Interest in the system

[Aravis72]

Hi, I am thirty years old and have had two open heart surgeries. I have been on coumadin all my life, and recently I've become rather busy and it's often hard to get good turn around on my INR. This evening I got my second scare when my INR was pretty darn low. I have considered the PT Microcoagulation System (takes a breath) before, but my doc and I wanted to continue with his nurses, but here is the problem. I live in Springfield, Illinois, my doctor is in St. Louis. My local place often faxes my INR results late, and so I often don't find out my results until too late from the nurse. I have tried to have my INR regulated locally, but they don't seem to understand that my INR should be between 2.5 and 3.5, not the standard 2.0-3.0. Oye. Anyway, I am just interested in if people think I have enough reasons to get one of these. I work at a large corporate company with great benefits, but I don't want this to be more of a headache than a relief. When I think about the fact that I can do this on my own and call my doc's nurses, read the results off and get assistance quicker, that definitely makes me excited. The possible paperwork, bills, the ordering of cuttlettes or whatever they call, and any insurance headaches don't sound fun to me, though.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be great.

Thanks!

 

[Christina]

Hi Aravis and welcome to this forum. You've come to the right place.
I've also had two open heart surgeries. I was 53 at the time. I am now 57. Just had another birthday the 2nd.
I had my second AVR 11 days after my first in August 2000, and in Janauary 2001 I had had enough of labs. Fired my doctor because his bedside manners left much to be desired.
I had to buy my Protime out of pocket because I have lousy insurance and they refused to cover. To me it still was worth every penny that I paid. I've been hometesting now for almost 3 yrs, and wouldn't want it any other way. I want to be in charge.
There are many others on this forum that are also hometesting, and they will all agree that it gives you so much freedom, and you can test anytime you need to test. You are not at the mercy of your doctor. You are in charge, and don't have to sit around waiting for them to call you either. You will know the numbers before they do, and then you call them.
What I do. I test once a week if the numbers are okay. If I test too low, I will up the Coumadin a bit and will test again in 3 days. Same if I am too high. Too high in my book is being over 5. I NEVER skip a dose anymore, but will cut dose in 1/2 for one or two days. Last time I did that my numbers went from 5.9 to 2.1 in 3 days. Not good, so I had to up the Coumadin a bit. Last time I tested I was a nice 3.7.
I call my doctor once a month, and they call me back same day if they want me to change the dosage. But I already know beforehand what I am going to do, because I know how my body responds to certain things. INR stands for "IT'S NEVER RIGHT".

Hope this helps.

 

[JimL]

Welcome, Aravis!
It sounds like your INR is being tested by veinous draws, not with a drop of blood from your fingertip. In that respect alone, the various machines available for home testing are FAR superior.
You can get all the help you need in getting your own machine from the QAS people.
Is there no clinic around you that has one of the machines? I go to such a clinic once a week, and have the results in minutes. The nurse and I discuss dosing for the next week, and I'm on my way.