Jerry -- if I can't get my cardio's office on the phone (like on a weekend) and I am high or low, I adjust my diet and if I'm really worried, drop or add a pill. I think I've only adjusted the dose once or twice, but if I'm really high I add more Vitamin K and/or drop a pill or really low, add a pill and eat no Vitamin K. Once I forgot to take the day's dose (after a cardioversion I was a little fuzzy) and when I discovered it a couple o days later, the INR went down to 1.3. I called the office, but in the meantime added a pill. I take 7.5 5 days and 5.0 2 days. You probably know all this, but thought I'd share in case it might be helpful to you.
Yep -- doing well. My tests will go along fine and then all of a sudden my INR is high or low, so I'm liking the weekly test. It's more convenient at any rate, since you can take it on a trip with you and not have to worry about finding a lab.
Hi,, good to see you do visit. We all benefit from your knowledge and experience.
I read your experience to say checking more often has helped you adjust your diet to maintain the desired INR level. Seems there must be some feed-back adjustments other wise taking more readings is just more data.
I get my INR tested every 4 weeks, usually slip to 5 or 6 weeks, but I am very regular and in-range. But I wonder and can not get support from my doctor if I can just adjust my Warfarin does based on diet... e.g., if I happen to eat a "big salad" a couple of nights in a row I should take an extra 1/2 does, and if I have not been eating "K" rich foods for a day or two I should cut a dose in half. My normal dose is 5 mg once a day, before bedtime. I in fact do this but not consistently.
Sorry, Delta....I rarely get on here anymore. The at-home testing is going great. I only test every 2 weeks and they may change it to 4 if I stay within range. I hope you are doing well too!
Just curious about how it's going with the at home INR testing?
checking to see if previous comments were posted...new to this site
Just curious -- what did the TEE show that indicated you needed to stay on coumadin? It took me a while to get used to it, so don't give up if it's difficult at first. My worst problem was getting enough blood and there's one lancet that works best for me -- it is the Unistik Capillary Blood Sampling Device Ref. 1066179 and comes in a pkg. of 6. The customer service at Phillips is great. I usually wash my hands in hot water right before I check it and that seems to help. My cardio's office gave me a lesson, but it took me a bit to get good at it. I think you will love it -- you can take it on vacation, no more running to the lab and best of all if you are having trouble you can check sooner if you need to (altho they will only send supplies when you are down to a certain number of testing strips.) Oh yeah, if you have to take a second sample because the first one wasn't enough or for whatever reason, use a different finger because for some reason that affects the test. That's pretty much all I know:) Good luck!
Delta, I got the info in the mail and I guess I'll be starting the "at-home" testing. I will be on Coumadin from now on. A TEE dictated that. I guess it will actually be cheaper and more convenient. I check my blood sugar every day so I guess I can manage to do this too!
Yes -- I have a Phillips meter and Medicare pays for it (plus my BC/BS supplement). The insurances require me to check it once a week, I call it in and they tell my cardio. If it's off, I usually call in to my doctor's Coumadin Clinic anyway for advice. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but I much prefer it to waiting a month -- a lot can happen in that length of time and has. I'd rather stay on top of it and Phillips claims using their system = fewer strokes. Not sure if that is PR or not, but I like keeping a close check on it -- I sleep better:)
So Delta, you check your INR at home? And how often?
I agree one extra pill should not cause an overdose. I discovered a while back that I had missed my day's dose of 3 pills (it was after a cardioversion and I was a little fuzzy) and I checked my INR and it was under the recommended range. I took an extra pill over a week's time and stopped eating vitamin k veggies for a few days and got back to normal. If you have a true overdose Vitamin K and/or plasma will reverse the drug, not so with the newer blood thinners -- no antidote. If mine is high and I can't get the clinic as on a weekend I take an extra vitamin with K.
I totally agree with Jerry. Just be sure and let the tech or nurse know when you get your INR checked that you did take the extra dose.
See my reply to your other post.
I say stop worrying. a single case of a double dose should do nothing more than make your INR temporarily too high (blood too "thin") it will pass in hours... you could have a big green salad that will bring you INR down.. will take an hour or two for your digestive system to work it out, I believe.