Ross
Well-known member
And so it begins, that nagging cough that turned into bronchitis has made me get antibiotics. I was to take 500mg of Biaxin once a day for a week. Mind you, this is on a supposed INR testing day, so I'm told to wait till Monday to have it tested. I go in last Monday for my last needle jab before starting at another clinic that uses fingersticks, fully expecting to have a high INR since Biaxin is Clarithromycin. Well whatta ya know. I test at 2.4! Now I'm not happy. Here we are on the 4th day of Biaxin and only 2.4? O.k., I'll accept that and make a 10% increase over the week.
Now we come to Friday. I'm now off of the Biaxin. I go to get my first finger stick and whatta ya know, 4.8! I'm told to hold one dose and resume normal schedule then retest in one week. I'm going to do just that this time. This will be interesting when Friday rolls around again.
I'm now thoroughly convinced that the needle jab lab is not accurate at anytime that I go. I look at my chart and dosages and see a trend-Same dose going well below and well above range. There is a period of stability, meaning that I've tested more in range at this particular dose then not, but clearly, something is not right with this picture. I can't wait to see what trend develops with this fingerstick testing. This should be very interesting. Meanwhile, I'll be filling in the forms and getting them off to Michele in hopes of getting my own machine. I now have my Cardiologist who agrees with me and will prescribe it. I may not get it, but darned if I'm not going to try!
I don't like to drive anywhere near that dang hospital and wouldn't you know the coumadin clinic is in a new physcians office building right in front of the hospital! Oh well, I may not like the drive or the scenery, but the fingerstick testing is so much more enjoyable that I actually look forward to going now. I told all of you I'm just not right in the head. Guess not huh?
Now we come to Friday. I'm now off of the Biaxin. I go to get my first finger stick and whatta ya know, 4.8! I'm told to hold one dose and resume normal schedule then retest in one week. I'm going to do just that this time. This will be interesting when Friday rolls around again.
I'm now thoroughly convinced that the needle jab lab is not accurate at anytime that I go. I look at my chart and dosages and see a trend-Same dose going well below and well above range. There is a period of stability, meaning that I've tested more in range at this particular dose then not, but clearly, something is not right with this picture. I can't wait to see what trend develops with this fingerstick testing. This should be very interesting. Meanwhile, I'll be filling in the forms and getting them off to Michele in hopes of getting my own machine. I now have my Cardiologist who agrees with me and will prescribe it. I may not get it, but darned if I'm not going to try!
I don't like to drive anywhere near that dang hospital and wouldn't you know the coumadin clinic is in a new physcians office building right in front of the hospital! Oh well, I may not like the drive or the scenery, but the fingerstick testing is so much more enjoyable that I actually look forward to going now. I told all of you I'm just not right in the head. Guess not huh?
