Changing INR's

[Robbyn]

I have been taking Warfarin for almost 3 years now, and more often than not I still need to get my INR checked weekly. I have other health problems that have contributed to this, but it was starting to even out. Lately my INR has been quite low, 1.8 last week. The clinic has gradually increased my Warfarin to double of what I was taking 6 months ago. And for the life of me I can't figure out why it is changing. I am still doing and eating everything the same. Does the INR change for no good reason? TIA

 

[catwoman]

Robbyn:

What other meds other than warfarin do you take? Your profile shows amiodorone. Are you still on that?
Have you increased your activity lately? Been ill? Had any change in food intake (nutritional bars, drinks)?

Are you having lab draws or finger-stick INR tests?

 

[Guest]

I'd look into the amiodarone.

 

[Karlynn]

If you are feeling better from your other health issues has your activity level increase?

 

[JimL]

If not amiodarone, then a mystery.
I'm still trying to figure out why, after taking a weekly dosage in the low 40s for quite some time, my weekly dosage jumped into the low 50s last August, and now it's heading back down into the 40s. Sometime last year I switched from generic Barr to generic Taro, but that doesn't seem a sufficient explanation. There are always changes in activity.
If there is no other explanation, there is always Rain's dog to blame.

 

[Ross]

If there is no other explanation, there is always Rain's dog to blame.

I think we need to shoot that dog! Jim if it helps any, mine does strange things like that too.

 

[Robbyn]

I do not take amiodorane anymore, but I do take prednisone, imuran, altace, atenenol and aranesp, but I have been taking the same amount of these drugs for a least 1 year. And while it's true my excercise levels have changed they too have been the same for the last year.

I go to the lab and have blood drawn and the clinic gets the results the next day and they call me.

One thing that has changed is I stopped drinking one glass of Cranberry/Raspberry juice per day. Please tell me that Warfarin isn't THAT sensitive that it would lower my INR that much. And really I stopped the juice about 2 months ago.

I really haven't changed anything, therefore my question, does it just change for no reason? Thanks again.

 

[Ross]

It's safe to say yes, it does change for no reason. I think it changes seasonally as we get different produce in the supermarkets from different areas of the country, but as the rest of the explaination, I do not have one.

 

[Robbyn]

Well if it changes for no reason so be it... at least I can stop wracking my brain trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. And just go with the flow, no pun intended ) hee hee

 

[JimL]

"I do not take amiodorane anymore." An important factor here is when you stopped taking amiodarone. Amiodarone has a 100% effect on your coumadin dosage. If I can get that straight (I've gotten it backwards before), once you start taking amiodarone, you can expect your coumadin dosage gradually to become one-half of what it was before. Then when you stop amiodarone, you can expect your coumadin dosage gradually to become twice as much as if was when you were on the amiodarone. It takes amiodarone roughly six months to be all gone from your system, so "gradually" can last a while. And then there are other factors. For example, I ordered a house salad, which typically has little effect on INR, but what I received tasted a lot more like a Caesar salad, which would have some effect on INR.