General Chat

I take a blood thinner called Clopidogrel instead of Aspirin because it affects my asthma.
I have taken this med since my heart surgery in April 2021 without any problems.

Looking through some food ideas online, I came across an article which shocked me!

Heading:
Do not take the following as high in Vit K which can counteract the effects of Blood Thinning medication.

Asparagus
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cauliflower
Green Onions
Kale
Parsley
Spinach

So my favourite is Cauliflower and I eat it about twice a week but shall now have to stop grrr.

All of these veg are good for you too.

So if anyone is on a Blood Thinner and regularly eats the above veg, maybe worth checking with your GP to see if it's safe for you to carry on eating.

I guess the effects would be, the meds wouldn't clot your blood and if you cut yourself badly, you will bleed a lot more.

Florence in the hebrides

This is the link to the article

www.guthrie.org/blog/dont-eat-these-foods-if-you-take-bloodthinners-or-statins

Florence in the hebrides

I am on aspirin and OH takes clopidogrel and we both eat broccoli, sprouts or cauliflower at least once a week. However we are on them because our GP is a great believer in preventative medicine, not because they are essential. I might mention it to our GP next time I see him, but otherwise I don't intend to change our eating habits.

I don't think you need to worry, Florence. I have just looked at the NHS site and the articles all refer to warfarin, which is much more powerful than clopidogrel, and they all say your intake of vitamin should be consistent. An extract is below.

Foods that affect warfarin

Foods containing a lot of vitamin K can affect how warfarin works.

These include:

green leafy vegetables, including broccoli, spinach and lettuce
chickpeas
liver
egg yolks
mature cheese and blue cheese
avocado
olive oil

It's important that you eat foods containing vitamin K, so rather than leaving them out of your diet, make sure you eat similar amounts of them regularly.

This will mean the level of vitamin K in your blood stays fairly constant and makes it more likely that your INR level stays stable.

I,m not on blood thinners but do take bp tablets ,Statin and omeprazole for a huge hiatus hernia

So can only take paracetamol for pain relief etc and no over the counter cough meds etc

When I had my knee replacement surgery in 2021 I was given morphine tablets in the hospital and to take at home for fourteen days and I had the most awful reaction to them in that I was constantly sick and couldn’t keep food or liquids down

A bonus I suppose was I lost 17 pounds in just under 4 weeks but it was at a cost!

So when having the hysterectomy the anaesthetist was now that’s a problem because that’s the only thing we use for pain relief!

So after a lots of too and fro he concluded the tablets had a reaction with the omeprazole so upsetting my stomach but as I had to continue taking it but also would need post operative pain medication I had a line put in with liquid morphine which worked ok .

When it came tio chemo then that had a side effect of excruciating muscle pain which oddly was worse in the knee replacement knee

Then I was given naproxen because paracetamol did nothing for it

Even then the doctor had to confer with the oncologist for advice on what I could safely take alongside my usual meds


But at least they all asked the questions and came up with the right meds

Florence, I think your best bet is to ask your doctor!

Florence
Was that advice linked to your particular medication?
It would be worth having a chat with your medical team before you restrict your intake.

I know my aunt was on Warfarin and was advised about those vegetables, so when I asked medical advice when helping mother-in-law to manage her Warfarin levels, I was told that if the veg. are part of one's normal diet, there was not a problem, it is the sudden fluctuations which the body can't cope with, when calculating Warfarin dosage.

When I started on a blood thinner ( Rivaroxaban) in 2015, I specifically asked if there were any restrictions in diet and was told that there were not, so most of those vegetables form a regular part of my meals.

It would seem that not all blood thinners react with these foods.

Does the leaflet that comes with the pills say anything about cutting out various foods.

Must remember this conversation in case I ever need blood thinners again - I can’t have rivaroxaban as I found I was allergic to it. I was given something to jab into my stomach instead - no idea what is was.

Just to get it clarified, I tel my GP surgery and waiting on someone to call me back although maybe tomorrow.
I am on statins as well.

It does say Warfarin in the article but its a blood thinner and all do the same job so thats why I was a bit worried but hopefully someone will put my mind at rest.

You are told to eat these healthy veg and then find that maybe you can't?

But one thing for sure I'm not allowed to have and that is Grapefruit/juice a def no no..

Shall come back once I hear.

Florence in the hebrides

The no grapefruit juice is actually printed on the pharmacist's label which is stuck on the box, and it is the one thing the GP mentioned when prescribing the medication. A pity, because I like grapefruit. :-(

So my GP has just tel me. He said, the no green veg only applies to Warfarin so i am reassured and all is well.

Yes Andys mum, when I was dieting in my younger days, grapefruit juice was great for losing weight as it seem to melt the fat away.

names, I don't always get a leaflet with my meds and didn't last time otherwise I would have read that.

Off to have tea but tonight I'm back on the greek yoghurt with blueberries and strawberries as eating out a lot last week has def given me a few extra pounds!

Florence in the hebrides

Enjoy your cauliflower and all that healthy green veg :-D

Andysmum and anyone else -- and aha, Florence's doctor :-) -- who said it is correct:

This is ONLY about Warfarin (Coumadin).

Some people don't know or understand what blood thinner they are on, so it is wise for a website recommending high VitK food to recommend consulting one's doctor.

No, "blood thinners" do NOT all do the same thing / work the same way.

Only Warfarin is sensitive to Vitamin K. (This gives it the advantage that Vitamin K works to combat the effect of too much blood thinner, i.e. failure of blood to clot and risk of bleeding to death, or need for surgery.)

My No.1 was on Warfarin for years. I refused to give up VitK foods; the solution is to eat roughly the same amount of VitK every day. I did this religiously. (Macaroni and and cheese + cauliflower, canneloni + lots of spinach, big caesar salad with dark green Romaine lettuce, etc.) It was exhausting and I didn't always do it well. But it was good for us!

He finally got switched to Eliquis when doctors decided it had stood the test of time and was safe enough. Because it works differently from Warfarin, there is no need for regular INR testing or controlling VitK intake. One just has to be careful about bleeding. Occasionally he bruises from an insulin injection.

By all means check with one's doctor. And if anyone is on Warfarin and would like to embrace leafy green and cruciferous veg again, consider the regular VitK intake solution (get INRs checked regularly) and/or ask about switching to a newer drug. I'm an old hand and can answer questions. :-)

Hmmm food fer thought I'm on warfarin (plus several other concoctions) and knew about the grapefruit. but wasn't aware of the other Vit K things....I just LOVE green veg, and would happily eat cabbage raw lettuce brussels eggs, cheese..etc

So long as you don't make any major change to the amount of your Vit K intake, you're OK, Bob.