Dear Diary,
A few weeks ago, I had really great news about my results with the Paleo diet. I finally dove into the books that a friend lent me last year, and I started applying what I learned. Within a week, I was feeling so much more energy and reduced symptoms of inflammation and pain. And as time went on, I just continued feeling better and better.
But…and there’s always a “but” — my INR fell dramatically. In order to exist at a level of lowered risk for blood clots, my INR has be somewhere between 2.0 and 3.0, the so-called therapeutic range.
Because I began filling my plate with greens and even some nuts, my INR was consistently closer to 1.0, which is way too low (too thick), and puts me at increased risk for more blood clots. So, my hematologist, who I just love, wasn’t too pleased with me. She gave me three options: 1) change meds from Coumadin to Xarelto, which doesn’t have to be monitored; 2) increase my dosage of Coumadin to compensate for the new diet; or 3) revert back to my pre-Paleo diet so that I didn’t have to change my meds or dosage.
She scared me so bad that I decided to reintroduce the grains (not the legumes) to get my INR back to therapeutic without making any adjustment in medication. Well, guess what happened–I’m sure you know. The pain and inflammation has returned with a vengeance. There is no doubt that eliminating all the items from the forbidden list of the Paleo diet is my best chance for feeling better. I’ve now decided to go to option 2–increasing my dosage of Coumadin. I really don’t want to do it, but the trade-off is worth it. I didn’t choose to change to Xarelto because there’s no antidote for it; so if I have to have emergency surgery (like I did with the appendicitis last year), there would not be a way to thicken my blood quickly.
During all this Paleo/Coumadin drama, we are in the process of moving again. We bought and closed on our new home on Jan. 17th, but we still haven’t moved in because of delays in remodeling and construction schedules. I won’t go as far as to say it’s a fixer-upper, but there are areas that I want remodeled for my own taste and safety.
So, between the latest with my health and the moving/remodeling that’s going on, things are a bit hectic. Hopefully, they won’t get even more chaotic. There’s a chance that I’ll have to have a hysterectomy because of a suspicious and fast-growing cyst on my right ovary. I’m scheduled to have a third ultrasound with my doctor on Wednesday. I’ll know for sure what the plan is at that time. The urgency about the surgery, from my doctor’s perspective, is that the cyst has doubled in size over a six-week period; and the fact that cancer runs in my immediate family—my father, who passed away from colon cancer and my sister, who’s battling breast cancer. Thankfully, today she had her last chemo session today for breast cancer. Yay! Now, it’s time for radiation.
Love,
Olivia
