Why Is Warfarin So Hard To Manage?

[Guest]

I have developed a theory about why warfarin is so hard to manage. It is posted on my website at
http://www.warfarinfo.com/iodine.htm

 

[Raverlaw]

Thanks, Al. That was interesting. The problem would be in identifying and quantifying the effects on thyroid activity and therefore INR.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to try to live a boring, predictable life so that I never have to guess why my INR is out of range...

Excuse me, but I've got to go make a spinach salad to go with that glass of wine-

 

[Ross]

It's certainly food for thought. I'm really wondering about Carla's INR going all over the place. I know of a couple of affecting variables, but nothing that explains the wild swings.

 

[EVELYN]

Good reading, Mr. Coumadin---thanks, Al.

Evelyn

 

[Nan]

Thanks Al for the info/thoughts.....the vitamin K supplement is also an interesting thought! It would be great if we could figure out how to balance things so our INR's would not go out of whack!

 

[Guest]

My main idea is that we will probably never be able to take control of this. First, we do not know if this is true.
Second, we do not know how much iodine, if any, is needed to make this happen.
Third, we do not know how long the effect of the iodine persists.

With warfarin being a generic and replacements for it being developed, it is extremely unlikely that we will ever know the answers. Therefore, it is useless to try to quantify it. Instead of people obsessing over what made the change, it is best just to accept that there are unknown forces that we cannot control. We can exert influence over the things that we can control, but it is probably useless to expend a great deal of time worrying about what caused an INR to get out of line.