INR Testing?

[RandyL]

After reading several months of posts concerning INR and testing procedures, I have come to the conclusion there are a lot of folks testing on different schedules,ie. weekly,2 weeks,4 weeks,6 weeks, etc. Which interval do you test at and why did you pick it?
Thanks

 

[Karlynn]

I usually test weekly. This is more out of habit than necessity. I started home testing because my INR was fairly unstable. It's much more stable these days (with the exception of the last month) and probably don't need to test every week.

 

[sue943]

I am tested at a warfarin clinic, they tell me when next to go for testing, if stable then it is monthly, if unstable then more often. Currently four weekly.

 

[Ross]

I joyfully prick my finger every Wednesday!

 

[Blanche]

Albert and I both test once a week. Albert does so because he had what drs called "a coumadin failure" and he suffered a series of strokes. When he stroked his INR was 1.6, meaning he was not anticoagulated. He had been testing monthly for 10 years, 1 month, and 26 days when the stroke fell him. He was scheduled to have his protime test at the lab the day after his stroke....Doctors said that if he had tested earlier the stroke"might" have been avoided. Since then, life has surely not been what I expected....

I just started taking Coumadin recently. I test and will test every week too for many reasons, the most pragmatic being one of us has to be able to drive the car back and forth to all the doctors appointments we have...and since his stroke in December 2000, Albert has not driven a motor vehicle.

Medicare requires that people test weekly. Also, there have been several studies, mostly small ones, that indicate that testing more frequently than monthly has benefits.

Regards,
Blanche

 

[RandyL]

Very sorry about your husband Blanche, sometimes life is just not fair at all. Why was your husband taking coumadin, I don't see anything in your signature explaining his conditions. Do you take coumadin for a valve? or something else. Don't mean to be nosey but just curious.

 

[catwoman]

I test weekly because I have a mitral valve and require a higher INR range.

 

[Gnusgal]

I'm really between 2 and 4 weeks. I home test and don't really have a set schedule set up (I know, probably not good of me). I try to do it every two weeks, but a lot of times it ends up being three. My INR has been pretty stable the last six months (except yesterday when it went up to 4.5, but I'm not too worried), so I figure I'm doing okay.

 

[Ross]

I'm really between 2 and 4 weeks. I home test and don't really have a set schedule set up (I know, probably not good of me). I try to do it every two weeks, but a lot of times it ends up being three. My INR has been pretty stable the last six months (except yesterday when it went up to 4.5, but I'm not too worried), so I figure I'm doing okay.

You need a good spanking!

 

[EVELYN]

Fridays are Tyce's day to test.....usually in the afternoon just in case we have to make an adjustment of our evening dosage. He usually runs pretty steady most of the year.....the summer is the big bugaboo!!! Ups, downs, bbq's, outdoor work, parties, etc., etc., etc.,

Evelyn

 

[Gnusgal]

You need a good spanking!

You gonna come and give it to me?

 

[Ross]

You gonna come and give it to me?

Hon you know if I could, I would.

 

[Blanche]

Life is good, but it is different, Randy. Al had his mitral valve replaced with a St Jude mechanical valve in Octber 1990 after getting endocarditis from dental work....and he was medicated when he had the dental work. For 10 plus years he tested monthly and had very few dose changes. Neither of us thought twice about anticoagulation and didn't even know the difference between an INR and an IRA. But, Al is an engineer and most engineers that I know are very exacting. He had his test every month, regardless.

I recently developed atrial fibrillation (lone a-fib), cause unknown. It is likely that I will be on anticoagulation for the rest of my days because a-fib is recognized as a powerful risk factor for stroke. Imagine that! (SMILES)

Randy, ask me what you will. I like nosey, courious, inquiring folks of all ages...Dealing with inquiring minds used to be my profession.

Now, on a practical note, when you are interested in more info about a person here, you might check their profile. I have found lots of information there to help me when responding to other members....for example, there are times when it is good to know what kind of valve...aortic or mitral....one has..

Kindest regards,
Blanche

 

[Marty]

I test every two weeks. I only test weekly if I am out of range and make a dose adjustment. Once I have two consecutive tests back in range I return to every two weeks.

 

[Lynlw]

Life is good, but it is different, Randy. Al had his mitral valve replaced with a St Jude mechanical valve in Octber 1990 after getting endocarditis from dental work....and he was medicated when he had the dental work. For 10 plus years he tested monthly and had very few dose changes. Neither of us thought twice about anticoagulation and didn't even know the difference between an INR and an IRA. But, Al is an engineer and most engineers that I know are very exacting. He had his test every month, regardless.

I recently developed atrial fibrillation (lone a-fib), cause unknown. It is likely that I will be on anticoagulation for the rest of my days because a-fib is recognized as a powerful risk factor for stroke. Imagine that! (SMILES)

Randy, ask me what you will. I like nosey, courious, inquiring folks of all ages...Dealing with inquiring minds used to be my profession.

Now, on a practical note, when you are interested in more info about a person here, you might check their profile. I have found lots of information there to help me when responding to other members....for example, there are times when it is good to know what kind of valve...aortic or mitral....one has..

Kindest regards,
Blanche

just butting in here,first off Blanche, i'll sorry about all your husband has been thru and i now how frustrating it would be to get Be when you medicated, since Justin has always premed for the dentist and was one of the very few "lucky" kids to get BE from losing oneof his bigger baby teeth,

and I thought your hint to check profiles was good for people to know, I just wanted to add, when peoples profiles are vague, i sometime go back and read their first couple posts and it usually gives their story, Lyn
ps BTW speaking of sigs how does one make one?

 

[RandyL]

just butting in here,first off Blanche, i'll sorry about all your husband has been thru and i now how frustrating it would be to get Be when you medicated, since Justin has always premed for the dentist and was one of the very few "lucky" kids to get BE from losing oneof his bigger baby teeth,

and I thought your hint to check profiles was good for people to know, I just wanted to add, when peoples profiles are vague, i sometime go back and read their first couple posts and it usually gives their story, Lyn
ps BTW speaking of sigs how does one make one?

you can make your sig in your profile

 

[geebee]

I voted every 2 weeks because, since my test strips are no longer covered by insurance, it is too expensive to test weekly. However, I do test weekly if my INR is off to make sure I get it back in line. I have been very stable lately so 2 weeks is the norm for me. Still much better than the monthly or every 6 weeks when I was having my arms tortured.

 

[fyrfytr]

I test weekly and call my clinic every six weeks with my results and what dose I am on. This has been working very well for me.

 

[Guest]

My clinic has gotten so busy that I routinely schedule people who are stable for 6 week intervals. Because 6 weeks from now is Labor Day, I am scheduling 7 week intervals.

 

[Natanni]

I voted for Nathan;

He home tests every week, Sunday morning. He started off with this pattern because we are newbies, hehe. He does get a 3 month check with a local coumadin clinic on a Protime, which our fantastic coumadin nurse just laughs off because Nathan has been one of her easiest patients. Nathan's target was lowered to 2.5 to 3.0 (from 2.5-3.5) due to his heart function improvement post op