Freaked out by super low INR. Advice?

[Protimenow]

Another concern about having your blood drawn on Friday, but the lab work apparently done on Monday is that improper storage of the blood could also be suspect for getting erroneous values. If I HAD to have a blood draw, I'd want my results done before the blood had much time for a lab to mishandle. I'm a strong advocate for self testing, and I hope you can convince the NHS of your need to do self testing.

I don't use a 7 day pill box - but I take the same dose every night (at around 11 PM), so it's pretty hard to screw up my dosage (although, theoretically, I could forget to take my dose, but don't think it's happened recently). As a self-tester, I created my own spreadsheet - both so I can keep track of many factors that may have had an effect on my INR and also so I can show a doctor that I'm regularly recording the INR and am able to effectively manage it. The fields include Date and Time of test, INR, Prothrombin time (which isn't particularly relevant and varies from meter to meter and batch of strips to batch of strips), weekly dosage, and any comments that may be relevant. These comments include such things as any dietary or activity changes, any medications started or stopped, any Over the counter medications I've started or stopped, any recent illnesses, etc. Although I'm sure that there are probably printed INR diaries available, maintaining the information on a spreadsheet - and fairly regularly copying it - provides a potentially useful ongoing record of INR and overall condition.

 

[wcasey5]

My INR went to 1.4 once. I missed 3 or more doses because as I was filling my pill box I totally forgot to add the warfarin. I could have done without the other pills for a few days and would have noticed a change. So I now add warfarin FIRST. I noticed 2 days before my lab test and started the pills again, then got the 1.4. The clinic said that I could or could not take lovenox because I have an aortic replacement and the blood moves faster through that valve than a mitral valve. I took the lovenox anyway and it turned out fine. My feeling is that with the missed doses I was pretty close to being at a 1.0 INR because of the 3 ish day lag in the drugs affecting your system.

 

[Enudely]

my I.N.R dropped more than 10 points to 1.5 after a week where i ate significantly less greens!! I was just about to start a thread about it. I am pretty freaked out by the thought of a stroke. I will call the AC clinic tomorrow and ask what's up!! Why would it go down after I ate practically no greens? And so far!?!? freaky!!

 

[catwoman]

my I.N.R dropped more than 10 points to 1.5 after a week where i ate significantly less greens!! I was just about to start a thread about it. I am pretty freaked out by the thought of a stroke. I will call the AC clinic tomorrow and ask what's up!! Why would it go down after I ate practically no greens? And so far!?!? freaky!!

???? Dropped more than 10 points to 1.5??? Was it at 11.5 previously?
Some info is miissing here.
What's the time frame on these two INRs? What's your daily dosage?
And what is "significantly less"?
I suspect that you've missed a dose (or doses); that the test results are wrong (is this a lab draw or a fingerstick test), if it was a fingerstick test, you should have been retested immediately, perhaps on the other hand or another finger; have you started/stopped an OTC or RX?

Fill us in.

 

[Protimenow]

Marsha: I was thrown by the '10 points,' too -- I think what was meant was from 2.5 to 1.5.

It seems as if a retest would not hurt, but I would be surprised if the 1.0 drop isn't just a temporary thing.

INR often fluctuates - what it is at the middle of the day may be different a few hours later. Although a 1.0 fall may seem high, I don't know that it's all that uncommon. On the week where 'significantly less greens' were eaten, perhaps there was also 'significantly less exercise' or other things that could have caused INR to drop.

By now, the clinic has probably already been contacted and, presumably, the drop in INR has resolved.

I am interested in learning how this all resolved.

 

[catwoman]

Marsha: I was thrown by the '10 points,' too -- I think what was meant was from 2.5 to 1.5.

It seems as if a retest would not hurt, but I would be surprised if the 1.0 drop isn't just a temporary thing.

INR often fluctuates - what it is at the middle of the day may be different a few hours later. Although a 1.0 fall may seem high, I don't know that it's all that uncommon. On the week where 'significantly less greens' were eaten, perhaps there was also 'significantly less exercise' or other things that could have caused INR to drop.

By now, the clinic has probably already been contacted and, presumably, the drop in INR has resolved.

I am interested in learning how this all resolved.

My guess is a dose was missed.

That would be a drop of 1.0, not 10 points. Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!