| Author | Message | ||
     Dwardo |
My doctor wants me on blood thinners (Coumadin) for reasons that are clinically correct but I've informed him that the idea of falling off of a bike while on blood thinners does not appeal to me. I am actually going to be on them for a while but I told him my goal is to be off in time for serious bike season. Anybody here ride with blood thinners and how does it work out for you? | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I sniff paint thinners now & again, does that count?  | ||
| New12r |
PM Shred, he was on the Cumatin for a couple years and got off just before he started racing. While on them I could smoke him around a track, once he was back to thick blood I have a hard time keeping up. While working with him the littlest cut would send us home, he would bleed for days. I could not imagine a big cut.... | ||
| Spiderman |
if you start to bleed use this...  or use your header to cauterize the wound  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
You kill me Spidey,  | ||
| Buellerandy |
I had my first getoff when I was on coumadin. Just wear the gear. | ||
| Pammy |
I think the biggest fear while on any blood thinner and having a risky hobby(i.e. motorcycle riding) is the internal bleeding that can occur(liver damage, etc...). | ||
| Aesquire |
I was over dosed on the rat poison myself. ( coumadin/warfarin was/is used in industrial form to kill rats ) It turns out there is a very wide range of effect with different people, based on genetics. I'm one of the sensitive ones, ( found out it runs in the family AFTER the 8 pints of blood / week in the hospital / cameras in rude places experience. ) & I'm off it now, because of that. They hope to have a test someday. Meanwhile, I'm guessing they gave you a stent, and really don't want it to close up. ( that's bad, you know, like cross the streams bad ) Be sure to get the regular blood tests & FOLLOW UP !!!!! the test with a call to your doctor to ask him how you are doing. That's how they adjust dosage. In my case they didn't bother looking & I had an internal bleed. Funny story, almost killed me, but I won't bore you. My Cardiologist is still not happy I do martial arts, & ride motorcycles. I get his point, but I won't live in a bubble. Don't read further if you are squeamish !!! If you : Get dizzy when you stand, have tar like black sticky stools, ( indicates G.I. bleed ) or experience numbness, loss of movement change in vision ( stroke! ) CALL YOUR DOCTOR RIGHT THE FREAK AWAY! If he's not in, get a ride to the ER. The nice doc in the ER said: a:"I can't believe he walked into the clinic with that low a blood count, he should be unconscious" & b: "with his clotting factor, if you touched him, he'd bleed to death" both to my elderly mother, while standing over the gurney. If you fell dizzy, or "off", don't ride. If you feel fine & are not prone to going prone involuntarily, enjoy. Wear gear. Especially gloves & helmet. | ||
| Bartimus |
I've been on Coumadin a number of years now. I keep a medical alert sticker on my helmet just in case, to warn the EMT's of my medication. I've never had any issues, while riding... | ||
| Nevrenuf |
so when your on blood thinners, it's not one of those things you can maintain with diet is it. although i'll have to take cholesterol medication the rest of my life i don't have any problem with blood pressure or anything else. i tend to think that staying away from red meat has helped me with that more than anything else. | ||
| Csg_inc |
I have been on Asprin and Plavix for a bunch of years now. I ride in full gear but the Cardiologist sayes even with a good helmet on most likely I will have a brain bleed causing death before I can get proper care if I have a crash. Like Bart I keep a medical alert on my helmet that I got from Court. Wifey said I could not race at the Salt flats because the helo ride is too long. Oh ya and I switched to an electric razor because they wont let me use a regular blade any more. | ||
| Hexangler |
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45 384 Just found this thread running on Adventure rider forum. Hope it helps. Hex | ||
| Mr_gto |
just drink liquor, it thins your blood. just stop on the track/race day  | ||
| Dwardo |
Thanks, guys. Aesquire, the reason is that I have recently turned up with A-fib. I had heart surgery several years ago and ever since my cardiologist has been telling me that my heart is great, up until the last checkup. I'm going to be on it for a while so I can get cardioverted but I figure I'll get off it afterwards and take my chances on a stroke if the procedure doesn't take. Or, I'll stay on it and take my chances on bleeding. Either way I'm gonna ride. Anybody have a-fib, and have you successfully fixed it? This is driving me nuts. Some days I feel like I couldn't start the damn Norton if it didn't feel like being started. | ||
| Hexangler |
dwardo- A-fib is dead serious. My dad had it, tried cumidin, had a bad reaction to the meds, stopped taking them, died two weeks later of stroke. 60 years young. hex  | ||
| Cowboy |
I take all kinds of heart med. 4 yrs. ago I was on the list for heart transplant the good Drs in New Orleans medicated me out of it and I have been doing OK ever sience,I have to take med. till I die but I thank it is better to bleed to death than die and leave a new bike in car port with not a scrach on it. | ||
| Krassh |
