Any advice welcomed please

[ALCapshaw2]

I just did a Google Search to clarify the available dosages of Coumadin (and presumably Generic Warfarin) Tablets which are:

1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.5, and 10 mg

'AL Capshaw'

 

[sheridan07]

Thanks Al. How do self testers get coumadin? Do they have to call a doctor to call in a prescription? Do doctors have to prescribe meters?

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Thanks Al. How do self testers get coumadin? Do they have to call a doctor to call in a prescription? Do doctors have to prescribe meters?

Yes, you will need a prescription from a Doctor or Nurse Practicioneer for Coumadin or Warfarin.

From what I infer, if you get a meter paid for by your Insurance Company, the usual protocol is for you to report your INR to either the company that provided the meter (who will send the information to your Doctor) or directly to your Doctor. You will need some Doctor (or Nurse Practicioneer) to 'oversee' your Comadin Dosing. Some members just let their patients do their own testing and dosing once they (the doctors) become convinced that the patient knows what s/he is doing. Those patients typically show their INR and Dosing History Record to the Doctor every few months (3, 6, 12?).

If you buy the meter outright (and you may need a prescription to do this, at least from a Medical Supply outlet), you can probably just do it all on your own, *assuming* your Doctor will still write prescriptions for you Coumadin / Warfarin.

Hopefully some of the Home Testers will reply with their experience.

 

[dick0236]

Hopefully some of the Home Testers will reply with their experience.

What Al posted is, in a nutshell, correct. A prescription from a doc will be required regardless how you test (home, doc office or lab). Your prescribing doc has a responsibility for overseeing/monitoring your INR and it is up to the patient to show the doc that they are capable of home monitoring. Home testing is not "rocket science", but if a regimen is not followed, serious problems can occur.

 

[sheridan07]

thanks so much for your help.

 

[Jkm7]

While you are trying to get a doctor's approval and prescription to do your own testing, you may wish to ask for Rx for 1 or 2 mg tablets in addition to the ones you now have prescribed. Seeing they have already demonstrated they will order dosage changes, you need to have some smaller mg tables with which to work. They shouldn't mind prescribing those for you. Much more accurate than you trying to cut up your larger dose pills and guessing as to accuracy.

 

[Protimenow]

For the uninsured, it's possible to get a meter on eBay - probably without a prescription. You may need a prescription for the test strips. You will need a prescription for the warfarin. (I have used warfarin that I bought from a pharmacy in India - I already had monitor and strips - and the warfarin I received yielded equivalent results to the U.S. warfarin. HOWEVER - it didn't save me much money when you consider that you can get the generics at a little more than a dime each). I know a doctor who trusted me enough to write a prescription for the warfarin (and I always offer to show him my spreadsheet - showing EVERY test, every dosage change, etc. that I've been keeping since I started self management). I was able to save some money on my first set of strips by asking the doctor to order the strips from a medical supply house, and reimbursing him for the charges.

So - it's possible to get a meter, it's possible to get the strips (usually with a prescription, but not always), it's possible to get the warfarin (I suggest the domestic warfarin) - but you've got to realize that if you're self managing, you REALLY ARE taking your life into your own hands. Although management and testing aren't difficult, not everyone seems to have the ability to do it correctly.