# IBS-D with Coumadin ( blood thinner )



## steitzsteitz (Jun 3, 2003)

Hi everyone ! I'm IBS-D, and on Coumadin, a blood thinner. So I have to be very careful what I eat,or type of medicine I might take, for they might screw up my blood, and make it too thick, or too thin. For this reason, I can't eat a lot of soy products. ( thins it ). I can't drink green tea at all ! ( thickens it ) Taking Coumadin is a real pain, but without it, my blood makes clots.I was born with this problem, and they discovered it , about 6 years ago. I'm lucky to be alive, with the clots that were found.My IBS is very bad. I'm late to work all the time, and it's only a 10 minute drive. I didn't go at all today.







Is anyone out there like me, taking Coumadin with IBS-D ??? What should I eat ? Just rice ??? HELP !!! S.G.


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## leslie204 (Feb 1, 2003)

What foods are ok to eat while taking Coumadin?Leslie


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## steitzsteitz (Jun 3, 2003)

Hi leslie 204, It's easier to say what's bad to eat, such as green leafy veggies, ( anything with a lot of vitamin K, in it ). Also anything with a lot of vitamin E,or C,D, in it. Also bad--too much fish, oils, eggs, caffeine, mayo, soy, garlic,licorice, ginger, alcohol ( I don't drink at all ). Especially bad is green tea, which I read, helps some people.My tummy has been SO BAD, yesterday and today. Today for lunch, all I ate was rice. Dinner-plain rice, plain white chicken, and plain carrots. Also, most all drugs ( especially aspirin) are really bad for me. So, between my tummy and the Coumadin, I'm afraid to eat anything !! I'm going to my doctor next week, and see if maybe there is a nutritionist, or someone ,who can give me a safe diet. Thanks for your concern !







Sue


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## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

My father has been on coumadin for more than 15 years and the only things his doctor talked about were green leafy vegetables--have Vitamin K which also thins blood--and asprin plus any other medication that is noted not to take with Coumadin. Your list is so much longer, was that provided by your doctor? Thanks for the help.


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## HereIam (Mar 1, 2001)

S.G., My husband is on Coumadin for his mechanical valve and arch replacement, so I can sympathize with your limitations. The list of meds you cannot take with Coumadin is a mile and a half long. Because of that, you really need to figure this problem out with your M.D.There are many foods that can effect the action of Coumadin and clotting. However, it doesn't mean you cannot eat them, it means you need to eat them consistently week to week to keep your levels stable. As my husband's dietician, I have him on a very regimented weekly diet, with the same amounts of Vitamin K and E, C and D each week. Every week, and I mean EVERY WEEK, his diet includes 3 dinners with salads, one dinner with either cauliflower or broccoli and the rest of the vegetables he eats for the week are "neutral." I give him fish one time every week and his lunches are consistent week to week. He drinks green tea two nights a week and the rest of the time has regular tea, he has 1 glass of soy milk each day. His Coumadin dosage has been absolutely stable at the prescribed level for 6 months running now, checking his blood every two weeks. So, you may be able to vary your diet a bit more than you think, and add in those things that may help your digestions, as long as you are consistent. As you know, don't eat 5 salads this week and none next, or 6 bowls of oatmeal this week and none next. If you add in some of the foods you've been avoiding because of the K in them, do so one at a time so you don't have a big jump in your PT/INR. Good luck and I hope that altering your diet a bit may help you tackle this IBS-D, and do see a MD about what meds may help you. I'm not sure that Questran is an option, as it specifically depletes Vitamin K and so may be avoided totally by MD's prescribing Coumadin.


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## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

HereIam,Thanks so much for that note. I had always focused on the dark leafy because my father had a habit of gorging on it and then having problems. Glad you talked about the consistent diet--that is the key. Take care.


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## steitzsteitz (Jun 3, 2003)

Thanks for your help, Herelam & california123, for your replies! My list of what's good & bad comes from a combination of my doctor, articles, booklets,computer sites, etc. Yes, I did read that your diet should be consistent.Right now I'm trying to watch my diet, so not to eat fatty things,etc., and junk food, that will cause my intestines to blow up ! I love a rare steak, but I'm giving it up. Dieting is hard for me to do.Well, maybe I'll lose some weight ! I am over weight.







S.G.


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## steitzsteitz (Jun 3, 2003)

P.S. My pt/inr has been good for weeks, and then I got really sick with a real bad sinusitis infection, which lasted 4 weeks, and so I ended up on an antibiotic, which made my blood jump SKY HIGH !! It went from a normal 2.3 up to 5.6 ! My Dr. said she was worried about me. I was scared. I didn't want to bleed to death, like a rat.After all Coumadin is Warfarin, a rat poison ! Well, I'm ok, now ( except for my ibs, of course).I have tried different meds for ibs, but they mess up my blood tests, so I'm trying to fix myself with diet, alone. Wish you could cook for me, too, california123. LOL-







S.G.


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## steitzsteitz (Jun 3, 2003)

WHOOOOPS ! I meant for you , Herelam, to cook for me---sorry about that.







S.G.


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## HereIam (Mar 1, 2001)

S.G.,Yes, being sick and on antibiotics can really mess up your PT levels. Ho-pe you get it stabilized soon, it's. Cooking for my husband is like a full time occupation here, but after what he's been through (dissecting aortic aneurysm) I'll do just about anything in the world to make him comfy. I even got his insurance company to buy a Protime Microcoagulation Unit, and I now do all his blood testing here at home. No more running to the doctor every two weeks. Hope you can figure out a diet or meds that can ease your D. Sounds like you've had enough to deal with without this thrown on top. Best of luck and let us know how you are today.


