Finally got my machine!

[Superman]

After 21 years of needle sticks, I finally got my machine! My insurance finally came around to covering it. Soooooo much better. With four young kids (okay, five as of yesterday) it was quite difficult to make time to get in and get checked regularly. Okay, not so much difficult as just plain inconvenient. Loving the ease of a quick poke and done. Hopefully they don't decide the change the rules on me.

I've been a very consistent 3.5 on the machine. On the high side of normal, but as long as I stay in range I'm not about to start screwing with my dosage.

 

[Freddie]

Congrats on getting your new machine.
I totally agree with you, don't mess with your dosage.

 

[catwoman]

Congratulations!!! A breakfast buddy is considering getting his own testing machine. I told him this week that after home-testing for 8 years, I don't ever want to go back to trips to the Dr.'s office for INR tests.

 

[Bina]

Superman, it's amazing that your veins held out for the 21 years, mine were not happy after 18 months !
Enjoy your new monitor and the freedom that it brings... and your INR of 3.5 is perfect

 

[Superman]

Superman, it's amazing that your veins held out for the 21 years, mine were not happy after 18 months !
Enjoy your new monitor and the freedom that it brings... and your INR of 3.5 is perfect

I was barely 18 when I started getting draws. Good young veins I suppose. I have a really strong quarter inch diameter monster running dowm the middle of my right arm. Guess God knew I was going to need it when he made me. Would've been a lot easier just to make the valve right, but oh well.

 

[Bina]

I was barely 18 when I started getting draws. Good young veins I suppose. I have a really strong quarter inch diameter monster running dowm the middle of my right arm. Guess God knew I was going to need it when he made me. Would've been a lot easier just to make the valve right, but oh well.

Oh, I hear ya. When going for annual blood work the techs would love my fair skin with easy to find veins,
but when I needed to go more often post op, then the veins would sometimes flip or collapse and I would
be praying that one arm healed enough for the next test.

 

[lance]

Congratulations on receiving your home monitor--a truly joyous occasion.
Scarred vein was my motivation too. Which monitor did you choose?
Happy testing.

 

[Duff Man]

My only regret with home testing is that I didn't get a kit sooner. Welcome to the club!

 

[chaconne]

I envy you.

At 6.5 weeks post-op and 10 vein draws, I am ready to go home testing. It's not the blood draws or having to go to the lab that I mind (I have big veins and the lab is right on the way to work), it's having to wait for my INR results and dosing instructions that bugs me. I tested yesterday and I didn't get the normal call from the clinic in the evening (which means I default to the same dose). I suppose my INR is in range, but I would love to know and have control myself, rather than waiting for the over-busy LA Kaiser clinic to tell me.

 

[bradvo]

I'm confused, I've been to the coumadin clinic at least 8 times and all they do is prick my finger for blood , just like a diabetic ??

 

[Bina]

I'm confused, I've been to the coumadin clinic at least 8 times and all they do is prick my finger for blood , just like a diabetic ??

Brad, it's usually only in some of the bigger cities that the "finger prick" type of tester is available in clinics, etc.

 

[bradvo]

Thanks for clearing that up. :redface2:

 

[Protimenow]

Even going to a clinic for a finger stick can be a pain -- driving there, parking, etc. Having a meter always available to me is a real convenience. (Plus, in my situation, without a clinic or a doctor - and self-management - it's so much easier).

I'm using an InRatio, mostly because it's the meter that I was able to get a really good price on (a Coaguchek XS at the same price would, at the time, have probably been just as attractive). In retrospect, I think I prefer the InRatio because it doesn't need a coding chip and because the strips are still usable for some months after they expire. (I'm starting to get low on strips, so if anybody has extras they can spare, I'm always interested)

 

[sarahsunshine]

WOOHOO! What a relief. I just don’t know why everyone doesn’t do this. It must be so expensive to do all those blood tests. Why don’t they just give everyone (who needs it of course) their own home monitoring system and they would save the whole health care system money! Then all you need is to have a thrombosis clinic on call in case something wacky comes up.

