Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.

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blood thinness how long to get it right?

crazygypsy1953
crazygypsy1953
I was diagnosed with blood clot in leg and PE last month. The XARELTO did not work on me so we ditched that. Now I'm on coumadin and also the Lovanox shots when needed, but my numbers have been bouncing around like a fish out of water. Last week it was 4.7 and now this week it's 2.0 Been getting my blood checked every 3 or 4 days. That's how quick it's bouncing up and down. Just wondering how long you all go without needing a blood check or aka INR??? Think that is what they call it.
rmb
rmb
I have my INR checked every month, unless it's out of range and in that case, my doc adjusts my dosage and I usually then re-check in two weeks.

In the beginning, though, you do need to have it monitored more frequently because it's very common for INR to swing wildly as your body adjusts to the medication and until your doc dials into the right dosage for you. I would think after a while it will be 1-2 weeks until they see some real consistency and then it will eventually be every month.

Also, as you become more active and get back into your life, that can make your INR unstable. Things that involve activity, diet consistency, etc can affect your INR.
TossNTurn
TossNTurn
I've got a home tester, and I test weekly. That's a little bit too often, really, as I've been pretty stable for a while, but that's the prescription that the CoaguChek people wanted, so that's what we do.

Before I had the home tester, though, I only did once a month. That's pretty standard once you get stable. However, when you're new or have something going on (like taking antibiotics, which always messes with my INR), it is very common to check every 3-4 days or so until they start to see some consistency with numbers.

I assume that they are trying to keep you in the 2.0 to 3.0 range? Sounds like you're getting closer!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I had a PE in Sept 2014 and my INR was wildly unstable for about the first month. I was getting blood tests every other day during that time (I would have to check in at a clinic). Just when I thought it would never stabilize, it did and then it stayed very stable. Good luck! I personally could feel when my INR was really high (not so much when it was really low) and so the huge fluctuations are no fun.
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