Writing a book

[warrenr]

I am seriously thinking about writing a book for people that take coumadin. Not just heart valve patient's but for patients taking it for AFIB, DVT, etc.etc.
The book would include exerpt's from all the major medical associations mainly in the area of perioperative anticoagulation management for invasive and non-invasive procedures. The table of contents would be set up by indication for anticoagulation and the guidlines for the specific procedure for the indication of anticoagulation. A couple of concerns I have are the liability issues and copyright issues with the different medical oganazations. It seems to me that a book that covered most situations in dealing with Coumadin is something that every anticoag patient should have at there finger tips. If I go through with it I will dedicate it to my father and the valvereplacemet.com website.

I allready have a pretty good start. Just the info I provided for our attorney took 2 3 inch 3 ring binders totally packed.

Any thoughts or input would be very welcome.

Warren R. Mead

 

[Ross]

I think it would be great if you don't run into too many copyright issues. I'm sure most of the sources would allow using their information or at least I'd hope so.

 

[Guest]

The copyright law allows using things like abstracts of articles and quoting short passages of books, so long as you give credit with a footnote. That way you are not claiming that this is an original work but a compliation of knowledge.

Another thing that you might consider is that instead of one huge book, you break it down into three (or so) shorter books. One for valves, one for antiphospholipid antibodies, one for all other conditions. Where someone might not pay $60.00 for one book, they might be willing to pay $30.00 for one that speaks to their condition. You wouldn't have to write it three times, you could use the same material to some extent.

With my book, 126 pages (2 X 100 lb Covers and 63 X 24 lb pages comb-bound) just fits into a priority mail flat rate envelope. The mailer is free at the post office. I don't charge extra for mailing - the price posted on the net gets it sent.

 

[Karlynn]

It's sounds like quite an undertaking Warren, but it also sounds like a great idea. I would certainly buy it!

Best wishes with the idea.

 

[geebee]

Warren,

Sounds great. The only comment I would make is for you to try and not make it "sound" too technical. I am not sure how you would do that but, keeping it in layman terms (as much as possible without sacrificing accuracy), would "speak" to more people.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Emma]

sounds good! remember to include stuff about the many children who take warfarin too and how it affects them!!

Emma (mum to a warfarin taking, NON-STOP talking child!)
xxx

 

[Guest]

Rachel,
Most people eat approximately the same thing every week to 10 days. If you like something you tend to repeat it. If you don't like something you tend to avoid it. Don't worry about vitamin K content - it only looks good on paper. Eat what you like and the warfarin is easily adjusted around it. Just don;t do something goofy like go on a broccoli diet without testing your INR.

Warren,
If you try to put all of that in your book, you will never get it written because all of the questions Rachel asked will require you to do original research - the facts are not available.

 

[warrenr]

Al,

I agree about consistent diet. Since my father has been in the nursing home they have kept his INR at 3.0 with no flucuation problems. And believe me that they serve a lot of green vegies. Because the diet is so consistent they very seldom have to make coumadin dosage changes and his INR stay's right at 3.0. Diet is not the reason I am writing the book. The main focus of the book/books is to prevent adverse outcomes, educate, and impower the people on long term anitcoagulation therapy so they have one source of information that will address there specific needs depending on indication for coumadin and address specific protocol's for procedures they may face. Forgot to mention this will be for the patient's families also. Had I been educated on coumadin prior to my father's stroke, it probably would have been prevented. When they checked my father's INR on feb 20, 2004 and it was 1.5 and they told him to stop taking it on March 4, 2004 without even checking it, in prep for colonoscopy and scheduled the next check to be done after colonoscopy on Mar 8,2004 I would have taken him right back to the doctor and raised some serious issues. Even of more importence, I probably would have caught the fact that they had been using the AFIB Protocol (which was'nt being done properly) for 4 years and he had a St Jude Mech Mitral Valve. It seems that elderly patients trust there physicians much more than younger patients.

Al or anybody. Im looking for a good reference to find out approx how many people in the USA are on long term coumadin broken down for the specific indications.

