Katie's Posts

What are your thoughts on and experiences with Coumadin. I've watched a number of videos recently, where people are making surgical decisions with this fear of Coumadin or thoughts of it ruining their way of life. I'm want to understand where that comes from. I ask because I've been on a high dose Coumadin for 30 years, and it's not my experience. Currently my therapeutic range is 2.5-3.5. -After a failed Ross Procedure (way back in 1996) I had to have a mechanical valve placed in the aortic position when I was only 18. My tissue valve had calcified in less than 2 years post op. Note: Cadaver valve calcified the expected 12 years later. I've been on Coumadin since '96. Granted I'm not out playing football, or rugby or anything. But I love the outdoors- hiking, kayaking, rafting, soccer etc... If I'm not watching my INR carefully my bruises are bigger and more frequent. Yes, I have to be more cautious, but it quickly becomes second nature. I still struggle to keep a consistent diet, but you learn ways to adjust for the oopsies. My disease isn't genetic, so I have 3 very healthy grown children of my own. I took Lovenox Injections 2-3 times a day throughout all of my pregnancies. 2-3 times a day allowed me to keep the dosage lower and the levels didn't have big spikes. Everything with Coumadin eventually became second nature. I learned how certain foods effect my INR. I learned that it's not what I can and cannot eat, it's keeping things consistent. And most importantly consistently taking my meds and KEEPING MY INR APPTS!!!!! Due to my own rebellious nature and reckless abandon I learned both of those concepts the hard way and I will never do that again. Abdominal sheath hematomas are extremely painful. Take your medication as directed, and keep all appts, and you will easily avoid these. In my lived experience, Coumadin is not the end of the world. It is not an end to anything- aside from contact sports, ibuprofen, and heavy drinking- which none of us should be doing anyways. I still approach life with a free-spirited YOLO frame of mind. Maybe Coumadin scared me at first and I guess I can see how it could, but I figured it out pretty quick. Can someone help me understand what all the fear is about. What am I missing? Is Coumadin responsible for a lot of deaths? Has it historically had a severe negative impact on patients' lives? Am I just the lucky one? I would love to understand this. It's bothering me because I feel like I missed an important message somewhere along the way and while I'm clearly content living in my ignorant bliss, I think I missed something important.