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Just read "things" response about Vit K. MIL has been gone 6 yrs so like everything, things change.
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Just a heads up on Coumadin. My Dad had a valve replaced and triple bypass when he was 65. He was put on Coumadin. After 14 years the Coumadin caused internal bleeding. He was taken off to clot his blood but they never found where he was bleeding from. Dad had other health problems and passed at age 79 so I can't say Coumadin was the cause. Just want you all aware.

Be sure that Dad follows the diet given. Because of the K vitamin dark green leafy vegetables are a no no. My MILs levels were off. Dr. couldn't figure out why. I read an article that Vitamin E is a blood thinner as is fish oil, that contains Vit E. She was taking Fish oil. I asked her if the Dr. was aware she was taking it since it maybe the cause of her numbers being off.
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I take Eliquis and it is around $400 for a three month supply. You can check on "Good Rx" and it will tell the cost in your local pharmacies.
Coumadin (Warfarin ) is extremely cheap but will require regular blood tests often weekly and depending on your insurance may be expensive.

Once a blood thiner is started it is usually a life long commitment to help prevent blood clots that cause heart attacks, strokes, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism all of which can be fatal

There is also the danger of excessive bleeding and bruising from all of these drugs.

Emergency surgery can present a major problem because Warfarin is the only one with a reliable way of reversing the effect, although methods of reducing the effects of the newer anticoagulants are in progress.
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thingsarecrazy8 Mar 2019
My husband has been on coumadin (warfarin) for years. Life saving open heart surgery back in 2003. He has a PT/INR machine where he picks his finger weekly and the doctor will adjust his dose based on his numbers. He must see his doctor every 3 months for a full blood work analysis but this machine helps him from having 3 months between blood work and possible too thick or too thin during this time. It is true that foods with vitamin K will cause the drug to change the rate of coagulation, however, the cardiologist suggested that our bodies need these nutrients and not to change diet, but allow for the blood thinning medication do what it is intended to do.
Warfarin is actually considered safer in some people's eyes as you are more closely monitored for too thick or too thin blood and it is inexpensive.
Best of luck
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Ooops forgot to say that Coumadin is way less costly than Eliquis or Xarelto. That sez it all....
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Yes, usually.. But he may be on Coumadin for a long time. His doctors may choose to switch him to an aspirin or the newer recent anticoagulants down the pike but sometimes only Coumadin works for what needs to be accomplished.

I imagine they will get his INR in goal (usually between 2-3) before he is discharged for rehab. If/when he comes home yes he will have to have frequent INR’s in the beginning until the level stabilizes. That requires a blood draw at an outside lab. There is a portable INR machine that works like a blood sugar test but you will need to get a perfect drop of the correct about of blood to get an accurate reading. Also hospitals have Coumadin clinics” dedicated to adjusting Coumadin and INR doses. The Coumadin clinics are often managed by hospital pharmacists who dose according to an algorithm.

Then of course there are “anticoagulant precautions “ the patient needs to prevent falls, & will bruise easily.

Foods high in Vitamin K can effect the bleeding time. If he is dc’d on Coumadin pls ask them for a patient education handout - this will tell you which foods are higher in vitamin K and those foods to avoid. ( spinach, kale, etc). .

Coumadin and Eliquis/Xarelto work differently to prevent a clot from forming.
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Ahmijoy,

I have PA BC/BS Gold plan. Share of cost is $72.00. I don’t know how they figure it. On the monthly statement some months it says they paid $281.00 and another month it will be $327.00. This was in 2018 before my husband passed away. His cancer drugs were extremely high. Insurance paid little or nothing for some of them. We’ve had drug costs all over the place.

My MIL takes Eliquis. She has a drug coverage through her supplemental policy with Humana. It’s part of her husband’s retirement plan. She pays $178.00. The first year she was on it she had coupons that caused it to only be $10.00. She got 12 of them thru her physician. She doesn’t want to have to go to the lab for testing.
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Ahmijoy Mar 2019
Thanks. He’s got supplemental and Part D. I’m going to call on Monday to ask how I can get it cheaper.
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I’m not sure what you mean by “a Coumadin”. Do you mean the testing? Or the actual pill? The dosage is adjusted according to the results of the test. Testing will. OST likely be done weekly at first.
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Generally a person on Coumadin has a daily Coumadin program. Their level will be checked every two weeks or monthly. Dosage will be adjusted up or down as needed. Usually once started it is not discontinued. But if the levels remain good there could be the chance of dropping the medication. My dad was on Coumadin daily and had to have levels checked monthly. He was on the medication for 13 years until he died. Alternatively, person could be put on Eliquis or Xarelto. The upside for these medications is they require no monthly level check. However, they are not covered by some insurances or the co-pays are high. My husband took Eliquis for two years and our insurance only paid a small a small amount. We paid $72.00 monthly. Coumadin is much less expensive.
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Ahmijoy Mar 2019
Can I ask how you got Eliquis for $72? Myhusband is on it and we were getting patient assistance but have been denied this year. I’ve priced it at $432 a month.
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