Everybody, please keep your input's comming as they give me a lot of thoughts and idea's.

Thanks
Warren R

 

[RCB]

Important to us all.

Important to us all.

Warren.
Just want to say how important you work is to everyone here. Please keep
us informed about the book's progress. I'm sure your father, will be proud!

 

[Guest]

Warren,
I don't know about the data.

RCB,
It seems odd that you never had a St. Jude with all of those valves. Are you going to send me a picture of the Bjork-Shiley?

 

[warrenr]

Help with title

Help with title

Need some help/input for book title. The first book will be for valvers, afib, and dvt. Below is one thought for a title. Any suggestions please let me know.

The COUMADIN Epidemic
What you really need to know​

A Guide to help prevent death or even worse, a devestating stroke​

 

[geebee]

How about:

[size=+2]THE COUMADIN MAZE[/size]
HERE'S THE HELP TO MAKE IT THROUGH

 

[warrenr]

title

title

Hey Gebee, how about this:

THE COUMADIN MAZE
An Epidemic
What you really need to know and the help to make it through

A Guide to help prevent death or even worse, a devestating stroke​

 

[geebee]

Warren,

Not to be a pain but I am not sure I understand the Epidemic reference.

 

[RCB]

Like "Maze" idea

Like "Maze" idea

Warren, Gina

Work title in with the idea of Rat poison and Rat Maze.

Al,
Things didn't go to well at CC. A lot of mix up the first couple days.
Left me angry and depressed. I didn't get the picture to you because they decided not to explant the Bjork-Shiley. Drs. said the valve was functioning well and because my creatine was above 2.2 didn't want to keep me on the pump for the time redoing the aortic valve would have added to the surgery time. It was a long story that I didn't want the rehash when I got home.
GranBonnie already took me to task for not reporting details to VR.com. I was very upset and grateful to CC at the sametime.

I didn't get a St. Judes because Dr Kay knew Dr. Shiley better and at that time(Jan. 1982) had more faith in Bjork-Shiley valve.

 

[geebee]

Thanks, Bob.

Warren - how about:

[size=+1]COUMADIN CONCERNS?[/size]
HOW NOT TO GET CAUGHT IN THE RAT POISON MAZE

 

[Guest]

How about this for a cover?

How about this for a cover?

In case you can't read it, embossed in the glass, it says, "Keep filled with warfarin bait."

 

[geebee]

It is so fascinating that something meant to kill one creature is keeping so many of us alive.

I can understand why you are a pharmicist. Talk about a field that is constanly changing.

 

[warrenr]

chapter one

chapter one

well, I wrote chapter one today. It will be edited over the next couple of day's. As soon as it is edited I will post it here and hopefully get some good input. I have been kicking around different names for a title including the maze, but I want it to be simple, have an impact, and get to the point of the book. The whole point of the first book (mech. valve patients, AFIB patients, and DVT patients) is to educate and impower these coumadin patients about common medical procedures and the applicable protocols dealing with perioperative anticoagulation management. The way I see it is that there are only two way's to improve the system and it's not going to be through the legal system. What usually happens in the legal system is that the law suits get settled before trial and everything is hushed up. There is not enough medical or community awareness when this happens. The first is to get the medical community to police themselves which I dont see happening in any of our lifetimes. The second would be education of the coumadin patients. I think that by educating these patients it will empower them enough to take charge of there own life and quality of life when it comes to having medical procedures. They would feel more comfortible when there physician said you need to stop coumadin 4 day's before this procedure. They would feel empowered enough to look the physician straight in the eye's and say something like"what do you mean stop my coumadin, the standard protocol for this procedure is to conduct with the patient fully aniticoagulated. Show me in writing what you are basing your decision on".
Well I am starting to ramble on but I think you get the point.

Keep the input comming. Im not thinking about writing the book anymore, I'm doing it. One chapter down who know's how may to go.

Maybe we could have some type of contest to come up with a good title for the book.

Thanks
Warren R.