I think if you're trying to limit your vitamin k intake you will see results like that and your doc may not be very good with warfarin management.

I have an appointment to see her on Thursday. She wants to discuss some of the newer anti-coags. I will have to tell her that I want to stay on Warfarin. I have done a lot of research and just because she can't get my INR right after only two weeks, is no reason for me to take a newer drug that some doctors are reluctant to prescribe. If she gives me a hard time I will ask her to give me a referral to the hematologist I saw nearly three years ago who is not in her referral group so I may have to call Medicare to get permission.
As far as diet went this past week I pretty much ate what I usually eat. I had a salad nearly every day. I think the problem is the 5mg of Warfarin. I checked my old bottles of Warfarin from 3 years ago and there were 2mgs and 1 mgs but never a 5. I called my old doctor in Brooklyn but she was on vacation. I wanted to ask her what dosage she was giving me back then. I am getting tired of all of this. Trying to get old medical info is like pulling teeth!

Brooklin, I completely agree with the way you are handling things. Some people are really sensitive to warfarin (and most people are more sensitive to it as they get older), so if in the past you didn't limit your diet and still needed only small doses, and now you've been given a higher dose PLUS were limiting the vegetables, it makes sense to me that you've had a high INR.

Only two weeks into starting warfarin management again, I think that's far too little time to give it up. It's not unusual for it to take several weeks to get into a comfortable dosage, and I think that unfortunately there are a lot of doctors who aren't very good at warfarin management, so for them it's easier also just to jump over to one of the new anticoagulants. Good for you, doing the research and figuring out what you're comfortable with doing. I hope it won't take too long to get your INR under control.

Thanks! I feel confident that I have much more info regarding my DVT than the doctor. I found my old prescriptions for Warfarin from 3 years ago and they were 2mg and 1mg which leads me to believe that I most likely was taking 2 1/2 mgs a day. I will tell my doctor that and if she gives me a hard time about it I will look for another doctor. I also came across something in my research yesterday and that is that the elderly (65 and up) should be getting 2.5-3.5 mgs of Warfarin. Why doesn't my doctor have this info?
So far I have not had a bleeding incident with a 5.6 INR. I am so grateful for that as I was scared to death yesterday afternoon when the nurse called to tell me. Actually, I had to ask her what the INR was as I believe she only wanted to tell me to skip the Warfarin for two days and see the doc on day 3.
Also, I had a benign tumor and a cyst on one of my kidney's a long while ago and that might have been why I had internal bleeding 3 years ago when my INR was at 3.8. Another reason to keep taking the Warfarin because of the fact that there are reversal agents with Warfarin and not with the newer drugs.

Yeah, get on your doc for sure and if you feel you need to end that relationship, don't hesitate. I had an awful time with my doctor and warfarin. She tested too frequently and made a lot of knee jerk, big dosage adjustments all the time. One time my INR went to like 6.2, and she gave me a vitamin K prescription to bring it down. Anyway, with my current doc, it's just so much easier and he makes tiny adjustments and when my INR does go out of whack, which it will occasionally do, he makes a reasonable dosage adjustment and then I check again within 2 weeks. If you're constantly checking the INR and then making dosage adjustments based on the frequent testing, it's just never going to settle into a nice pocket. It's impossible to see a trend when your doc has you doing that.

Well, I have an appointment tomorrow with my primary care physician. I am ready. I'd love to know why this is my first time seeing her since I was diagnosed on Aug. 11. I want to know why there's been absolutely NO mention at all of foods to eat, foods to avoid, etc.
Also, why start me on a dosage of 5mg of Warfarin when I read yesterday that the elderly (65+) should be started at 2.5-3.5 mgs.
I am prepared to change docs if she doesn't listen to me. I will suggest that she put me on a 2.5 mgs. I believe that's what I was on when I had my last blood clot in 2012.
Quite frankly I am getting tired of doing the research that my doctor ought to be doing. I guess most of us are.

Truthfully, no one is as invested in your health as you are, so its best to keep yourself informed and stay on top of your doc. I have a great relationship with my doc, but I also stay on top of my doses, track interactions (e.g., this antibiotic makes your INR go up), and argue if I don't agree with recommendations. I've stopped expecting my doctors to know everything ... I'm the expert on ME and they're the expert on medicine and we work together to figure out what treatment works best for me specifically.

It's excellent that you're tracking dosage and your reactions. It's also good that you're willing to go in and argue if you aren't feeling heard. Definitely be assertive about what you need/want and work with your doc to figure out what is best for you. You clearly know that a one-size-fits-all-treatment won't work for everyone, so it is always good to try to stay on top of some of it yourself.

Hopefully, it won't take too long to get your INR under control, but don't be afraid to ask your doctor how many patients she has on warfarin to see what her experience is. Not all doctors are good at managing warfarin and it might be time to walk if this one can't get this sorted out to your satisfaction.

Thanks Toss:
I have old prescription bottles from the last clot in 2013. One of the bottles has 1 mg tablets and it says to take one and a half every day. So, back then the doc had me on 1.5 a day which is pretty low. She did that after I bled internally for 3 days. Better to go low and work your way up. I will bring that bottle to the doctor today. If I don't like what she has to say I will ask for a referral back to the hematologist that I saw in 2013. I am no longer with that practice group of physicians and I am now on Medicare so I am not sure if she can refer someone out of her "referral circle". If not, I may have to change doctors altogether. It's my life and I'd love to see my three granddaughters grow up. Whatever standard protocol she is using does NOT work for me!
Will check in later after my appointment. Thanks to all for encouragement.

Good news! My new doctor finally got my medical records from the hematologist who treated me 2 1/2 years ago. She was shocked at how low my Warfarin dosage was. I told her I would not go on any of the newer drugs and blew her away when I told her what the Chief Editor of the JAMA said about them. I told her that I had A negative blood and that non-O type blood was more susceptible to clotting.
We are going to work together on this and she listened to what I had to say. It was a good meeting. My INR is at 4.8 even after not having taken Warfarin for almost three days. Another blood test tomorrow.
Her nurse will send me literature on food.
All in all, a good day.

Took another blood test this morning. Just checked the results online and it's 4.1. Coming down but slowly.
When I told the woman who was drawing blood this morning that my INR was 5.6 a few days ago, you should have seen the look of horror on her face.
When the tech person looks shocked, well, what more can I say.
The moral of this story is that you should always question things when they don't make sense to you. My doctor was following the regular protocol which apparently does not work for me as I appear to be very sensitive to Warfarin. Next time I need old medical records I will just have to get in the car and go get them myself instead of waiting for some administrator to get around to it. It took me 2 weeks to get that info. Had I had it sooner, my current doctor would have seen that my former doctor had me on a very low dose of Warfarin.
Live and learn.

Do you have a local ATU clinic where you are? I have had a great experience with the pharmacists at my ATU clinic.

I never heard of an ATU clinic. The closest Coumadin clinic is in Boston which is an hour away. Once I start taking the correct dosage, I am sure I will be fine. My new doc has just gotten my old records from the doc who took care of me three years ago when I had my second clot. Starting Monday, after results of the blood test, I will be taking the same dosage as I did three years ago when my INR was staying stable at that time. My doctor asked me if I wanted to see a specialist. I said no. I could change my mind in the near future if things don't go well. I'll give her another chance to get me back on track.