Anyone in or near Virginia, USA have a CoaguSense home monitoring machine?

[Aggie85]

I'm posting this in both forums to reach the most people.
I'm having trouble at the Anti-coagulation (AC) Clinic with the POC machines not reading my INR correctly. (There's a pretty extensive thread already going on the Anticoagulation forum about this.) short version is POC machines keep reading my INR much higher than the Vein blood draws do.

Example: POC reads 6.7 while Vein Blood draw done 15 min later, reads 3.2 (I don't remember if those were my actual correlated numbers, but they'd be like that; one WAAAY over range and one nicely in or near range.)

Some of the replies have stated that the CoaguSense machine processes the blood differently than the CoaguCheck machines used at the AC Clinic.

Is there anyone anywhere near Virginia that has a CoaguSense home machine that is willing to let me try seeing what it reads as an INR on me? I live in the DC, Northern Va area, but am willing to drive to you or meet you somewhere as would be best for you.

You can PM or reply here if any information or able to help.

Thanks, Linda

 

[Protimenow]

I'm in Southern California, so the only way I can help you is to sell you one of my machines (I have two). However, you may try contacting the company. Their web address is www.coagusense.com. it is an interesting site, describing the mode used to determine INR, and also has a good Contact page with phone numbers and e-mail addresses that you can use to contact them.

They should be able to help you out -- perhaps there's a doctor or clinic in the area that can do a test or two for you.

 

[Aggie85]

Good suggestion, Protimenow. Thanks.

 

[Aggie85]

STILL HOPING TO FIND SOMEONE ON MY SIDE OF THE US WITH THE COAG-SENSE MACHINE. (All caps just for emphasis since new forum format doesn't allow for spaces between lines.) Asking again to keep this fresh. Is there anyone on the Eastern US Coast who has a Coag-Sense POC machine that i can meet up with to see if that brand of machine might work on me? Looks like local clinic who has one is going to be a problem to hook up with. They won't let me just come do a trial test even when the CS company offered to reimburse them the strips. They want me to drop my current clinic and get set up as a client with them before testing. Since I don't even know if the machine will work any differently, I'm not really wanting to do this for a couple reasons. First, I was dang lucky to get in with the clinic I'm with. Nowadays, with staff cutbacks, etc... it's dang near impossible for dependents of military members to be seen at the on base facilities (priority of course goes to the military members) and if I'm seen off base, then I have to pay deductibles and jump through hoops insurance wise. Second, I'm very pleased and happy with the care I'm getting at this clinic. I've pretty thoroughly tested their competence through all this and am happy with what I'm seeing. They are helpful and responsive and have a good philosophy of management. I don't want to risk not being able to get back in with them if I drop them to trial test on the other clinic's machine. I'm getting to the point of taking ProTimeNow up on his offer, but am going to exhaust other options first. Hope all are well. Linda

 

[Protimenow]

Linda:
The clinic that you're describing (the one that is treating you) sounds great. If it was me, I certainly wouldn't leave in order to go to a clinic that is more interested in locking in new patients than it is in helping to resolve a possible mystery. It's a shame that there aren't any systems in place that would make it easy to find other clinics or practices that use the Coag-Sense. (Another thought -- the anticoagulation clinic at the hospital where I go uses a Hemochron Junior. This is apparently a meter that is also used in operating rooms and that can perform specialized tests (including PT/INR) during surgery. Perhaps your hospital, or a clinic that is associated with your hospital, or perhaps even someone in the cardiac surgery area could provide access for a PT/INR on of those machines.

 

[Aggie85]

Protimenow, I've gone looking for you PM and it's not in my mailbox. Maybe it got dropped when they changed to the new format. When I get a chance I'll try to PM you from my desktop computer and give you my direct email address so we can work out possible trial and maybe purchase of your extra machine. I'm going to wait till I see what happens with official home monitoring set up first, so it might be a while. Meanwhile I'll keep keeping track of who can draw blood on me in less than two to three stick attempts. My favorite tech finally blew his streak of one stick goes. 8 weeks before he had to do the draw with more than a single poke! :-(