For some people it just takes longer to stabilize. I had this problem for about a year. And then finally, it just kind of came together.

Mine has done the same. Diagnosed end sept and discharged on 5mg now on 10.5mg. Its weird isn't it- my INR is ok for maybe a week or two then I go subtherapeutic and they increase my dose so it has gradually got higher and higher. I too would have thought my diet is very consistent etc. Sorry I don't have any answers just the same thing going on. It doesn't worry me too much though, more so annoying that it makes me think about it.

Meant to ask - what breed is your dog? Waaaaaay too cute!

try taking it in the morning and see if that helps.mine won't stay stable when i take mine in the evening .there has been a few of us that have had good luck with it especially if your active .why i have no idea mines been stable for 6 years now .

That's interesting Minnesota. Will try it if I have to go past 6 months (only 2 more to go all things going well).

thanks for that minnesota i will consider trying that if i am to stay on it longer than the 6 months.

survivor - she is a bernese mountain dog - thats her puppy pic at 8 weeks although she's nearly 3 now! she is the cutest though! Rather large too!

My INR has fallen below 2, how long can one go without taking shots while increasing my dosage to bring therapeutic levels.

Curtis- I've been about a week low and they haven't worried too much. Only recently have they started me on shots when my INR is low as my clots haven't resolved as of the last scan and I'm 4 months out. They haven't really been concerned apart from a few times when my INR has been 1.2, if it's just under say 1.7 or alike they've just increased my dosage by .5mg p day then test again in a few days/a week depending on how much they need to increase it. How far out from diagnosis are you?

Hi survivor

I was diagnosed on january 4th ....I had pneumonia at the same time.
They found the DVT in my left calf muscle which resulted in clots in both lungs. When I left the hospital, my INR was 2.3 but after coming off antibiotics it dropped to 1.2 and just raised to 1.5 as of yesterday after slowly increasing warafin. All during this time of the low INR I am on shots. My new warafin dosage is 8 mg for the next three days, I recheck on Tuesday. I was wondering if anyone had shots until their levels was exactly 2 or stoping shots when close to 2? how often are scans recommended and is disolve time very variable??

i left the hospital with an inr of 2.5 and since then its more often been below 2 - infact down to 1.5 sometimes but ive never had any more shots since the first week in oct when i was in hospital daily. I have wondered a few times if i should have been sent back for more as each time my INR is low i feel absolutely rubbish and some of the chest pains re-occur - i do often wonder if more clots have formed however the dr assures me that its highly unlikely - (my luck is that although its highly unlikely it probably will happen to me!). My last 3 readings have been 2.2, 1.5, 1.8 - more tests again on wednesday so hopefully it will be back at a suitable level - each time i increase the warfarin i feel kind of rubbish/very tired for a few days but im not sure if thats due to my INR being low or the drugs themselves or perhaps both. I find i can tell when they are low too as i feel myself going downhill again. When my INR is good I feel great. Not sure if its all in the mind though!

Hey Curtis. It doesn't always have to be at 2 or above to stop the lovenox. A lot of times, they'll have you stop it if they see your INR is on the upswing even if it's not quite at 2 yet.

Usually they don't rescan, but it may depend on the extent of the clot, your doctor's protocol, etc. in general, you just stay on warfarin for the designated time frame, because by that time, there's no risk for the clots to move, and for most people, the clots will be resolved by then anyway so there's no real point in doing a scan. But it's something you may want to ask your doctor about. And yeah it is a variable thing in terms of clot resolution.

Took me seven months of bimonthly visits to stabilize at 9; PE of unknown etiology, no obvious factor, so I expect to be a lifer.

On the plus side, medical visits are now every two-three months with everything stable.

The way I understand it, this whole process is to make sure you are on the smallest possible therapeutic dose; there are risks associated with Warfarin your Dr. wants to minimize as much as possible.

I know it's a chore right now, but it's nothing to worry about. You will eventually stabilize and it's smooth cruising from there on.

Can anyone share with me if there was pain as a side effect of warafin and if so, where did the pain ocurr. I am having acute pain in places that niver had pain before?

Ptath101,

You mentioned that your PE was of unknown etilogy, did you have dvt too. I was diagnosed in Jan 2012 and I am seeing a Hemotologist to try and determine the cause of this. I have been healthy all my life.

I've had very few side effects from warfarin,and pain definitely wasn't one of them. Depending where your pain is, it could be from the PE.

If your INR is too high, there could be potential for internal bleeding so I suppose that could cause pain but it's not clear what you're actually talking about. If it's acute pain you may want to mention it to your doctor.