Blood Thinners

whiterose
whiterose Member Posts: 89
in Ovarian Cancer #1
My onc. is keeping me on blood thinners even though my post-surgical blood clot has resolved. Apparently people on chemo are at higher risk of blood clots, so he does this routinely. At least that's what he tells me. Is anyone else on blood thinners or was while on chemo? I would really love to discontinue those daily shots. He said he could put me on Coumadin, but that would involve changing eating habits and regular blood tests, and I want to get away from excess doctor visits. He also said that Coumadin didn't work as well as Lovenox.....Any info. would be appreciated.

Comments

  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #2
    Ginko
    I wouldn't try this without the guidance of a naturopath, but I'm told that ginko is as effective as Coumadin for blood clots.
  • azgrandma
    azgrandma Member Posts: 609 Member
    #3
    Tethys41 said:

    Ginko
    I wouldn't try this without the guidance of a naturopath, but I'm told that ginko is as effective as Coumadin for blood clots.

    I was
    I was given it the day of chemo only
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #4
    azgrandma said:

    I was
    I was given it the day of chemo only

    after surgery
    I was given it after surgery but had to be off it before chemo so not sure if that is the same thing you are going through I will be praying for you.

    Love, Hugs, and Prayers

    Anne
  • whiterose
    whiterose Member Posts: 89
    #5
    Tethys41 said:

    Ginko
    I wouldn't try this without the guidance of a naturopath, but I'm told that ginko is as effective as Coumadin for blood clots.

    Thanks
    Thanks for the tip! I didn't know about gingko. I'll have to research this. Interesting that others aren't on blood thinners. I developed the clot after surgery and being in the hospital for 2 weeks. I thought they would discontinue this eventually. Although my doctor's nurse practitioner said there is research that says being on blood thinners helps to prevent recurrence.....I've read a little about that, but not too much info out there for lay people. I asked him if I could switch to low dose aspirin, and he said absolutely not. So I gather it's a weaker effect. Darn, I want to lose the shots! My abdomen looks as if someone beat me up!
  • antcat
    antcat Member Posts: 270
    #6
    Blood thinner - me too
    Hi, I've also been on blood thinners after developing a blood clot in 2010. My doc put me on coumadin and then once I was on the injections in the stomach. Couldn't take them, got too black and blue, my stomach looked like someone beat it. So, I asked my pcp to put me back on coumadin. I realize you have to worry about what you eat as everything affects coumadin, but I'd rather take the pill and I see my primary care doc once a week to monitor my coumadin, which is fine with me.

    Take care
  • A1pena
    A1pena Member Posts: 92
    #7
    antcat said:

    Blood thinner - me too
    Hi, I've also been on blood thinners after developing a blood clot in 2010. My doc put me on coumadin and then once I was on the injections in the stomach. Couldn't take them, got too black and blue, my stomach looked like someone beat it. So, I asked my pcp to put me back on coumadin. I realize you have to worry about what you eat as everything affects coumadin, but I'd rather take the pill and I see my primary care doc once a week to monitor my coumadin, which is fine with me.

    Take care

    coumadin
    Hi There,

    I'm interested to learn what your doctor told you not to eat. My mom is also on coumadin while on chemo but her doctor never mentioned changing her diet. Makes me nervous for her to be on a blood thinner while also on treatments that hurt blood counts. You would think the chemo would be enough!

    Amanda
  • whiterose
    whiterose Member Posts: 89
    #8
    A1pena said:

    coumadin
    Hi There,

    I'm interested to learn what your doctor told you not to eat. My mom is also on coumadin while on chemo but her doctor never mentioned changing her diet. Makes me nervous for her to be on a blood thinner while also on treatments that hurt blood counts. You would think the chemo would be enough!

    Amanda

    Coumadin
    You have to be careful about eating things with too much Vitamin K in them. Vit. K promotes blood clotting and that's the opposite of Coumadin, so it's counteracting it. You have to limit dark green leafy vegetables, spinach, cucumbers (with the skin on), etc. Google "Foods high in Vitamin K" and you can get a complete list.
  • antcat
    antcat Member Posts: 270
    #9
    A1pena said:

    coumadin
    Hi There,

    I'm interested to learn what your doctor told you not to eat. My mom is also on coumadin while on chemo but her doctor never mentioned changing her diet. Makes me nervous for her to be on a blood thinner while also on treatments that hurt blood counts. You would think the chemo would be enough!

    Amanda

    Coumadin
    I can't eat alot of the green leafy vegetables, blueberries, stuff like that. But that's okay. My pcp told me to eat what I want and he would adjust the coumadin, but I try to stay away from things high in vitamin K. It's hard but I couldn't deal with the shots in the stomach.
  • whiterose
    whiterose Member Posts: 89
    #10
    A1pena said:

    coumadin
    Hi There,

    I'm interested to learn what your doctor told you not to eat. My mom is also on coumadin while on chemo but her doctor never mentioned changing her diet. Makes me nervous for her to be on a blood thinner while also on treatments that hurt blood counts. You would think the chemo would be enough!

    Amanda

    Vitamin K
    Here are some foods that are high in Vitamin K. That doesn't mean that these should be eliminated from the diet, there just needs to be a consistent amount every day. Blood tests determine whether the amounts are too high, and you can adjust the amounts upward or downward based on that.

    Kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, beet greens, mustard & dandelion greens, green leaf lettuce, brussels sprouts, broccoli, green onions, parsley, asparagus, sauerkraut.
  • srwruns
    srwruns Member Posts: 343
    #11
    I was on blood thinners
    I was on blood thinners during chemo due to possible clot...never fully DX...but he usual course is at least 6 months anyway. I was on Lovenox but wanted to get on to Coumadin because I hated the shots. Yes the Lovenox is considered the best. The blood tests were finger pricks and eventually I was only going every two weeks...initially it was every week until they got the INR stabilized. You can eat green leafy vegetables....it's all about maintaining a balance...for instance it would not be good idea to eat a huge amount of spinach one day and then not eat greens for a week. The idea is balancing your INR with what you eat. I regularly ate greens so the adjustments needed for my Coumadin to maintain the correct INR covered the fact I ate greens. The only hard core restriction was grapefruit. Actually grapefruit is contraindicated with a fairly substantial number of medications.
    Whiterose nailed it in her post about balance.

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