hometesting INR while on Lovenox

[Troy]

Prior to my carpal tunnel surgery I will be on Lovenox. The cardio's nurse said my INRatio finger stick machine would not accurately measure my INR while on Lovenox. Is that true? (She has given me some misinformation before, just cautious now.)

Troy

 

[geebee]

The monitor would accurately measure your INR but your INR will be around 1.0 while you are off coumadin. Lovenox does not change the INR.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

The nurse and Gina are correct. I learned this when I was on Lovenox and my INR was 1.0. Lovenox works differently.

 

[Ross]

Lovenox works completely different and should not be reflected at all in an INR test. You should be able to test anyhow. If I'm wrong, I'm sure I'm going to hear about it.

 

[Gail in Ca]

Lovenox, ugh

Lovenox, ugh

I had to go on Lovenox for the 1st time prior to my 1st colonoscopy.
I was told when to go off coumadin and when to start the Lovenox.
My INR dropped very fast off the coumadin, and I started Lovenox shots. What a painful experience to give myself shots in the abdomen. I had lots of large bruises from these many days of shots. I began to dread giving myself the shots. Also, it took much longer for my INR to come up after resuming coumadin. At an INR of 2.0, I decided to stop the shots,( I had used up all in the box), and just took extra coumadin on my own. I tested every couple of days and my INR was finally in range. I wrote it all down so I would know next time, how my body reacted to being off coumadin and on Lovenox, then on coumadin again. It was not the most pleasant experience I've had.
Gail

 

[Ross]

Sorry you had it rough Gail, I didn't find it all that bad. One trick is to numb the area with ice, then inject it. Cuts the bruising down quite a bit.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

The first time I was on Lovenox I gave mine in my thighs, same place as I'd previously given insulin and before that penicillin. Penicillin was worse by far! The second time I was on it, they told me I had to do it in my stomach, which scared me. It actually hurt less than the thighs - a little too much fat I suppose! Neither time did I have any problems from bruising. However, the bruising from the surgery was quite impressive!

 

[MarciaB]

Ah, Lovenox. After nine surgeries in the last year and a half, I've developed quite a love-hate relationship with Lovenox. I found that if I squeezed slightly on the pinch of skin where I was injecting that it hurt less and bruised less. Also, it seemed better if I did it standing instead of sitting. My issue has been returning to theraputic levels of INR without hematomas. Of those surgeries, two were to fix hematomas, one of which I lost a liter and half of blood. Only two of my more minor surgeries didn't end with some type of hematoma. The problem seems to be when my INR is coming back up, but still being on the full dose of Lovenox. I finally commented to my plastic surgeon that it seemed like the Lovenox was dissolving the clots, and he agreed that it was. I would advise anyone on Coumadin and Lovenox to take it very easy after surgery, even more than the doctor recommends.

Hindsight being what it is, if I knew I'd get cancer and have all these surgeries, I'd have thought a lot harder about a tissue valve. BTW home testing has been great through this, because as soon as I hit 2.0, I could stop the shots. And I don't feel that I can whine too much about the shots, my neice is on coumadin for clotting issues, is pregnant, and has to do the shots for the full 9 months.

Good luck with your surgery - and take it easy afterwards!


Marcia

 

[HemoSense-Brendan]

With the INRatio monitor our recommendation is that you not test your INR within 5 hours of taking the lovenox due to risk of potential interfearance with providing a reliable result.

 

[Ross]

I knew I hear about it.