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## steitzsteitz (Jun 3, 2003)

Herelam, Thanks so much--you DO understand !







My protime is pretty much stable, right now, and so I go for a blood test every 3 weeks. I'm thankful for 3 weeks--I used to go EVERY week !I wish I could test my own blood. Maybe some day I can get that " machine " I have heard of this before. After all, plenty of people test their own blood for sugar. It IS a pain to keep going for these tests, and I go before I go to work.As for my IBS-D-I was real bad, Monday & Tuesday.Yesterday & today ( Thursday), I'm good. Hope tomorrow will be good. I have a lot to do at work, and I don't want to be late. (I solder electronic things.) I get so depressed with this IBS-D. I'm sure that every one with it, does, also. Take care. Your husband is lucky to have you. Sue G.


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## Rebbit (Jul 30, 2017)

Hi S.G. & everyone else.

First of all, I haven't been officially diagnosed with IBS, but from all my symptoms, which have been there for years and years without a formal diagnosis, and on reading about the symptoms for IBS, I deducted that I had had it for years without really knowing 

But I am currently on blood thinners because I too have a condition which 'brings on" clotting.

The reason that I have come to this site is because the blood thinners that I am on are starting to cause bleeding at the exit point if you get what I mean. This may be because I drink hot decaf (created the water way not the arsenic way), but I think maybe firstly the blood thinner is causing more blood to gush round the body collecting rubbish so out it goes into the colon, creating irritants there - coz I haven't been eating anything wrong really. So anyway I'll see the doc tomorrow and sort it out - my challenge!

What I want to stress on the eating side of things is 1. Avoid foods high in Vitamin K - at least, go easy on them https://draxe.com/top-10-vitamin-k-rich-foods/ if you want to control keeping the blood thin the natural way and don't we all... 2. with Coumadin, you may find that there is lactose added to the ingredients and as most (all?) IBS sufferers have lactose intolerance. I have lactose intolerance, sugar (glucose, sucrose, cane sugar) intolerance and xylitol intolerance. Honey and fructose seem to be ok (but not for a friend of mine who is fructose and lactose intolerant and allergic to honey!!). I am going to write a letter to at least two of our Ministers here in the land of Oz about the problem of lactose being used as a filler or for a coating in meds for several serious health conditions, and in just about all of the blood thinners listed here in the land of Oz, except the injections that they give to pregnant women to stop clotting. Guess who is limited to just about that one option: I hate it to death, but am doing it. I am not pregnant. Why I stress the lactose intolerance is that I was happily taking a hyperthyroid med a year or so ago but started wondering why after about two or three weeks my lower alimentary canal was feeling so irritated - then I looked more closely at the ingredients and found that lactose was added. Later on in that year I came down with a really bad shingles attack (passed on by skin to skin touch - so just remember that!!) and had to keep changing the pain medication as Neurofen and Lycira (sp?) just wouldn't touch it. finally the Pandiene plus (codeine) did the trick - I was wondering why I took so long to recover even though the pain level had disappeared after a few days of that and friends praying for me, and I looked on the ingredient list of the pain tablets and they had lactose added. Lacteeze has glucose added - a real let down for me - hey who CARES if it tastes sweet or not as long as it WORKS!!! Additionally, artificial sweeteners can cause liver cancer - I had pains similar to ovarian cancer pain several years ago and as soon as I stopped drinking artificially sweetened mineral water, I regained good health and no pain. So 3. Engage with your politicians, with Big Pharma and with your Ombudsman on the whole issue of medications and intolerances. A SIGNIFICANT number of people in your country suffer from IBS and related food intolerances or unrelated to IBS food intolerances. Find out how many and throw the stats at them and demand a healthy non irritating filler if they must have one (do they have to have it anyway?) 4. do google searches and don't stop, then share on this blog. 5. Slippery Elm bark is a winner for me - it is just that I have to think now "When am I going to eat?" as I have to take it one hour before the meal. 6. for natural blood thinners try grape seed tablets and grapes themselves and omega 3 foods and many more - just ask mr google, he'll tell you! BUT if you are on blood thinning meds, it might be important to mix your foods i.e. some thickening and some thinning. If some of those foods are bad for IBS, don't touch them. I have feeling that thinners can compromise an irritable bowel due to the inflammation and you need to talk to both your haematologist and your colonoscopy specialist (or maybe just your GP if they are savvy enough)... MY thought on that is, as much as possible go the natural health way. For my "lipo small a" blood clotting issue there is a way of tackling it with Vitamin C and E and something else. 7. See your local dietician and I haven't a clue what you guys mean by PT levels. When your doctor takes you off your thinners, go on food thinners. 8. if you are to stay on thinners, then vary your food input and especially on Coumadin (sp?) keep track of which foods are thinners and which are thickeners and which are in between and try to balance them off each day on a 1:1:1 ratio e.g. say a "starch" that is a thickener with veggies that are thinning and meat that is inbetween. If you start bleeding somewhere increase foods high in Vitamin K - hmmm maybe i had better take that direction. Also did you know that stretches (c/- a rehab physio or similar) and light exercise (best while on thinners) can help you and that exercise is a natural thinner? 9. Don't be afraid of naturopaths and herbalists

cheers and hope you have time to read all this coz I need to hear back from at least one of you


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