Help me calculate, please

[AgilityDog]

I've been running about 2.5 to 2.7, on 28 mg per week. 4mx7
2 weeks ago I had a cold, hit 5.1, held 1/2 dose on Sun and Mon, and reduced dosage to 26.5 schedule After holding, I actually took 22.5 mg last week
Today I'm at 6.1! I've had allergies (took claritin F & Sat, no interactions supposedly) I've been stressed at work, but I'm eating normally (heck I ate Kale 2x last week and that is 3x vit K as spinach), and exercising. Not dehydrated, to my knowledge. Dunno what's up.

I'm going to hold today, then reduce to a 24.5/wk schedule, only 3.5 daily. My 'sweet spot" is 25.5 weekly. I hesitate to reduce too much, or hold for 2 days in a row. In accordance with Al's logarthm chart will retest tomorrow and Wednesday.
And will eat Kale tonight, supposedly something like 1200 mg per cup!
I've got to run off to an agility trial, and won't be back until this evening to read comments.
Thanks for input, everyone.

PS Jet finished two novice titles yesterday at reduced jump heights. Now we have to start jumping her full height. Dangly labrador legs knock the bars!

 

[Ross]

You don't by chance have CHF do you? Are your legs or ankles swelling, even just a little bit?

 

[Bina]

Laurie, you must be reacting to something in the Claritin?

 

[Ross]

Laurie, you must be reacting to something in the Claritin?

I don't think so. There shouldn't be an interaction between them. I'm thinking something is going on inside her body causing liver congestion.

 

[AgilityDog]

Well, I scratched the agility trial. Jet tapped me on the hand with her tooth (reaching for a toy) during our practice at the training field on the way up to the trial, and I wound up with a fingertip sized bruised welt in 5 minutes. I barely felt the tap, and it didn't hurt, so the welt kind of spooked me. Call me a wuss but I didn't want to spend the day worrying about falling and hitting my head or something. My MIL died from that 6 weeks ago, so I'm rather paranoid.

The only thing I can think about as a cause is stress! Besides work and the cold, my other dog had a liver biopsy and exploratory ths past week, and it's been rough on him. We don't have results yet, but it's not cancer. Maybe lepto-that test is next, or just old age liver compromise, but he's just turned 9
Yesterday at the agility trial I was very nervous, but that is normal for me, and usually my INR drops on a trial weekend.

As for MY liver, no, Ross, I don't think I've got active CHF. No cough, no swelling. I was up 2+ lbs on Friday, at 135.6 but that has fallen off again, without lasix, just watching diet. Several goodies this week at the office (bad girl). But I'm at 132.4 today. I do know my aortic valve is more leaky, but don't know that it has changed since January's TEE.

I'm going to get on the elliptical this afternoon, and eat my kale, and see where that brings me tomorrow, with skipping tonight's dose. I WILL of course, report this to my cardio in the morning.

It's pretty normal for me to hang at one dosage for a couple months, then slowly have to add 2-3 mg per week over a month or so, and then have my INR suddenly flip up to 4-5 and I reduce dosage again back to 25.5. That happens about 2x per year, maybe 3x. But this is really high.

 

[Ross]

I could understand a small rise because even mine does that, but I agree that something fishy if it's risen that high. Do what you must to bring it below 4.

 

[catwoman]

The only thing I can think about as a cause is stress!

Laurie:
It might not be stress per se that could be a factor in your high INR, but perhaps what stress is doing to your body, i.e., throwing your eating habits off. Perhaps you're not eating normally or enough or as frequent, and perhaps that's affecting your INR.
Just a thought.

 

[AgilityDog]

Down .9

Down .9

Well, this morning I'm down .9 to 5.4, (I was actually at 6.3 yesterday, not 6.1) which is certainly better, and y'all can stop worrying about me. I'm going to hold again tonight, since I'm definitely not "theraputic" yet.

The lowest dose on which I've ever been stable has been 24.5/week, or 3.5 daily so that's where I'll start up again tomorrow night, assuming I get close to 4 tomorrow. It's less than a 15% drop overall from 2 weeks ago, but I seem to have a very narrow dosage range. I know better than to make drastic dosage changes-5% usually does the trick. What a PITA!

Note to self: wear bifocals or reading glasses, not contact lenses, when runnining test-this is the second time I've mess up a strip wearing my multifocal contacts. At least the finger sticks stopped bleeding promptly!