From a website I found, basically drugs do not do much except lower the risk of stroke. The following has an 85% success rate according to the website. http://www.a-fib.com/Cures.htm PULMONARY VEIN ABLATION (ISOLATION) We've saved the best for last. Current Pulmonary Vein Ablation (Isolation) techniques are achieving success rates of 85% in curing Paroxysmal A-Fib with low risk.17,33,34,41 (Check with your particular heart center for its success rate.) "Curing" A-Fib is defined as restoring patients to normal sinus rhythm without dependence on any medications.41 (The other 15%, though not "cured" of A-Fib, may be significantly improved after an ablation. They may have fewer or less intense attacks of A-Fib. Medications that didn't work before may now control the A-Fib. But for some there may not be any noticeable improvement at all.) Pulmonary Vein Ablation (Isolation) is currently the best technique available for curing A-Fib.18,19,20 During Pulmonary Vein Ablation a soft, thin, flexible tube with an electrode at the tip is inserted through a large vein or artery in your groin and moved into your heart. This catheter is directed to the precise location(s) in your heart that are producing your A-Fib. These points are burned off or isolated from your heart. This is a relatively new procedure. (The first journal published report of a successful catheter ablation for A-Fib in humans was done in 1994 in Bordeaux, France.21 The first published studies of Focal Ablation [Pulmonary Vein Ablation] within the Pulmonary Veins came from Bordeaux47 and Taipei.48) Currently, many heart centers in the U.S. are doing Pulmonary Vein Ablation of A-Fib on a regular basis. (For a partial list of these facilities, see Facilities.) This is a relatively painless procedure, because there are no nerve endings in the smooth tissue of the heart and veins. However, someone recently wrote me that they felt a lot of pain from the ablation burns. If you are in A-Fib during the Catheter Ablation procedure, it's relatively easy for the doctors to determine where the A-Fib signals are coming from and to ablate (remove) them. However, if you have intermittent A-Fib (Paroxysmal A-Fib), it's harder to pinpoint exactly the source(s) of the A-Fib signals. The challenge for doctors is how to locate and eliminate A-Fib signals when the patient is not in A-Fib. Since research has shown that most A-Fib signals come from the openings (ostia) of the four Pulmonary Veins in the left atrium, one technique is to make Circular Radiofrequency (RF) Ablation lines around each pulmonary vein opening (called "Circumferential" or "Empirical Ablation"). This isolates the pulmonary veins from the rest of the heart and prevents any pulses from these veins from getting into the heart. However, it's difficult to make circular RF lesions and they aren't always successful. (A new experimental technique of circular ablation uses a balloon catheter and ultrasound, laser, and/or cryo (freezing) energy to encircle the vein opening and make the circular lesions.22) A different method of locating and eliminating A-Fib signals (called "Segmental Catheter Ablation") uses Pulmonary Vein Potentials. A potential is an electrical charge or energy---like the battery energy in your car. Even if your car isn't running, you can still measure 12 volts "potential" at the battery. Similarly, in your heart any potential in a pulmonary vein area can be measured and pinpointed, even if you aren't in A-Fib at the time. When the area is ablated, the potential disappears. Like taking the battery out of your car, removing this potential eliminates your A-Fib. As mentioned above, this technique can achieve success rates of 85% with low risk for patients with Paroxysmal A-Fib.17,34,41 For people with Chronic A-Fib, success rates may not be as good. (See Chronic A-Fib.) Instead of ablating inside the Pulmonary Vein Openings which may risk Stenosis, the pathways taken by these A-Fib signals from the Pulmonary Veins are located and ablated outside of the Pulmonary Vein openings. The A-Fib Pulmonary Vein potentials or sources of A-Fib signals are disconnected from the rest of the heart. Another procedure for isolating A-Fib signals is called "Anatomically Based Circumferential Pulmonary Vein Ablation" by Dr. Carlo Pappone of Milan, Italy who first developed this technique58. It is also called "Left Atrial Ablation" by Dr. Fred Morady of the Un. of Michigan60. Instead of concentrating on the Pulmonary Veins and Pulmonary Vein Potentials, the emphasis is on creating blocking lesions in the left atrium similar to "Circumferential" ablation described above. But instead of trying to make continuous, perfect linear lesions, a large diameter catheter at a high wattage is dropped and dragged to make the circular linear lesions. There may be gaps left in these lesions which may result in Atrial Flutter. But over time scar tissue usually closes these gaps (see Morady and Pappone). Pulmonary Vein Ablation (Isolation) is a low risk procedure33, but it is not risk free. For a more in depth look at the actual risks involved, see Risks in the FAQs section. You've just read through most of the treatment options available to you if you have A-Fib. But to be cured of your A-Fib, you need to find a good doctor. You may want to get in touch with an Electrophysiologist, a doctor who specializes in the electrical activity of the heart and in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders---see Finding | ||
| Dwardo |
Thanks for that. I already knew everything except about Segmental Catheter Ablation. I'll have to ask my doc if he knows about it. I already saw an electrophysiologist. He said I am a candidate for ablation but he doesn't know if it will work in my case. I think that's the way I'm headed anyway. | ||
| Dynasport |
