absolutely - when my INR is on the low side i can usually tell as i feel really rubbish and extremely tired. maybe you should have it tested again soon and speak to the dr about an increase in your warfarin. good luck

So....when you go off of warfarin, does this mean that you will get really tired when your INR goes back to 1?

Thanks to jmac and m2lr for replying.

Jmac----- maybe I'll call the doctor on Mon. (closed today) to see about increasing Coumadin. (I now take half of 5 mg C. 5 times a week and a full 5 mg two days) I was trying to keep my medication 'burden' down but that might be false thinking.

m2lr----- I don't know the answer to your question---- but maybe someone else does. And is that a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy?? Do you own one???? I used to raise dogs (not the Bernese) and show them, practically lived at dog shows.

she is a bernese mountain dog yes - what kind of dogs did you breed? - she is nearly 3 now but i just love this puppy pic so much - i currently take 10mg (it was just increased again yesterday) i first levelled out at 5mg but gradually it has crept up and up - i have however been assured its not important the dose you are taking its just your bloods being therapeutic thats important - some on this site take 15mg daily. good luck

jmac----Your dog is just 3 years old--- and probably has a bit of 'bulking' up to do yet. The large breeds don't reach 'full' until about 4 years.

I bred and showed Afghan Hounds. But had other breeds too, as pets--- Australian Shepherds, one Great Dane, probably a couple more breeds.

But my truest loves are Dobies I had two pairs, at different times and truer friends I never had.

I think a lot of that is a psychological response to your INR being low. Just my 2 cents.

rmb---- could be, I guess.

I think that's what M2LR was getting at, that you wouldn't expect to feel that way off warfarin when your INR is 1. So it stands to reason that you wouldn't experience that from an INR 1.7.

Or maybe you are coming down with something. There's so much garbage going around right now with sinus infections and what not.

I have never been able to judge my INR based on how I was feeling. About the only thing I ever noticed was more headaches when it was high, but even at that, was never a definite. When it was low, which wasn't often but did happen a handful of times, never noticed anything.

That said, I am currently in hormone hell and THAT has been kicking my butt!! I have napped every day for the past week, and I am still exhausted!

The only thing I ever noticed that was INR related, and I dn't know if it was even that, was when I first started on it and my INR was too high, like around 4.6. I got VERY weepy. VERY.

But again, that could be just due to the impact of the situation, cause that was still like 2 or 3 weeks out from the PE.

I woudl expect that if we indeed get tired and feel awful if the INR was low, then it would happen when a lot of folks go off of their warfarin. And, I don't see too many coming back here reporting that. I would guess the tiredness, like rmb suggested is more of something else going on.

I would expect to feel more side effects from the INR going up, since it's not really 'natural' but that's just IMO.

Hormone hell... a card carrying member myself.

LOL...you crack me up! :)

Oh, I guess what m2rl implied was too subtle for me. (grin)

I did peek at a few other forums about this --- I don't belong to them but can still read posts.

Another thing that didn't occur to me is how Coumadin affects everyone so differently. I know I'm incredible sensitive to medications and I know when I started Coumadin the fatigue I live with daily increased by a large factor. Perhaps, as some people on another site report it's a reaction to the med, not so much a lowered INR.

Those are 'self-reported' but then most of what is posted is that---- and they're every bit as important as a journal article, I think.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=9218&name=COUMADIN

I just don't know. If I'm 'coming down with something' that should happen in the next day or so--- w & w.

Have you been tested for anemia? I get weak because of my anemia. I must take iron or I'm in trouble.

I started out leaving the hospital with 7.5mg of warfarin, but then it had to be raised to 10 ... and then 11. I now alternate between 10 and 11 depending on how much greens I have. Though I've been bad with getting monitored and need to pull it together.

I read somewhere that it's better to raise your dosage higher to accommodate greens then to have no greens and less warfarin. Because having greens is very important so as to avoid vit.K problems like osteoporosis. This is why I opted to take the 11mg so I could allow for veg. juices and spinach. However .... I've been terrible about eating my greens so now I wonder if my dose is too high and the reason for my purple toe.

Bottom line, whatever you do has to be consistent, something I'm not very good at.

For me, low INR I get headaches and body pains. High INR, my face gets red, hot, eyes watery and I get hungry as hell (makes me eat and eat and never get full). But my doc warned me never to use symptoms as the barometer of what your INR is, only the test. Still, after a while on this drug, you know how your body reacts.

p.s. I also have the Alere which I haven't used in ages. The test results gets skewed if you have anemia or APS -- and I have both. So I have to get lab blood draws, which I'm getting next week.