Lovenox

[Jeanne]

Hi,
This is my first time posting so I hope I'm in the right discussion.

This past week my INR has gone from over 7.4 to 1.50. I've been instructed to increased the coumandin and am giving myself two doses of Lovenox a day for three days.

My concern is: Will the Lovenox damage the valve replacement? Any info on Lovenox will be appreciated.

Jeanne

 

[Ross]

Lovenox is used as a bridge therapy to keep you from forming a clot on the valve until your Coumadin level is high enough to do it's job. Who is mismanaging your Coumadin therapy? Tell me the story that lead to this extreme. Dose amounts, frequency of testing, diet, other medications, etc,.

 

[bvdr]

Lovenox should help preserve your valve rather than damage it. What caused your INR to drop so much in the first place?

Oh, by the way, WELCOME!

 

[Nancy]

Lovenox will help your valve, and keep it from forming clots while you stabilize.

I also want to know how it got so low. Do tell.

And welcome.

 

[Jeanne]

Thank You

Thank You

I really appreciate the info on the Lovenox. It is a long story on how I ended up so messed up.

A week and a half ago I went to the ER with a back ache and found I was bleeding internally from ulcers. The ulcers were caused by the Vioxx I was taking for arthritis. My blood count was down to 5.2 so I received a pint of blood. During this time they stopped most of my medications and my whole mind and body was off. Two days after being discharged I was bleeding when I went to the bathroom. I went to ER and they said the INR was 7.5 and gave me a shot of Vitiamin K and instructions to stop the coumadin for two days. I had a blood test done after two days later and it was the opposite 1.5 and that's when they put me on Lovenox. I'll have another blood test done in the morning.

I think what has frightened me is my family doctor is on vacation and I'm being seen by his associates. I really don't feel they know how to treat ME. I've been on Coumadin since my Aortic Valve Replacement in November 2000 and have had very little problems maintaining my coumadin level. So all this has been a shock. If I'm still off so much after tomorrow's test I am seeking another Coumadin Clinic. This truly has been a horrible scary two weeks.

Another questions: Does the up and down levels cause any other side effects?

Thank you all again for the messages it made me feel much better with taking the Lovenox.

Have a great Sunday!!

Jeanne


PS I still have the back ache...lol

 

[Ross]

I'm still unclear on how you got to 7.5. Someone is doing something terribly wrong here.

What is your dose? How do you take it? How often do they test you? What is your normal INR when you are normal?

 

[Jeanne]

Thanks

Thanks

Hi,
I don't know how the INR went over 7.5 unless while I was in the hospital they weren't monitoring the way the should have or the drastic change in other medications and diet messed it up. Also, my mental state has been mess.

I usually stay steady at 2.9. I've been on 3 mg coumadin 6 days and 1 1/3 1 day a week. I usually get tested every 4 weeks. Like I said before I've not had any problems in the past.

Hopefully my blood test tomorrow will be close to normal.

Thank you again.

Jeanne

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Yes Jeane, I think finding a REAL Coumadin Clinic would be wise. Hopefully they can keep you better regulated.

'AL'

 

[Ross]

I have a hard time with someone taking such a small dose and ending up with 7.5. Certainly someone dropped the ball. See if you can find a Coumadin Clinic close to home that does fingerstick testing and knows how to manage your therapy. The dose your on wouldn't even budge my INR. I'm jealous.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Hi,
I don't know how the INR went over 7.5 unless while I was in the hospital they weren't monitoring the way the should have or the drastic change in other medications and diet messed it up. Also, my mental state has been mess.

I usually stay steady at 2.9. I've been on 3 mg coumadin 6 days and 1 1/3 1 day a week. I usually get tested every 4 weeks. Like I said before I've not had any problems in the past.

Hopefully my blood test tomorrow will be close to normal.

Thank you again.

Jeanne

Jeanne -

I suggest you get a copy of your MEDICATION LIST while you were in the hospital. Perhaps one of the drugs you received caused your INR to shoot up.

Do you normally eat a lot of foods with vitamin K? If so,
did your diet in the hospital have any vitamin K in it? Dietary changes can also affect INR but I suspect it took more than changes in diet to get you up to an INR of 7.5

'AL'

 

[catwoman]

I usually stay steady at 2.9. I've been on 3 mg coumadin 6 days and 1 1/3 1 day a week.

Third of a tablet? I know you can do halves, even fourths of a tablet, but a third??
Anyone know how to third a tablet? Just in case I ever need to... Hope I don't though.

 

[bvdr]

Marsha, as strange as it sounds, I can remember my dad getting instructions from his coumadin nurse at the VA hospital. She would call and tell him his weekly dosage and how he was to divide it up. It wasn't real accurate but he would just break a piece off a piece. Sometimes it looked like a quarter of a piece, sometimes a third, sometimes it just looked like a little sliver. He just took everything in stride. He never was a salad lover and I think he was secretly happy to turn down the greens my mom was always trying to give him. For me, I base my coumadin on a diet high in Vitamin K.

 

[catwoman]

Betty:

I've split human Rx pills many times for cats, and when I get down to 1/6, 1/8, etc., I doubt I'm really giving that much, since so much is lost in the splitting.

 

[Jeanne]

Thank You

Thank You

Hi,

Thank you all for the support. I went to my Cardiologist and got started in their Coumadin Clinic. Unfornately my family doctor has been on vacation and his partners really screwed up my medications. It has been a tramatic week and a half, but I'm on the road to recovery. Thank you again.

My dose was 1 1/2 not 1 1/3. Typo. Surprised I could even write at all. lol

Again thanks so glad this forum was here when I needed it.

Jeanne

 

[Guest]

The GI bleed alone could have caused the increased INR. The bacteris in the intestine got washed out and were no longer present to contribute vitamin K. If this was tryuly the cause, your INR should stabilize in a few weeks when the bacteria return.