, they are montering me closely right to see if I might not need that medication. So they could deside you do not need it. About your other question, my doctor explained that it takes awhile for your heart to settle down after what it has been through. Also that you will feel it more, moving and pumping, that is normal and will go away with time. Again I would let your doctor know about that especially your numbers jumping around, might have something that can help.

Hi Julie! I had my aortic valve replaced on January 30 this year. I find every so often my heart does the same thing. It beats so hard my whole body rocks. I am on the same dosage of Metoprolol. I found I was dizzy when I first started taking it but after a short time it passed. I would call your cardiologist and see what he/she says. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hey Julie, You are on this side! Yes, your heart is pissed off right now and it's going to let you know about it for some time:-). The hard beats (even ones you can feel in your throat) will stick around for a couple months and then they go away. I was on Metoprolol (was on 100 mgs a day thanks to Afib) and it never caused trouble. Talk to your MD before you stop taking it - It's main purpose is to keep your heart rate in check and low. My heart rate on 100 mgs was about 92 for about a month. I am now on 25 mgs daily for maintenance.

I had AVR in January 2016. My experiences were similar. The pounding will decrease but I have occasional pounding even now ( a few times a week) My heart rate stayed around 90 for a few months, but is now back in the mid to upper 70's. I took metoprolol for four months. My blood pressure stayed low and I felt bad with no energy. After the first 2 months the doctor decreased to 25 MGS and then stopped totally after 4 months. I began to feel better. I think your ups and downs are pretty normal. It took almost a year for me to feel completely normal again! It will all get better! God bless your journey..He is with you!

Thanks all!!! Yes, I had very low energy and weakness like you, Barbara!My heart is pounding, and often at 130bpm. I skipped my dose today, and felt much better. Always medication sensitive. The hospital finally called me back today, so I was using y'all as a back up plan in the meantime.:) They want me to divide the dosage in half, so I'll try that. So many weird things happening with my body. My cycle (which is always a problem) came 2 weeks early so I'm finding out early on how the warfarin is affecting that too. But at least no migraines yet!!!

Hi Julie....I had AVR on October 11, 2016. I had a resting heart rate in the 90's a week and a half after surgery and then 5 weeks later lower heart rate and a higher BP. My BP will spike at odd times, but goes down pretty quickly. It seems that things are leveling out at four months. You have been through a traumatic surgery and your heart needs time to heal. As to being light headed, I was on occasion and your medication may need to be reduced. I was on 25mg Atenolol once a day before and after surgery for my heart rate. Tell your nurse/doctor if you are concerned. Give it some time, things will get better. I could hear my heart beating at night when it was quiet. I have a bovine valve. Learn from me, use your spirometer daily for the next couple of months to avoid a pleural effusion. Not fun and usually requires a trip to the emergency room to rule out a pulmonary embolism. Good luck, take care.

Alas, a side effect of OHS is a very rapidly beating heart. The reason one is given betablockers is to give that heart a rest in the hopes that it will slow down. I also have a normal very low blood pressure so I certainly didn't want anything to lower it even more.....Betablockers (like metrapolol) will stop adrenaline which then will slow your heart (and can slow the rest of you). It sounds like you are on a very small dose. There are however other things one can be given, if one doesn't do well on betablockers. You have to be vocal. But, doctors do tend to want you to be on these for a bit after surgery. They are not forever and made sure to request getting off as soon as you can. Since you are on anticoagulants you are protected from stroke, so a faster heart is okay. But we do want to give that heart a rest after what it's been through. It is still so very very early for you Julie and of course all of your body is reacting to what it's been through. It's not the meds, it's the surgery. Your hormones are all off so your period comes at the wrong time and everything else. It will settle, but it takes time and you can expect to be tired (exhausted) for weeks/months.... Take care.