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According to a e-mail from Roche, Roche has obtained the clearance from FDA for their new model, CoaguChek XS. (UPDAETD: This FDA clearance is for professional use, not for patient use. They will need to take additional steps for patient use approval.) I do not know when they will start...

Gail, Any luck with Aetna? You probably already have seen this link, but just in case... I found following link at Medicare site. It details the rational behind the Medicare coverage of the home testing equipment. https://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/viewdecisionmemo.asp?id=72 It did mention the...

I posed the same question to both my wife's cardio and also her PCP about the tooth extractoin. The cardio said, stop warfarin, go onto Lovenox. The PCP said, for a simple extraction, keep taking warfarin. The PCP said he got into many arguments with his patients' dentists over this issue. It...

Marsha, My wife still has residual circulation problem in her arms. We just began home testing and, initally we had a tough time getting enough blood from the finger stick. Then we found something that works well. Right before we use the lancing device to make the tiny hole, we wrap her target...

marka, Thanks for the radiation exposure with CT. I knew CT had the radiation but did not know how much compared to X-ray. BDMc, Yes, I find it is a delicate balancing act: Being firm without offending doctors. I do my best not to offend, but try to remind myself that we (my wife and my kid...

The lab result came back from today's draw: 2.7. I am so relieved. Thank you everyone for all the support. I don't know what I would've done without your help. Nancy. The doctor actually gave us a standing "STAT" order for the test. The first lab was terrible. Often forgot to do "STAT" and when...

DrAllan, Thanks for the continued help. My wife has not shown any of the symptoms you mentioned to suspect the hemolysis to be internal. I chose the lab carefully to "reduce" the sample handling error. Maybe it reduced it but did not eliminated error. We will see tomorrow and just in case she...

Marsha, So far it has been through the lab vein draw. My insurance (Aetna) customer service at first did not know what I was talking about when I mentioned the home INR monitor. I told her it is like the blood glucose monitor but this one is for people on the blood thinner. She said then it...

MrP, Thanks for the input. Did CT scan of aorta include the entire aorta (including unaffected section), or just the repaired section?

Thanks, Al. I used to work for a director. People suspected that actually there were a triplet of him (or them) because he was always at work around the clock and everywhere. People thought that while one is working, the other two were sleeping in the closet (3 shifts / 8 hour shift for each...

PJ, My surgeon's office said, my wife is in good hand because she has a good nurse taking care of her.:) I have no medical background, but some nurses at the hospital thought I did. It is a steep learning curve, but I am putting an effort to learn. Wish I did not have to learn all this...

Thanks DrAllan, Lyn, and Ross (special thanks to Ross for help with the registration). Yes, Ross. Her vein in the arms had been spent after 2 hospital stays. The draw has been done by the same good/careful technician at this lab. This technician has been drawing from left hand to give her arm...

7 weeks post-op, my wife's INR is still unstable. We have been doing the vein draw at the lab. When outside the range, always below, never over the range which is bad. Finally got her doctor to try to manage it high in the range after it got down to 1.6 last week. The doctor ordered a large...

First of all, I want to express my sincere thanks to all members of this board. My wife had an emergency OHS 7 weeks ago. The surgery, as sudden and overwhleming as it was, was the easy part. Since the surgery, some medical professionals put her in the tight spot many times (esp. with warfarin...