mini-stoke

[Susan BAV]

Harpoon, when I was on Coumadin, I was having a very difficult time getting my INR within even a couple of days of testing. I think it was mostly related to a bit of a battle/power struggle between doctors' offices (distant cardio vs. local family doctor) and who would test me and who would manage me (and who would get paid for it); I didn't quite comprehend the scope of the conflict at the time. But at least some of the difficulty was also related to ignorance by one of the nurses within the local medical office. Florence Nightingale, she wasn't !

Surely you have valid evidence proving the necessity for hometesting now! I hope it all works out well for you.

 

[Harpoon]

Currently, I have no reliable testing program. That flew out the window over a year ago when my former PCP dumped me from their service for missing (they say) appointments.

I was tested every 12 hours while in the hospital for about 6 days and my INR was around 1.1 when I was admitted and was 2.6 when I was released. I was tested three days ago at a blood draw clinic and my results were sent to my cardiologist and (new) PCP but I don't now the results. I'm going to get tested again tomorrow.

This is a really big issue right now because with the length of time between the blood draw, the results, those results getting faxed to doctors and then those doctors contacting me is is quite up in the air. I have no idea really.

When I was with the old PCP they had a finger stick machine in their office. I saw the same result as the tech/nurse did within a few moments of drawing blood. Now, it could be a week or more, I don't know.

The other thing I will do tomorrow is call my insurance. It's Independent Health which (I think) is mostly western New York state area, not a national company. They've balked at me before on home testing but this time, I think I've got a stronger case.