 

[ski girl]

I got a free testing kit (Alere??) from St Jude - and I can hardly ever get enough blood out of my finger to make the test work! And if it does work, it tells me wacky numbers like 6.2. Now, if I was really 6.2, I think plenty blood would have come gushing out of my finger . . .

Has anyone else had issues producing enough blood? And has anyone done the home test and a lab test on the same day to verify the accuracy of the home kit?

 

[D.C.]

When I first got my machine I had problems getting enough blood also. One day I decided to give it a test and did 4 pokes(no tests, just to see). The results gave me some incites. My right hand is better than the left(right handed). Don't know why. Always run my hand under warm water first. Try to stay away from the sides of the finger. There seems to be a happy medium just off the pad of the finger. If I get up in the pad it is sore for a couple of days.

Also I do not use the lance in the kit. They gave me some other ones that I do not know the model of but seems to have a bigger needle.

Wasted a few strips at first but seem to get it every time now. I like testing weekly because it gives you a chance to correct rather than be way out of range.

 

[Freddie]

I got a free testing kit (Alere??) from St Jude - and I can hardly ever get enough blood out of my finger to make the test work! And if it does work, it tells me wacky numbers like 6.2. Now, if I was really 6.2, I think plenty blood would have come gushing out of my finger . . .

Has anyone else had issues producing enough blood? And has anyone done the home test and a lab test on the same day to verify the accuracy of the home kit?

Blood gushing out........not necessarily. Take another test and see what you get.

My hands are always cold, even after being under warm/hot water. I now wrap my hand in a towel and do arm/elbow movements quickly. I then pinch and rub the finger I'm going to poke. Sounds like a lot, but it works for me.

I'm one of those ppl who has compared the monitor with the lab results. Lab results have always been .2 or .3 lower than the monitor......sometimes the lab has come back with the same results. Others on this forum have said they're results have been the same.

 

[Bina]

I got a free testing kit (Alere??) from St Jude - and I can hardly ever get enough blood out of my finger to make the test work! And if it does work, it tells me wacky numbers like 6.2. Now, if I was really 6.2, I think plenty blood would have come gushing out of my finger . . .

Has anyone else had issues producing enough blood? And has anyone done the home test and a lab test on the same day to verify the accuracy of the home kit?

In Australia many of our members have purchased the Coaguchek XS home monitor kit, it would be very helpful
if you could check which kit you have and post it here.
It doesn't sound like you received proper instruction on how to test yourself or how to interpret the results.
--When used correctly--and the INR is not extremely high (like 6.0) the home monitors are accurate within .2 when compared to a lab test.

 

[ski girl]

Hi Bina, yep I also have a CoaguChek and that seems to require a lot less blood! I got lots of instruction on that one but the free ones (oh yes! they screwed up and sent me two!!) just arrived in the post

Interpreting is not exactly difficult - higher than 3.5, take less warfarin, lower than 3.0, take more. I also warm up my hands but it's summer here, I'm plenty warm! I've been told not to squeeze and pinch my fingers as that causes the blood cells to rupture and then your INR will be artificially high.

Good to hear that you have all found the kits to be accurate, thanks!

 

[Superman]

My kit has been great. So far, good success with results and also getting enough blood to generate a result. I find if I do the test while standing up with my arms down (elbow bent, but fingers still below the elbow joint to keep blood flowing down), I can easily get enough blood. I only had one time out of 8 or so where I didn't get enough blood to generate a result. Right hand seems better than left, but messier too so I tend to stick (no pun intended) with my left middle finger. They told me in training to get a drop about the size of a ladybug.

Pretty sure I've got a CoaguChek machine. My highest reading was 3.6, but we opted not to adjust my dose. Lowest was 2.8 (heavy salad week); with the rest coming in between 3.1 and 3.5.

My only complaint about the way my service is set up is that my coumadin clinic always calls to tell me my result. Seems redundent. I know what my result is, I called it in. If it's in range, I don't need to hear from you. Call me to discuss dosing if it's out of range. Maybe they just miss me coming down there. Oh, and I get a testing day reminder from both the tracking service and the coumadin clinic. Including the call I make to report my results, that's four phone calls a week for home testing.

Hopefully if it shows effective for a while, they'll let me back off to every other week.