How do I acquire a INR home monitor?

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B

Baby Parker's Dad

Hi all,

My son recently had a valve replacement, he had his mitravalve replaced. He turned 1 on February 2nd. He is in the hospital now, but we are hoping for him to be returning home next week. The doctors are currently working on his drugs to get his INR levels stable before then send him home.

Apparently my insurance will not accept the claim for a home testing machine for Parker's INR until they my hospital makes many requests to validate the claim. Until we receive a home machine my wife and me will have to take Parker to the hospital to have his blood drawn 2-3 times a week. Parker is an extremely hard stick.

Does anyone know how to speed up the process with the insurance company or know of a program or a way that I could acquire a home testing machine to help save my son a lot of pain and misery?

Thank you so much,
Ken

P.S.
This is my first post, I am thrilled that there is a message board out there for my son's needs, I have been reading the postings on valve replacement for the last 4 hours.
 
Hi Ken and welcome to the forum.

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Hope it all goes well. Give QAS a call or click on the banner ad above to go to their site and browse around. I'm not sure what the policy is on infants, but for the rest of us, you have to be on Coumadin at least 3 months before getting a monitor. None of us likes being stuck!

If you need anything, just give a yell. :)
 
Welcome, Ken. You are among friends here and there is so much information for you. There will be plenty of answers as members drop in to say hey and give their comments. In the meantime, we have your little one in our hearts and prayers. It's so hard for all of us when it's a baby who is affected. Stay with VR and you will be surprised at all the support and love you receive from all of us. Blessins.......
 
Home Testing is still in it's infancy in the USA so it can be an uphill battle to educate your doctors and insurance carriers to approve the claim.

In the mean time, see if you can locate a Coumadin Clinic or Hospital that uses Finger Stick Instruments to measure INR. When I think about it though, I'm not sure a finger stick on a 1 year old is going to be less 'uncomfortable' than a (small) needle draw. Be sure the techs are using the SMALLEST possible needle or a BUTTERFLY needle for their draws.

Good Luck!

'AL'
 
Hi Ken and welcome.
The insurance depends on your company. Most of them (who cover home testing) requires that your doctor fills out a prescription form (you can get the forms from QAS - they are so very helpful with this). Your doctor will need to certify that your son needs at least weekly testing long term, that he will be on coumadin long term and it helps if your doctor lists that lab access is a problem (such as distance, a lot of travel, etc.).
You also may need to wait for a certain time period after your son is on coumadin to get approval. That depends, again, on the insurance company.
Good luck.
 
Hello

Hello

QAS has had great success in getting coverage for children, so give me a call whenever you get a chance for details. We will need a prescription and a letter of medical necessity, but I think we have a good chance. Thanks!

Lance, QAS
800-298-4515 ext 2865
 
I agree with Rachel, 2 or 3 times a week is WAY too often to be testing (and ADJUSTING his Dose). Coumadin takes 3 to 4 days to be fully metabolized so any adjustment made sooner than 4 days after the last adjustment will GUARANTEE that the INR will oscillate! He will NEVER stabilize if that is what is happening.

'AL Capshaw'
 
How do I acquire a INR home monitor?

Hi Guys,

Thank you for all you're help.

My Doctor and Insurance have finally made contact. My doctor's nurse said that I should hear something back next week.

Parker is in the hospital now to get his INR level set to come home. From what the nurse told me, Parker can have his blood drawn 2-3 times a week, which I doubt will happen frequently. It just freaked me out even thinking of the posibility (and with the way his life has gone so far me and my wife always think worse case senerio). His first week home, he will probably have his blood drawn 2 times, the next week only once, then if everything is ok, they might skip a week, then draw the following week. They will eventually want to get him down to 1-2 sticks a month.

She did tell us that in many cases with babies, they do not like the results of a lot of the draws so they have to do another draw the next day to double check the results.

Maybe I'm just freaking out, but he has been through so much and is so scared when a nurse touches him anymore, I'm afraid that he is going to be tramatized for the rest of his life.

I guess I'm just a paranoid parent.

Thanks for all you're help again, it really helps to know that others have the same problems and are willing to help those who are new to the situation,
Ken
 
Ken kids are mighty resilient. I don't think you need to worry on that part. What worries me is the lack of understanding of how Coumadin works in the medical field. If the INR is close too or right on, don't let them start making dosage changes and if they start this crap of changing the dose with every test, look out and seek someone else to manage the care. I know infants are a different story when it comes to monitoring, but Coumadin is the same no matter who you are. Watch for silly things like these and scream if you have concerns. :)
 
Ken:

Where do you live?

For the time being, you might check out the Coumadin forum here at valvereplacement.com. Al Lodwick has worked with very young children on Coumadin, and he regularly posts on the Coumadin forum. He's a pharmacist, has special certification and who runs a Coumadin clinic at a hospital in Pueblo CO.

You may want to look at www.acforum.com -- great place to find a certified anticoagulation care specialist.

Keep us posted on how your little boy is doing!
 
welcome, Ken!!!

i heard that the test strips are like 5 bucks a pop. but i have not looked into it. thats just what my coumadin clinic said. that poor baby, having to be stuck so much, they should test him like once a week and then eventually maybe once a month as he gets older. :confused: we will be praying for him...
 
sorry - only just saw this thread!

sorry - only just saw this thread!

Hiya! My daughter, Chloe is 5 and had her mitral valve replaced when she was 18 months old. I have tested her INR with coagu-chek for the past 3 years and it's been such a great help - saves all those blood draws and tears!, so i really hope you manage to get one for Parker! If i can be any help or if you'd like to know anything from parent who has been EXACTLY where you are now then please yell and I'll be pleased to help.
Emma
xxx
 
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