Coagucheck results .6 higher than blood draw,,,, word?

[ShezaGirlie]

Well now, this INR stuff is a hard one to figure out - but we have to do what we think is right for ourselves. Personally, I started out on 10mg and stayed on 10mg for about 10 years. Now, I'm getting old..:eek2: and seems I metabolize warfarin about 25% slower now than I did for those 10 years because I was jumping around last year and finally ended up taking 7.5mg which keeps me with a stable INR.

Seems I remember that the higher dose one takes, the faster INR will fall...! That sure did happen to me, because when I would hold with a 6-8 INR reading the very next day my INR would be at 1.2. Crazy, I know...so, for that reason I never hold. Once again, this old shoe doesn't fit everybody..:biggrin2:

 

[dick0236]

Well now, this INR stuff is a hard one to figure out - but we have to do what we think is right for ourselves.
:

So true! As a young man, and under the old "PT" system, I started out on 70mg/wk(10mg/day) Over time...and on the newer INR system, I have gradually moved down to my current 35mg/wk(5mg/day). I am now considering moving down too 30 or 32.5/wk as my INRs are staying at my high end of 3.5 . I really prefer 3.0 or a little above that. In my case, activity seems to play a significant role in INR values and my history seems to indicate that as my activity declines with age, my INR inreases.

Like Shezagirlie says, "do what we think is right for ourselves"....just don't get paranoid about testing frequently or making large or frequent dosage change.......unless conditions warrant:wink2:

 

[Freddie]

Well Todd, here's a perfect example between my vein draws to my XS monitor, done on the same day, 20 minutes apart:
vein - 2.6 monitor - 2.8 in range did not change dosage
vein - 2.7 monitor - 3.1 did not adjust dosage
vein - 3.2 monitor - 3.7 did not change dosage

Now today, my INR via monitor reads 3.8, no vein draw - that will be tomorrow, cause last night I had a beer plus liquorish which could be a very good reason why I'm a little high, but I'm in no panic.

 

[Protimenow]

There's a nice thing about dosing to diet. I often split a bottle of wine with my wife at dinner. I don't think I can stop that now -- I certainly don't want my INR to drop.

So - get into a (presumably) bad habit, dose to that habit, and for your own good, I guess you have to keep doing that.

Right?

(It's been a week for me - my INR was a bit low last time, and a week ago I made a 5% increase. I'd be interested in what it says now).

 

[Cris N]

Dayton:
The others on this board suggest NEVER stopping warfarin--and it's obviously somewhat dangerous riding a motorcycle or doing extreme sports with a 6.1, 6.8, 7.1, or whatever your INR REALLY was. The suggestion here would probably have been half doses for a few days until you were back on track. In fact, your experience probably warrants a thread of its own.

HOWEvER - not taking your wafarin for one day, then doing half dose the next day or two would probably have dropped your INR a bit more quickly than half doses for a few days, and may have kept you from too deep a drop three or so days later.

I'm interested in what others would advise (and I really think that your experience could be well handled on another thread).

Please don't say that

The others on this board suggest NEVER stopping warfarin

It is simply not true. Many would suggest holding a dose if INR was exceptionally high. Granted halving for a day or two is usually the better course of action but there are times when holding a dose is the wise thing to do. Unfortunately many so-called managers think patients should hold if they are a bit over. My range is 2.5 - 3.5. and I would probably not hold until I went over 7.9. But that's me and I have a pretty good idea how my body metabolizes the warfarin. So does Dayton... while he has not been home testing all that long he is a long time warfarin user and has a real feel for what his body needs.

FWIW your reply to Dayton sure sounded like an attack to me. You waltzed in here, seemingly for the second time, and apparently decided that you needed to toot your horn and lecture to people in nearly every post. It's getting a bit tiresome.

 

[Protimenow]

Actually, Cris, I thought it was more like a polka than a waltz.

And I certainly didn't mean to attack ANYONE at ANYTIME, or to 'toot' my horn.

And I DID apparently educate more than one here who was not taking the first drop of blood, or was waiting too long to put that drop on the strips, about the proper way to even RUN a test.

I'll try not to repeat what I've read here - I certainly don't want to be butchered for it. (BTW: I've only been taking warfarin for a LONG time, and I've been advised in the past by medical 'experts' to hold a dose - but that was in the days when doctors didn't feel it important to know what your INR was -- what you said, that you 'probably would not hold until .. over 7.9' is pretty much what I said, too.)

Now, I think I'll find some foxtrot music for my next post - I'm getting tired of the waltz.