Doctor’s Orders (really!)

Normally on a person’s first Coumadin Clinic visit the people there spend a good bit of time counseling the patient. A large part of that deals with what foods to avoid so as not to cancel out the effects of the Coumadin OR to enhance the effects to a dangerous level (i.e. make the blood too thin).

One category of food that is a natural blood thinner is alcohol. While a little imbibing might not be a big deal, obviously a Coumadin taker wouldn’t want to go overboard with it. Of course, this is especially true once you’ve got your blood regulated to the thinness they want. If, on the other hand, your blood is still really THICK and not anywhere near where they want it to be, some intentional imbibing might not be so bad.

On Tuesday when I had my first Coumadin Clinic visit, she had just gone over all the dos and don’ts and everything else required during that initial appointment, when she checked to see if my blood results had come back. They had … and that’s when we discovered that my blood hadn’t budged — still 1.1.

I didn’t miss a beat. “Listen, I’ve got a bottle of wine at home that apparently needs to be opened tonight!” She sort of grinned and said, “I can’t tell you no. We REALLY need to get your blood thinned out.” Say no more.

So, on doctor’s orders, I had two glasses that night and one on the next two nights. When I went back today for my second visit my blood had risen to 1.6. That’s more like it! Consistency in what you eat is also important when on Coumadin. So I think my task is clear for the next six months.

Cheers!