Eeek - 8.0

[Sherry]

Thanks, All, for your kind words and concern. Just to update: I skipped the dose this morning and went into the office after school. She checked it on the Coaguchek, and it registered another 8.0. We just looked at each other in astonishment. She called the lab down the street and sent me over there for a standard blood draw just to compare. They got me right in, drew the blood, and within 20 minutes, I had my result: 5.9. Hmmm... Needless to say, I was relieved (I ain't scared of no fives or sixes ), but amazed at the discrepancy. I told her that I was going to halve the dose tomorrow and come back in on Thursday, so we'll see what happens.

BTW, how is your shoulder doing? I've got one more PT visit and then most likely will have mine injected. PT has helped but I was hoping for more of a complete fix.

Betty, no, I'm don't have any relief at all. When I move my left arm in circles, it just makes a grinding sound. I've been recently going to a chiropractor, whom I really admire and trust, and he is very pragmatic about what it is and how to treat it. (This is really the first time I've gone to one, and I have to say that I'm quite impressed.) He's going to try a few things, and if it isn't working, he's going to refer me to an ortho over in Evansville. I'll let you know what happens. I know you and I are really in the same boat on this, and hopefully we can help each other through the process. Maybe injections are in my future too.

BTW, Mr. Crawford, check your pm's.

 

[Karlynn]

Sherry,
Next time, pick something a little more fun when asking yourself "What can I do today to make life interesting?"

The descrepency is strange. I'll be curious to see what Al L has to say.

 

[M&M]

Hi Sherry, I just read your post and although mine wasn't as high as yours. But I thought it was time to bring my INR machine into my coumadin clinic and have them test it against theirs and my machine was registering 4.7 and theirs was 4.5 - so it was very close to their machine. So again I had to cut my coumadin doseage.

My Coumadin Nurse told me to drink more water. If your dehydrated that it can increase your INR.. In the past month I've cut my doseage back quite a bit.

I hope your able to get your INR back to normal levels...

Best
Marily

 

[LUVMyBirman]

There is obviously something wrong with the unit in your Dr's ofc. Thank the lord you were not within range. They need to run controls, cross test with the lab. It should not be more that .02 off. Then, test the unit on someone that does not take Coumadin!

Sherry, this is the first I read about your arm. Hope you get to feeling better soon! You too Betty!

 

[Sherry]

Another interesting day...

Another interesting day...

Well, after all that running around and being too thin early in the week, I've just now dropped down too low.

Just an update: Monday, took my 7 1/2 and was tested at an 8.0, Tuesday, held dose, machine still read 8.0, lab draw later on read 5.9, took a 3 on Wednesday (roughly 1/2 dose), took a 7 1/2 this morning, and wouldn't you know it, I registered a 1.8 after school today on the machine. She gave me a shot of Lovenox and an extra 3 pill, and I'm going tomorrow to the lab to get a standard blood draw. I'm seriously at my wit's end. For one thing, I'd much rather be too high than too low. I just don't get it....

 

[Sherry]

Sherry, this is the first I read about your arm. Hope you get to feeling better soon! You too Betty!

Thanks, Gina. It has been an ongoing battle trying to figure out what's wrong and if it's something that can be treated. Betty and I have had ongoing communications about this trying to help each other out, but neither one of us is able to get any good relief from the pain. I do feel pretty good about this chiropractor I'm seeing. We'll see how it works out.

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Sherry -- I still say take half a dose two nights and that will work.

And those cortisone shots do wonders for frozen shoulders.. Fancy name is adhesive capsulitis. Been there, done that with both shoulders. Went from Cardiac Rehab to Shoulder Rehab - bought stock in the place..

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/frozenshoulder/a/frozenshoulder_2.htm

 

[Karlynn]

That's what happens to me if I hold a dose. It's like dropping a Super Ball (remember those?) on a cement sidewalk - starts bouncing all over the place.

 

[Granbonny]

Sherry

Sherry

I think you are testing too quickly....Hope Al will chime in soon and tell you so... You need to give you doseage 3-4 days to get a good reading.Bonnie

 

[Rain]

I feel your pain girlfriend.

I feel your pain girlfriend.

Sherry,

So sorry to hear you are on the INR roller coaster from #$%*

The really scary thing is once you?re on that roller coaster it?s hard to get off. This is when managing your own dosage and having a machine really pays off.

I?ve found that my correct dosage will usually be pretty darn close (if not exactly) the same as it was before the roller coaster ride. And a lot of times I have no idea what caused the whole thing! It probably happens to a lot of people more often than they think.... how would you even know it happened if you only tested every 3 months??

My advice is.... try to get yourself through it with the tiniest adjustments possible. It's all pretty scary.

 

[Rich]

Hi Sherry,
I didn't know about your shoulder either, hope it gets better.
I too had frozen shoulders when I was about your age.
I couldn't reach into my back pockets, couldn't put a coat on by myself,etc.
My wife had to dress me at home and my secretary had to help me at the office.
I had to give up golf and bowling, that really hurt since I was averaging well over 200 those days.
My wife ended up calling the Detroit Lions, and I went to their orthopedic surgeon.
He gave me exercises to do and I had some PT as well. Injections didn't help me at all.
This surgeon said good news and bad news.
The good news was it would go away on it's own, the bad news was it would take a long time, and he was right.
Nowadays it is no problem.
I also hope you get your INR in range, I know how frustrating it can be.
Rich

 

[ccrawford]

Sherry - Remember - the half life of coumadin is about four days. If you change your dose, you won't see the real effect of it for about four days. Testing more frequently than four or five days is ok, only if you are in an emergency and are relying on Lovenox, but as a routine matter, more frequent testing is fruitless. Your situation compounded by some faulty testing and I know this is a hassel. Hope you get settled down soon !!!! Chris

 

[Sherry]

Well, well, well...went and had a standard needle stick today after school (after registering 1.8 on the machine yesterday) and had a 3.2. Hmmm... I'm just so concerned with the discrepancies, but, and I think Rain made this point well, some people may dip around like this all the time, but if they only test once every few months, would just be oblivious to it. Maybe too much knowledge is a bad thing. Well, all I can say is that I can't wait to be a home tester.

Bonnie, you're probably right: I'm just wigging out and testing too much in a short period of time. I'm just a little upset about the discrepancies between the regular blood lab and the coaguchek.

 

[Cris N]

I wonder if the coaguchek strips are bad. Do they have another lot number batch to try?

Hope you get stabilized soon.

Cris