Update on cardio visit re coumadin dosing

[jenebug]

(4 weeks and 1 day post AVR)

Promised you all an update on my visit with cardiologist today,and the conversation I was going to have with him re INR testing, etc. It is late tonight and I probably won't be on to answer or comment again until tomorrow, but...
You will all be pleased to know he absolutely agreed with everyone here that you "dose the diet, not diet the dose". I told him how they had been restricting me to 2 servings a week, and having me watch everything so carefully, that I was checking the list before each bite. He shook his head, and said, " No, no, no. I have told them, they are so not right" He said it is not rocket science, and I know when I have probably had too much vit K, to take a whole tab instead of the half, etc. We had a really long talk about it. I felt so much better when I left. He of course stressed consistency, which I had already heard.
I will be returning next Thur for recheck, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks folks.
Next question. He did agree that I would reach a point where I could begin self testing at home. Where do you get a meter for a reasonable price? All I've seen are any where from 600.00 to over 1,000. Why are they so much more than a regular BG machine?

 

[JimL]

I went to www.roche.com and let them walk me through the process. It all depends on insurance co-pays. For me, it's roughly $3 a test out of pocket.

 

[Protimenow]

I bought my meters (yes, I've used a few) on eBay. The ones that were advertised as working - did. Some sellers give you a return policy. I haven't been disappointed with the meters that I've gotten (although, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that my meters are close enough to labs or, for that matter, that labs are accurate enough that I can trust them with my life). My InRatios DO correlate with each other (I have an InRatio and an InRatio2, and tests done within minutes of each other with the same lot of strips always seem to agree).

If you DO have insurance, give it a try first.

In regards to the price issue versus blood glucose meters --- they sell millions of meters, so the cost to make each meter has dropped tremendously over the years. In addition to that, many diabetics test once or more each day -- that is a LOT of strips. In some ways, perhaps just selling the strips is a good subsidy for the meter's cost.

With INR testing - some only do it once or twice a month. And there are far fewer people on warfarin than there are on Insulin. I think it comes down to numbers. It would be great if we could buy our meters for a few bucks and the strips for pennies -- but I don't see that happing for a long time - if ever.

(What we need is an iPhone or Android app that lets you hook up a cheap device and use some cheap strips, and do a test for nearly nothing - recording the values into the phone - and possibly either notifying your doctor/clinic, or just giving you some new dosing advice. Again, probably not for a good, long time)

 

[AgilityDog]

Depending upon your age, medicare may kick in for you, I understand those with medicare spend about $10 per test.

PT is right, the market isn't big enough for the machines to be cheaper. Yet. Maybe some day.