i am confused about the lovenox-is that a shot in the stomach? is that standard for most people after surgery? for how long and does it make you feel bad or have side effects. Afriend of mine had TKR and said the coumadin was the worst part of the whole process.
lovenox and other blood thinners
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oldbones
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The evening of my surgery I was put on Coumadin and had to have PT/INR 2x/wk. That's the worst part having to be stuck 2x/wk and adjusting the Coumadin dose. You have to be careful about what you eat while on Coumadin because diet can play a big role in the dosing. Green leafy vegetable are the "antidote" to Coumadin. I, thankfully was never started on Lovenox. Even though as a nurse I've given Lovenox I've never had to receive it. Oldbones
Texas
alpha
I have been taking lovenox shots for 20 days since I got out of the hosp. My husband gives them to me every morning . No I have had no side effects at all. except he does it in my stomach he moves the spot around but I gets sore thats all..on my last shot monday...hope that helps...
Scott
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I was put on dalteparin, common known as Fragmin, which I believe is a competitor to coumadin. With all the other drugs I have been taking I don't know to what level it contributed to feeling bad or not. I had to give myself shots for 7 days, which ended yesterday (thankfully), and now it's just 81mg aspirin for 6 weeks. Much better than the shots 
Texas
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I think with coumadin you have to check blood levels periodically but the Levenox you don't. I dont know what the side effects are for coumadin. My Dr choose lovenox , but my mom was on coumadin and she was fine as well.?
Scott
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Thats what I am doing after this last shot. My lovenox RX was $1,001 for 25 shots that was with uhc ins. so i decided i will skip the last 3 shots and do the aspirin. so yes ck the price...
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Austin/ Pflugerville area
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wow not that far away about 1 hr not bad !
Well, I never - never heard that before! But then, I've never been involved with that particular drug.
I was on Enoxaparine which I self-administered for 34 days. I even gave it to myself in hospital because I told the nurses I wanted something to do!
My blood clotting times were never monitored. No idea why.
oldbones
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Josephine, just a followup note to the Coumadin conversation. Green leafy vegetables have vitamin K in them which counteracts Coumadin. If a patient's PT/INR gets too high, say 5.0 or above you give them PO vitamin K. Oldbones
I've been on Coumadin for many years and it's true that certain vegetables can play a role in your dose. It's not that you can't eat them, it's just that you need to be somewhat consistent in your diet. It's all about Vitamin K (the "clotting" vitamin). Some veggies (like spinach, kale, Romaine lettuce, broccoli to name a few) are relatively high in Vitamin K. If you eat them, they have an impact on how much Coumadin you take to keep your blood in the range of 2.0-3.0. Eating them once in a while is no problem. Eating them all the time is no problem. The problem comes if you eat a bunch of these veggies for a few days then don't eat any the next few days - inconsistency. The same happens in reverse with drinking alcoholic beverages as they are an anti-coagulant for the blood. When you're on Coumadin, you're not supposed to have no drinks (or few) and then party hearty for a few days....it messes up your blood levels. I know people who have a difficult time keeping their blood in range. I have had no problems, even taking pain meds (which affect the levels also) and having my two surgeries. So I look on it as a good drug to be on for my heart arrythmia.
T-Mike
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I was on Lovenox for approximately 2 weeks post op. My Dr. took me off of it after I experienced extremely severe cramping in my thigh. Has anyone else had this happen to them?
oldbones
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Did the cramping go away after discontinuing the Lovenox?
T-Mike
junior member
Yes. It first occurred on the Friday night prior to my 2 week follow up to have my staples removed. It was severe enough that I made a trip to the emergency room. The thigh muscle continued contracting from 10:15 pm until 2:00 am. I received some muscle relaxers and made it through the weekend no problem. It then happened again on the way to my follow up - staple removal appointment. I never even felt the staples being removed due to the discomfort of the cramping. Doc told me to cease using the lovenox and use muscle relaxers if it occurred again. So far (knock on wood) there has been no recurrence.
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