Oppps! I missed a dosage, what do I do?

[mtkayak]

Forgot to take my dosage last night? Skip it or take it later? Now my INR will be all whacky! I'm taking 5mg MWFSS and 7.5mg TT. I'm at work and have no access to my Coumadin, I will defintely bring some to work after this. I usually take it between 9:00-11:00 at night. I won't have access to it till 7:00 tonight. What do I do? What are the consequences to this, if any? I'm new at this, only been taking it for 4 months and haven't missed a dose yet.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lynlw]

I don't take coum but did a search for you since you are at work and I'm home w/ time to kill lol
http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16289&highlight=missed+dose

 

[Ross]

Another human! You can either not worry about it and just resume your schedule or you can try to divide up the missed dosed over the remaining days along with your usual dose. Just don't test for 2 weeks.

 

[Guest]

I'd have a patient take 10 mg tonight.

 

[Karlynn]

You did WHAT?????

I would NEVER do that!

If I completely miss a dose, I divide it up over 2 or 3 days.

If your INR has been in the middle of your range or higher, taking 10 tonight (as Al says) should cover you well. If your INR has been at the lower portion, if it were me, I'd take 10 tonight and 7.5 tomorrow night. Just split that 5 pill in half and you'd be good to go for both nights.

 

[mtkayak]

Thanks guys, what would I do without you ! My INR last week was 3.2 right in the middle of my range. Target is 3.0-3.5 I will take 10 mg tonight then. Thanks again!!!!

 

[Guest]

No matter which option you choose, you will probably have the same outcome - nothing bad happens. If we live close enough to the edge that forgetting one dose or taking one extra dose causes a disaster, we are probably doomed anyhow.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I use a 7 day pill box AND a 31 day chart to record ALL my medications. Even with those aids, I typically miss a couple of doses per year. If I catch the missed (evening dose) the next morning, I just take that missed dose in the morning.

If I don't catch the missed dose until later, I subscribe to the "divide the missed dose by 2 or 3 and add that amount to the regular dose for the next 2 or 3 days" so that the total at the end of the week comes out the same.

Works for me.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Ross]

No matter which option you choose, you will probably have the same outcome - nothing bad happens.

Yeap. I've done it both ways with the same results either way.

 

[catwoman]

Mike:

I did the same thing 3-4 weeks ago. (First time since I've been on warfarin) I panicked, then searched this forum for "missed doseage." I failed to take my warfarin (6.5mg) on a Monday, so I took the usual dosage on Tuesday + 3.5 mg, almost 1/2 of the missed 6.5, for a total of 10mg, then took 9.5 mg (usual 6.5 + 3.0mg) on Wednesday. When I tested that weekend, my INR was normal.

 

[mtkayak]

Good stuff to know.

I use a pill box that sits right by my sink in the bathroom. I'm only taking one medication (coumadin) so that's easy enough. I use the pill box to make sure I don't double dose or miss a dose (yeah right). Anyway, it do work great! (most of the time)

 

[catwoman]

Yeah, I use a 7-day pillbox too, keep it in my purse, take my warfarin at breakfast. Howwever, when I sleep in on weekends when I'm home or on vacation, it does throw my daily routine off and I have to double-check my pillbox to determine if I've had my rat poison for the day.

 

[Granbonny]

This must be..Miss your Dose ,,,Week I looked at my pill box at noon..thinking it was time to call in for a refill..Yup, there sat Sat. night's dose. This was noon..so I took my 5 mg..plus a tad..Skip tonight..and take another 5 mg. Monday night plus a tad..and then resume normal. I was 3.6 yesterday...Will test next Sunday..Bonnie