CoQ10, fish oil and coumadin

[sharon]

I may have to start on some statins to lower my cholesterol. I've tried lipitor and had to go off of it because of leg cramps so the dr is going to try some other statin. I've heard that this depletes the heart of CoQ10 which is very important to the heart's functioning properly. I've also read that CoQ10 in supplement form can work against coumadin. Does anyone know about this? I also was reading some of the archived posts on fish oil and coumadin. I thought that fish oil thinned the blood - am I wrong?
Thanks for any info you can give me.
Sharon
St Judes av 4/97

[JimChicago]

On Co Q10 - here's a link to Al's information on it at:
http://www.warfarinfo.com/coenzymeQ10.htm

Personally I was taking 30 mg Co Q10 and hadn't noticed any major change in INR but recently I missed a coumadin dose and when down to 1.9 so I went to 15 mg a day Co Q10 temporarily but hope to get back taking more shortly.

Another factor is that the Co Q10 supplements can vary in their ability to be absorbed into your system. I've been taking the "Q-Gel" form which some say is one of the best for absorption and I started taking a different powdered form first gradually while checking INR frequently.

A possible indirect side effect would be if the muscle pains are dimished and one's activity level goes up then that increased activity could affect the INR too.

Here's a link to Al's site on fish oil -
at:
http://www.warfarinfo.com/fishoil.htm

I've never tried taking fish oil with coumadin - I take a small amount (100 mg) of DHA and that did not affect my INR level.

[allodwick]

Thanks, Jim.

I've just been over those pages and made sure that my information was current. I have advised against CoQ10 in the past on the basis that its chemical composition was close to that of vitamin K. But I cannot find that anyone has ever been harmed by this combination.

[sharon]

Thank you Jim and Al for the info. I'll have to recheck my sources of info on CoQ10 and also check out your site Al.

Sharon

[ALCapshaw2]

FWIW, I take a fish oil gel cap at dinner every day, alternate between 3.5 and 4.0 mg of Warfarin, and my INR is quite stable.

'AL Capshaw'

[sharon]

Thanks Al for the info.
S