Coumadin & Gleevec

[Guest guest]

Dear Listmates:

I am writing to seek the counsel of any of you who have had bouts of

atrial fib or who have had to take blood thinners. I was just

released from the hospital after a bout with atrial fib. My heart

has returned to sinus rhythm on its own accord, but now the

hospitalist has recommended that I take a low dose (2 mgs) of

Coumadin to guard against possible clots forming should I return to

atrial fib. Everything I have read says that Coumadin should not be

taken with Gleevec as Gleevec accelerates the effects of Coumadin.

And I had a gastro bleed last year that put me in the hospital

needing two units of packed red blood cells. As a result my dose of

Gleevec was lowered from 800 mgs. to 600 mgs.

Is there anyone out there on Coumadin. If so would you mind sharing

your dosage, how long you have been on the drug, how often your INR

levels are monitored, and what if any side effects you have

experienced.

In addition to taking 600 mgs. of Gleevec I also take 40,000 units of

ProCrit weekly. I have been zero by PCR since July of 2005, having

been diagnosed 12/03.

Please feel free to respond to me off list if you prefer.

Thanks for the help.

Kathie formerly in Kentucky, now in Naples.