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.
It's been 10 days since I was diagnosed with my DVT + 2PEs. I've been home from the hospital 8 days, and I've had 4 INR checks with my doctor's office. We are having trouble with either my INR levels being too high for the "finger-prick" method to accurately read, or possibly that method just doesn't work for me.
Here are my levels (I'll reference day numbers since my diagnosis).
Day 4: INR = 2.8 (from labwork; finger-prick level was 4.4)
Day 5: INR = 3.5 (from labwork; finger-prick level was 6.6)
Day 8: INR = 4.4 (from labwork; skipped finger-prick)
Day 10: INR = TBD (finger-prick level was still 6.6)
I know the finger-prick machine is supposed to be unreliable if over 4, but I'm a little surprised that when my values were 2.8 and 3.5 from the labwork that the finger-prick machine wasn't able to produce accurate results.
The doctor in the hospital made it sound like it would take a while to get my INR high enough. Is it odd that my numbers are so high already? They stopped my Lovenox shots after the first test on day 4 and cut back my warfarin drastically. I haven't taken any since the Day 8 test, and between Day 5 and 8, I only took .25mg days 6 and 7 (as instructed by my doctor).
I realize everyone will have different results, but I'm curious what others are experiencing. Has anyone else experienced such high levels this early in the process or had an issue with the finger-prick method of testing not working for you?
Here are my levels (I'll reference day numbers since my diagnosis).
Day 4: INR = 2.8 (from labwork; finger-prick level was 4.4)
Day 5: INR = 3.5 (from labwork; finger-prick level was 6.6)
Day 8: INR = 4.4 (from labwork; skipped finger-prick)
Day 10: INR = TBD (finger-prick level was still 6.6)
I know the finger-prick machine is supposed to be unreliable if over 4, but I'm a little surprised that when my values were 2.8 and 3.5 from the labwork that the finger-prick machine wasn't able to produce accurate results.
The doctor in the hospital made it sound like it would take a while to get my INR high enough. Is it odd that my numbers are so high already? They stopped my Lovenox shots after the first test on day 4 and cut back my warfarin drastically. I haven't taken any since the Day 8 test, and between Day 5 and 8, I only took .25mg days 6 and 7 (as instructed by my doctor).
I realize everyone will have different results, but I'm curious what others are experiencing. Has anyone else experienced such high levels this early in the process or had an issue with the finger-prick method of testing not working for you?
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Look at what my best friend did with my picture!
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We all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend these hours is important. Watching a little bit of a video about how sitting affects us made me aware of how much sitting and laying down I do. Gonna have to work on that.Your turn. Tell me another truth.
On the other hand, I did find out that I tested positive for Heterozygous Factor V Leiden. I don't have a sense of whether this is good or bad to hear, but for me it gives me a piece of mind as to why I was so blessed with blood clots. According to the doctor, unless I get another DVT, he still plans to only have me on the Warfarin for 6 months.
Also, it is helpful to find out what your clotting factors are. Figuring out why you've clotted can be very helpful and very therapeutic.
Overall, it sounds like you're moving in the right direction!
I have a follow-up question, but I think I'll start a new discussion on that.
Is anyone else on a dosage of 1mg / day or less? I realize everyone is different, but I'm just feeling like a little bit of a freak having my level be so high with so little medicine. Obviously, this isn't a critical question. I'm just curious.
Good news is that the hematologist doesn't appear too concerned. For now I'll be skipping a pill once a week and going back in 2 weeks to see if it is coming down closer to 3.