ebay meters

[danjayh]

I've been on warfarin for about a month due to afib, and next week, I'm getting a mechanical mitral valve. I am not impressed with the responsiveness or organization of the nurses at my cardiologist who do INR management - they don't return phone calls, they get annoyed if I test 'too often' (anything more than ~2x/month), and they don't seem to communicate (I hit an INR of 5.1 once, and called with a few questions 3 times, spoke to a different nurse each time, and got different instructions on what to do all three times).

So, after I have my new valve, I would like very much to do 1-2x/week home monitoring along side the lab monitoring. I'm not stable, and I don't feel like the people responsible for keeping me in-range do a good job, so I'd like to have some immediate feedback.

After searching ebay, there seem to be only two types of moderately affordable meters- Coaguchek S and the older ProTime models.

I know that Roche plans to cease manufacturing strips for Coaguchek S soon, so obviously I want to avoid that. My question is this: Does anyone know if the older protime units will continue to be supported for a while, and if they're fairly accurate? Here's an example of the type I'm talking about:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ProTime-Microco...222?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb5e7069e

Thanks!

PS - I don't want to spend too much money, because at 90 days, my insurance will probably buy me a meter ... but after 90 days, I'll probably be pretty stable, and I wont be going out of my mind worrying about it anymore anyway.

 

[AgilityDog]

If you have just started warfarin, you may not be real stable at first, so you are right, you should be testing weekly. I'd recommend speaking to your cardiologist about referring you to a clinic for management for the interim period, until your insurance buys you a meter. He needs to know if his nurses are not managing you properly. And twice a month testing for a newbie, who is unstable, is dangerous, especially with your record of 5.1 being ignored/conflicting treatments.

First, though, print a copy of the warfarin management chart that is discussed in an earlier thread. If you know what the answer likely should be, you can call the nurse on any discrepancy.

 

[ajay_22_86]

He needs to know if his nurses are not managing you properly.

Or she.

 

[Bina]

After your MVR next week, hopefully your INR will be handled more effectively.
Mine only took a couple of weeks to be stable and has been fine ever since.
Of course I keep a very watchful eye on it, and eat balanced meals.
Also, I DON"T mess with my dosing for every little blip.
Testing every 2 weeks now.

 

[Protimenow]

I would stay away from the CoaguChek S -- it's been discontinued and strips won't be available much longer (as you indicated). Roche has no programs to assist users who want to upgrade to XS.

ProTime is a different matter entirely. I spoke to the marketing manager at athe company that makes the ProTime meter and strips about a year ago, and he told me that they have no plans to discontinue the strips (and I think they're still making the meters, too). Although they're apparently still working on getting FDA approval of a new meter, they don't seem to be planning to stop any support of the older ProTime meters.

Although the ProTime tests are a bit more of a pain than testing with InRatio or CoaguChek XS, the tests are quite accurate and, in my experience, the results can be trusted -- especially if your INR is in range. I had a concussion in December 2009, and had my INR tested in the O.R. -- The hospital lab's reading was 2.92. The day before, when I did my regular test on a ProTime 3, the result was 2.9.

I'm a bit disappointed to see that the pricing for ALL the meters seems to have climbed up, but if you get one with a warranty, you should be happy with your purchase -- at least until you get a newer InRatio or CoaguChek XS.

If I wasn't fortunate enough to get an InRatio, I'd still be happily using my ProTime 3.

(I've been slammed in the past for writing about buying a meter on eBay. I bought one for $1 (yes $1) expecting it to not work properly. The date was way off, and I had to reset it, and I didn't really trust the results on this meter -- but it came with a charger, videotape instructions, and printed manual...well worth the $1. The meters that I spent somewhat more for all worked well. )

(If you want a CoaguChek S - acknowledging the end of life for this products - send me a private message. I've got one that I never really liked, bought new, tried to run about 25 tests on, and have little use for)

 

[Gail in Ca]

My protime meter still works just fine, although now I must plug it in to use it. The charge won't hold anymore. It was always very accurate when I tested it against the lab. I was told that the 5 channel cuvettes are being phased out. My protime just sits, now, as a backup only, I guess. I got a new coaguchek xs because I wanted it, and my insurance paid for it, no why not? I like the one drop of blood vs many drops required for the protime.

 

[Protimenow]

Gail:

I don't know which ProTime meter you have, but they DO sell replacement batteries for both meters. If you have a ProTime 3, the battery replacement process is easier than it is for the original ProTime meter. (You'll notice that, even if the battery isn't working any more, when you plug your ProTime into the electricity, it's still got your most recent results stored -- this meter uses flash memory for storing settings and test results). If you're really new to the XS, you should be aware that the blood sampling is a bit different for this meter than it was for the ProTime. THe ProTime wants you to wipe away the first drop -- with the CoaguChek and InRatio meters, it wants you to use that first drop. If you're still wiping it away, you may get an incorrect INR on your CoaguChek.