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perrybucsdad
Well, if you are on Coumadin or not, you cut yourself with a chainsaw, you are going to be bleeding quite a bit either way.
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Gemma
Hi Veronica,
Hope Genaro's doing OK - let us know when he has another INR test and what the results/dosage changes are, OK?
Just had a couple of points to add -
1) Like Al said, it takes 3 or 4 days for a dosage change to show a change in test results, so the Friday test wouldn't have shown the effect of the new dosage. Testing more than every 3 days can lead to all sorts of ups and downs in the INR. I hope he's been tested today or will be tomorrow - that should give a much clearer picture of what's going on.
2) You also need to look at the trend his INR's been following - if it had been going up steadily on a dose of 2mg daily, probably it did need to be decreased although 50% is still a big change to make. That kind of "adjustment" can lead to massive swings in the INR as well.
3) Don't panic!
It can take a while for the INR to settle down. It's still early days and until Genaro's routine becomes more normal, his INR may fluctuate a bit. It took Jim and I a few months to figure out the whole INR testing/dosage thing. It got a lot easier when he got his home-testing machine - now if his INR is out of range we can pretty much decide what his dosage will change to before even being told by the hospital! (bit different over here - his clinic won't allow him to decide his own dosages or even accept his readings which are usually within 0.2 of theirs but he does a test at home just before going for the blood test at his doctor's surgery. Very long-winded story I'm sorry - that's the abbreviated version!!)
4)Keep an eye on what this pharmacist is up to. Your gut instincts are normally right and if you're concerned about his advice, question it.
Best wishes,
Gemma.
Hope Genaro's doing OK - let us know when he has another INR test and what the results/dosage changes are, OK?
Just had a couple of points to add -
1) Like Al said, it takes 3 or 4 days for a dosage change to show a change in test results, so the Friday test wouldn't have shown the effect of the new dosage. Testing more than every 3 days can lead to all sorts of ups and downs in the INR. I hope he's been tested today or will be tomorrow - that should give a much clearer picture of what's going on.
2) You also need to look at the trend his INR's been following - if it had been going up steadily on a dose of 2mg daily, probably it did need to be decreased although 50% is still a big change to make. That kind of "adjustment" can lead to massive swings in the INR as well.
3) Don't panic!
It can take a while for the INR to settle down. It's still early days and until Genaro's routine becomes more normal, his INR may fluctuate a bit. It took Jim and I a few months to figure out the whole INR testing/dosage thing. It got a lot easier when he got his home-testing machine - now if his INR is out of range we can pretty much decide what his dosage will change to before even being told by the hospital! (bit different over here - his clinic won't allow him to decide his own dosages or even accept his readings which are usually within 0.2 of theirs but he does a test at home just before going for the blood test at his doctor's surgery. Very long-winded story I'm sorry - that's the abbreviated version!!)4)Keep an eye on what this pharmacist is up to. Your gut instincts are normally right and if you're concerned about his advice, question it.
Best wishes,
Gemma.
Ross
Well-known member
You think? We people on Coumadin are bullet proof. We can jump out of airplanes without parachutes we are so tough.perrybucsdad said:
G
Guest
Heparin-Induced-Thrombocytopenia is an allergic reaction to heparin or Lovenox, Fragmin etc. Instead of preventing clots, the heparin suddenly causes clots. You can read more about it at http://warfarinfo.com/hit.htm
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Barry
With the exception of no longer riding motorcycles for fear of road rash being a terminal condition, and no longer engaging in power drinking, I haven't changed my lifestyle one bit since I've been on Coumadin/Warfarin. I bleed more from minor cuts, and do get nosebleeds more often (which is more than never), but I don't worry about it: I just apply pressure until the bleeding stops - which, on Coumadin, is a rather long time.
I figure that so long as I'm not bleeding so profusely as to be endangered, it's just an annoyance.
I figure that so long as I'm not bleeding so profusely as to be endangered, it's just an annoyance.
INRtest
Well-known member
Barry said:
I just got a stupid paper cut. Wrapped a tissue around it, put pressure on it and guess it is not unlike my pre-coumadin self, just a little longer to clot. Definitely a PITA, but not too terrible.
I used to use my chain-saw pretty often and now that I'm on C., I don't use it any more because I would certainly miss a finger, hand, arm or leg.
B
Barry
Now that I think of it, I've had far fewer problems with nose bleeds now that I've stopped making passes at other men's wives in bars.
sharon
Well-known member
Hi Veronica,
Don't panic about the inr numbers - although I'm sure that most of us did in the beginning. The bloody nose is not unusual as you've read. I get them all winter when the heat is on. I find that if I just spray my nose several times a day with a saline solution it helps stop my nose from bleeding. Also you should take into consideration the fact that Genaro had surgery just over a week ago and during the procedure he had tubes in his nose (along with other places) and that had to disturb the membranes in his nose and irritated it so much that perhaps a small blood vessel in his nose may have broken. If it continues to bleed he should consider having it cauterized.
Sharon
St Judes avr 4/97
Don't panic about the inr numbers - although I'm sure that most of us did in the beginning. The bloody nose is not unusual as you've read. I get them all winter when the heat is on. I find that if I just spray my nose several times a day with a saline solution it helps stop my nose from bleeding. Also you should take into consideration the fact that Genaro had surgery just over a week ago and during the procedure he had tubes in his nose (along with other places) and that had to disturb the membranes in his nose and irritated it so much that perhaps a small blood vessel in his nose may have broken. If it continues to bleed he should consider having it cauterized.
Sharon
St Judes avr 4/97
