INR 2.5 on INRatio....worried

[Nick'sMom]

Hi Everyone!

We just got my son's INRatio machine last week and we tested him at the Dr's office, right after they drew his blood to send to the lab. The lab results came back at 3.1 and his INRatio machine results were 3.8. They were happy with those results and said that they would leave his dosing along for right now. They wanted us to test weekly at the lab for a couple more weeks to see the difference between the machine and lab values, so we tested yesterday and the INratio machine said 2.5, so of course I panic since last week there was a .7 difference between lab and machine value and the Dr's office took the lab result as the "correct" one. They had trouble drawing his blood at the lab yesterday, so I don't even know if they had enough to blood to complete the test. They said they were going to send what they had and see what happened. (They stuck him twice and didn't want to stick him anymore, plus there wasn't much left to stick).

So what is a mom to do? We are still new to the whole thing and I know you all have stressed on here that his INR being low is more dangerous then when it was at 4 and I was worried. I went ahead and gave him 2.5 mg last night, his normal dose is 2mg everyday. Should that help or should I have given him 3 mg? I will find out the lab results tomorrow morning, provided they could run the test. If they couldn't then we'll be back at the lab tomorrow morning I guess.

Thanks!

 

[Karlynn]

Test yourself, or someone else in the family (that isn't on blood altering meds and is healthy) on the INRatio and see what you get. A person not on anticoagulation will test between .8 and 1.2. If you get a result outside of that range, give Hemosense a call. (I tested my husband a few weeks ago on my INRatio and he was .9, so I'm pretty secure in the accuracy of my machine.)

We just had a discussion in another thread about the lab result being thought of as the definitive answer. That is not always the case. You don't know what happened with the tube of blood once it left your sight. You don't know how long it sat around or how the test was run. Did they give you the lab result the same day (within a few hours) that Nick was tested? Two tests with the same sample of blood run back to back in the lab will have different results.

Lab results on Monday, from a test run on Saturday are pretty useless. And this is certainly one instance when you need to be suspect of how long the tube of blood sat around. My cardio that I had at the time of my surgery and for several years after would raise holy heck with the lab if they didn't have my results within 3 hours. INR tests should always be STAT.

Take some deep breaths - everything is going to be okay.

 

[Ross]

Trust your meter! Test someone who is not on anticoagulation, even yourself, and if your results are .9 to 1.2, there is nothing wrong with the machine. Don't let the numbers rattle you so much. As long as your between 2.0 and 4.0, don't sweat it. It's not a big deal.

All Doctors are going to consider their labs superior. They don't know any better and this is what they are taught. It doesn't make the lab any more precise then your machine.

 

[Nick'sMom]

Ok, tested my hubby and he was 1.1, so then I guess my son's machine is pretty accurate. I feel a little better now.

Thanks!!!

 

[Karlynn]

Ok, tested my hubby and he was 1.1, so then I guess my son's machine is pretty accurate. I feel a little better now.

Thanks!!!

That's a very good thing! Trust your machine.

 

[Guest]

If Nick's range is 2.5 to 3.5, then neither a 2.5 nor a 3.8 requires any change in the warfarin dose.

 

[catwoman]

Holly:

How did Nick react to the INRatio as opposed to lab draws?
I'll bet it's a lifesaver.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Next time, have him drink a large glass (or two) of water several hours BEFORE going to the Lab. Hopefully that will give him a little extra Blood Volume for a good sample.

My (once good vein) has been so overused that sometimes they don't get a good sample. I've quit using the veins near my elbow and just tell them to use the prominent veins in my hands with the smallest needle they have (usually I ask for a "Butterfly" which is a tiny needle with small flexible tubing to that connects to the collection tube.

'AL Capshaw'