My grandfather had numerous heart problems, including leaking heart valves, which led to him being placed on cumedin for several years. Then the doctors decided to place a stent in one of his arteries so they took him off the cumedin for the procedure. The day he was getting out of the hospital, while shaving to go home, he had a massive stroke. Since he was already in the hospital they were able to rush him in to emergency surgery and save his life. He was never the same, however. His quality of life was pretty low I think. He was never able to go home, although he was released from the hospital into an assisted living facility. My grandmother pretty much refused having anyone else care for him, and her trying to do it took its toll on her. He passed away a few months after the stroke. I often think it would have been better if he had died at the time of the stroke, though I am not sure about that. Anyway, as bad as cumedin can be, I would rather be on it than suffer a stroke. I think I am more afraid of strokes than heart attacks just because I saw what one can do. My best to you with your medical condition. | ||
| Pammy |
Whoever it is that is thinking about getting ablation treatment might check into some non-invasive treatments first. You should have a complete(with minerals and vitamins) blood prifile done. A shortage of magnesium will cause a-fib since magnesium is needed for muscle/nerve synaps. Vitamin D is usually in short supply as well. "Magnesium deficiency is thought to be closely related to coronary heart disease, including myocardial necrosis. An inadequate supply of this mineral may result in the formation of clots in the heart and brain and may contribute to calcium deposits in the kidneys blood vessels, and heart. Heart failure resulting from fibrillation and lesions in the small arteries is linked to a deficiency of magnesium, as is vasodilation, which is followed by hyperkinetic behavior and fatal convulsions." "Symptoms of a deficiency may include gastrointestinal disorders, irregular heart rhythm, lack of coordination, muscle twitch, tremors, weakness, apprehensiveness, personality changes, disorientation, confusion, depression, and irritability. A deficiency interferes with nerve and muscle impulses. Long-term deficiency can lead to tetany as in a calcium deficiency, alcoholic hallucinations, unusual face and eye movement, alopecia (baldness), swollen gums, and lesions of the gums." | ||
| Pammy |
With inadequate magnesium, the muscles cramp. When this happens to the heart muscles the heart does not go through a complete relaxation phase, and the next calcium-driven contraction begins before the relaxation is complete. This results in rapid heart beat and irregular heart rate known as arrhythmia. | ||
| Pammy |
A number of chemical substances play an important role in the heart function, such as high density and low density lipoprotein, triglycerides, potassium, calcium, magnesium, homocystine, pyridoxine, and the list goes on. All these factors have to be assessed thoroughly and integrated in the overall holistic medical picture that presents, before one can embark on a plan of treatment of the heart function. | ||
| Pammy |
Maybe you have had all these tests. In that case forgive my butt-inskiness. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
The Electro Physiology stuff is serious business. You understand that they inject heart fibrillations to figure out if what they are currently blocking will fix the problem. Once they pin point it they burn/kill that spot. As fluffy as it sounds there is the risk that they could inject a fibrillation that they cannot correct. Of course cardioverting is no piece of cake either. Pammy you are all over this. Great information. | ||
| Krassh |
Yep that is why I included the link which I hope he went to as it lists alternative cures like magnesium and potassium supplements that someone might want to try out. Hope everything works out for no matter which way you decide to go. The part of site dealing with suspected causes was interesting as well. I had never heard of this before this so gotta love badweb you learn something new every day. | ||
| Pammy |
That's because I have been there done that. I take a water soluable magnesium blend for maximum absorption. The product is from www.petergillham.com. It's called Natural Calm. I did a lot of research when I heard some of the things they wanted to do to me. | ||
| Dwardo |
Pammy, I don't mind at all. I am hip to the magnesium/potassium thing and I hope my doc will go along with testing me for it. I am taking magnesium supplements but suspect it may not be enough. Also, I have found a lot of respectable medical literature that supports the idea that fish oil will help to prevent a-fib although it won't cure it. I have been taking a lot of fish oil and my triglycerides are much lower than they ever have been. Do you mind if I pm you and pick your brain about what you had and what you did? This is scaring me silly. | ||
| Pammy |
Not at all...whatever you need | ||
| Aesquire |
Please don't take my comments as a reason not to follow your doctors advice. I'm on quite a cocktail of stuff ( not one of which gives me the slightest buzz, unless I cough, then whoa! ) and failed to ask what kind of symptoms would indicate a problem. Still, the doc watching my stress test was not one I had met before, so did not catch any change in me. I had not felt 100%, and did not ride, in the week before the problem. Listen to your own body. You are your own best health care advocate. Ask questions. | ||
| Eengler2 |
Please, don't start taking any supplements without consulting with your MD first!!! Many can change the way your current medication work. Google is great, but it does not replace years/decades of medical training. |
