donnag131
Active member
I need to vent to anyone who wants to listen.
I'm trying to take my coumadin management seriously without being too uptight about it, but this last incident yesterday with my PCP has me angered and stressed. And I've been very good lately about keeping my stress levels low, so I don't want to blow it now.
I take a high dose, and my dosing is usually around 130mg and 135mg weekly.(17.5mg/20mg on alternating days. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but nothing too drastic of a change.) My range is 2.5 - 3.5. My PCP's nurse called with my results one day last August and told me my INR was 3.2 (vein draw) and my new dose would be 17.5 and 10mg. on alternating days. I questioned this, and she told me that's what the doc wanted. Me, being naive at the time on dosing, (but not naive anymore!), assumed he knew what he was doing so I followed the instructions.
Well my following test plummeted to 1.5. The nurse called and told me he wanted me to continue on the same 17.5/10mg dosage!! I demanded he call me in person immediately, and when he did he said 'I'm told you have a problem with my dosing'. He said he would look into it and call me back, which he did in 30 minutes. He apologized and said this is why he hates computers. When I kept pressing for a better explanation, he said he couldn't give me one. He then promised that this would never happen again.
All was fine until yesterday's INR test. My new dosage instructions were 27.5/20! I questioned this and the PCP's nurse said 'oh, I bet he punched in a '2' instead of a '1'. She had me hold while she went to check with him. She then told me it should be 17.5/20. Aha! So that's what happened back in August! He punched in a '1' instead of a '2'!
I spoke to him personally, told him I no longer felt comfortable with him managing me. He is going to refer me to the local Coumadin Clinic. One other note, I performed my first test today on my new INRatio home monitor through Raytel, so I guess this is the beginning of ME taking charge of ME! Hopefully someday I will feel comfortable enough to manage myself!
I'm trying to take my coumadin management seriously without being too uptight about it, but this last incident yesterday with my PCP has me angered and stressed. And I've been very good lately about keeping my stress levels low, so I don't want to blow it now.
I take a high dose, and my dosing is usually around 130mg and 135mg weekly.(17.5mg/20mg on alternating days. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but nothing too drastic of a change.) My range is 2.5 - 3.5. My PCP's nurse called with my results one day last August and told me my INR was 3.2 (vein draw) and my new dose would be 17.5 and 10mg. on alternating days. I questioned this, and she told me that's what the doc wanted. Me, being naive at the time on dosing, (but not naive anymore!), assumed he knew what he was doing so I followed the instructions.
Well my following test plummeted to 1.5. The nurse called and told me he wanted me to continue on the same 17.5/10mg dosage!! I demanded he call me in person immediately, and when he did he said 'I'm told you have a problem with my dosing'. He said he would look into it and call me back, which he did in 30 minutes. He apologized and said this is why he hates computers. When I kept pressing for a better explanation, he said he couldn't give me one. He then promised that this would never happen again.
All was fine until yesterday's INR test. My new dosage instructions were 27.5/20! I questioned this and the PCP's nurse said 'oh, I bet he punched in a '2' instead of a '1'. She had me hold while she went to check with him. She then told me it should be 17.5/20. Aha! So that's what happened back in August! He punched in a '1' instead of a '2'!
I spoke to him personally, told him I no longer felt comfortable with him managing me. He is going to refer me to the local Coumadin Clinic. One other note, I performed my first test today on my new INRatio home monitor through Raytel, so I guess this is the beginning of ME taking charge of ME! Hopefully someday I will feel comfortable enough to manage myself!
