Thanks to Al, I'm back in range!

[kbheart]

As some of you know I've been having trouble getting my INR back into range since March. About a month ago I bought a copy of Al's protocol and started following that instead of the Nurse's advice at the coumadin clinic. She would suggest these tiny increases when my INR was below 2.0. This week my INR was finally back in range at 2.7!!

The funny (or sad) part is that the nurse didn't even have a decent record of what she had suggested the last two times. She thinks I followed her advice these past 2 weeks. Now I'm not sure what to do. I told her the first time (2 weeks ago) that I had disregarded her advice but yesterday I was just so happy to be in range that I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had ignored her advice again.

Now I'm worried the clinic will continue to give out bad advice. What's a diplomatic way to suggest that there are algorithms out there that may work better than guessing??! I see her again in 2 weeks.

 

[Ross]

Casually give her the link to Al's site. That's what I did with my nurse and last time I was there, I saw that she had printed out for herself alot of Al's information. If you don't think that will work, take the chart with you and show it to her. They are never believers until they know what they're doing wrong and there are many, even in high regarded institutions, that haven't a clue.

 

[catwoman]

I agree with Ross' 2nd suggestion: Take the chart with you to the clinic.

I showed the chart to my family physician & his staff, and they thought it was pretty good.

 

[OldNick]

The Value of a Chart

The Value of a Chart

Shortly after I had St. Jude aortic and mitral valves implanted in 1993, I began to see that INR adjustments were not the strong suit of most medical personnel. I began charting my progress using an Excel spreadsheet, and shared the resulting chart with my PMP and CARD. Seeing that I understood what was going on, they have let me manage my anti-coagulation ever since. When I visit my CARD each year for a checkup, I take an updated copy of the chart, which is the first thing he reaches for. On my last visit, he commented after viewing my Echocardiogram that my valves appeared to be as clear as the day they were installed, a fact that he attributed to careful INR control.

Jim N.

 

[kbheart]

Thanks for your suggestions! I'll show her the chart next time.

 

[Ross]

Honesty, I guess, is the best policy and if they can see that your taking a proactive stance in your own care, you might well be on your way to home testing and self dosing..