This is very normal. It can take a bit of tweaking to get the dosage right for your body.

Thank you. That does make me feel better. I have gone a bit crazy today I think and can't calm down. I felt so bad last night. Having no sleep and no food probably doesn't help but I don't seem to be able to tolerate any.

Watch what you eat and drink.

My INR generally would go up, and then drop after 2 weeks. It actually dropped to a level at one point that I had to go back on the at home shots. The doctors were beginning to think my body would get use to the dosage, and that would cause the drop. It took several months to find the right amount that my body would allow.

Yeah, it can take a while to get your INR stable. As long as you are on shots still, you are totally covered.

Also, no sleep and no food can definitely affect your body and how your body is processing the warfarin. If there is *any* food you can tolerate, I would have some. Oatmeal? Broth? Juice?

Take a deep breath ... you're gonna be OK.

Please don't take this the wrong way, because I am coming from a place of being there - try to get a handle on the anxiety because it's going to take a toll on you. It's very normal to have a tremendous amount of anxiety and panic after a PE and it sounds from your posts like you are in the thick of it. Have you talked to your doctor about the worry, the lack of sleep etc? You may not be sleeping or eating and have stomach issues in part due to being so freaked out.

You're gonna be all right. My INR fluctuates too, between 1.5 and 2.3, and I've been on anywhere from 5-10 mg a day, usually about 7.5. it's just a matter of getting the dosage right. My PE was mid-November., INR has only been above 2. a couple of times, now getting checked weekly after a couple weeks of blood draws every other day. I've just decided that I will need to adjust the dose weekly depending on what the results are..

A lot of the folks on this board have been a lot sicker than I ever was, and I figure that if they're making it, and having a normal life after PE, so can I.

Try not to get into the cycle of being scared, leading to SOB and panic, leading to being more scared, on and on. Easy to say, harder to do!

Such a great outlook, Indiana.

INR fluctuations are part of the aggravating aspects of being on warfarin, especially in the beginning. Holy cow, I don't think I was ever higher than 1.9 until 5 months post PE. Some people just have a harder time than others but it doesn't mean anything is wrong with you. And I'm not saying that it's going to take that long to get therapeutic. I'm just using myself as an example that it can be trying. So, if you can just relax and go with the flow, it really does help.

And I'm 3 years post PE, still on warfarin and absolutely fine. So have faith!

I am on 10 mg 5 days a week and 12.5 mg 2 days a week. I have been down that low on this dose. I am doing okay with the medication at the high level - but everyone is different. I am 4 months post PE discovery and just had my first 10 days without chest pain and SOB. It the CP and SOB are just going to be there for awhile and 99.9% of the time it doesn't mean anything serious. Just make sure they up the medication so you don't stay subtherapeutic. good luck.

thanks everyone. I went to my docs last night and he was great. he gave me somethig I cam take if I get over anxious. He also gave me something for my stomach but unfortunately It hasn't worked. I still have a very upset tum, keep having to visit thr bathroom, am hungry but I cannot eat. Did anyone else have these many problems with their stomachs? I now feel so bad I am in bed.

Hi im having the same bother mine keeps going up and down it is such a worry i know how you feel

OK I am going to come at you from a different perspective as I too had many of the same symptoms you are having. Couldn't sleep, upset stomach and severe diarrhea. I learned i cannot take the generic brand of Warfarin because my body reacts to the buffers they put in the medication. Not the Warfarin itself. My Doctor had the same symptoms when he was on the Warfarin. I read on a much older post about trying to switch to another manufacturer of the Warfarin or switch to Coumadin (the name brand). Once I did this all the symptoms stopped and I got on to a more normal life, Even managed to get my INR more therapeutic. After talking to the pharmacist he said that a lot of companies use different buffers or fillers in their medications and I was probably reacting to one of the buffers. I try as often as I can to use generic medications but Warfarin isn't one of the options I have. You might ask your doctor about switching you to the name brand or if your actually on Coumadin try switching over to Warfarin to see if that helps.
Hope you get to feeling better soon.
Hugs
ferr

Thank you so much Ferr. My INR was 3.5 today so they stopped the Warfarin and I haven't taken any for 24 hours. They are switching my meds to Coudamin which is great. Can I ask how long it took for the nausea etc to stop because I am still having bad sickness issues and am now getting worried about it.

It actually took a couple of days for things to turn around but the nausea stopped almost the next day. I felt so much better, I know I accidently tested the theory by letting my prescription of Coumadin run out and took a couple days worth of the Warfarin until the pharmacy could refill my prescription, luckily I still had the unused bottle of Warfarin in my medicine cabinet and low and behold the symptoms came right back. The only thing I can compare taking Warfarin to is like having a flu bug 24/7

Thank you Ferr. I'm afraid my nausea and toilet problems have not stopped and I haven't taken Warfaein for over 24 hours. I cannot eat anything except soup and yoghurt and even that I have to force down. I have told the docs but they just squeeze my stomach, take more blood and send me home again. Wish it would stop.