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.
So, I had surgery on March 9th. Minor stuff all things considered, but still had to bridge to Lovenox, still spent the night in the hospital, did a week on heavy-duty pain pills, etc.
After the surgery, we went right back to my old warfarin dose (6mg, which I've been on for a year) but my INR wasn't moving above 1.7. I went up to 10mg for four days and finally my INR went to 2.4. Dropped back to my old dose and my INR dropped to 1.8 last Friday. Finally my doc had me alternating 6mg and 7mg every night. She wanted me to wait a week to check again, which I felt a little nervous about but I went with it.
So today, I get up an hour early and I'm at the lab before they open at 7am. I'm the second person in line, get my blood draw, and head home. I call my doctor's office to let them know to expect the results sometime today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll finally be therapeutic so I can stop thinking about it all the time!
My doctor calls me tonight and says they never got the results and, when she personally called the lab, the lab said they had NO RECORD of me even being there this morning.
At this point, I am livid. I have no way to get another blood draw before Monday without going to the ER. I can't believe they took my blood and then somehow um ... lost it? I'm annoyed that I have to wait the whole weekend to find out if I can finally relax about my INR. And I can't believe that people that are this incompetent are running tests that people's LIVES depend on.
I mean, I'm not obsessing about the INR every second, but it is definitely in the back of my mind and I'd like to be able to get on with things and not think about getting more blood draws, getting up early to get to the lab, having to start injections again, etc.
And ... I'm dumping this lab. I use them because they're close to my house and have better hours than my doc's office. But, at this point, they've lost my standing order multiple times. This is the second blood draw in the last two weeks that has *disappeared*. And, even if you set an appointment with them, they take everyone in first come, first served order. I'm DONE with them.
I ranted at my poor husband for an hour when I got home tonight and it STILL isn't out of my system. I am SO beyond peeved I hardly recognize myself. Grrrr....
After the surgery, we went right back to my old warfarin dose (6mg, which I've been on for a year) but my INR wasn't moving above 1.7. I went up to 10mg for four days and finally my INR went to 2.4. Dropped back to my old dose and my INR dropped to 1.8 last Friday. Finally my doc had me alternating 6mg and 7mg every night. She wanted me to wait a week to check again, which I felt a little nervous about but I went with it.
So today, I get up an hour early and I'm at the lab before they open at 7am. I'm the second person in line, get my blood draw, and head home. I call my doctor's office to let them know to expect the results sometime today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll finally be therapeutic so I can stop thinking about it all the time!
My doctor calls me tonight and says they never got the results and, when she personally called the lab, the lab said they had NO RECORD of me even being there this morning.
At this point, I am livid. I have no way to get another blood draw before Monday without going to the ER. I can't believe they took my blood and then somehow um ... lost it? I'm annoyed that I have to wait the whole weekend to find out if I can finally relax about my INR. And I can't believe that people that are this incompetent are running tests that people's LIVES depend on.
I mean, I'm not obsessing about the INR every second, but it is definitely in the back of my mind and I'd like to be able to get on with things and not think about getting more blood draws, getting up early to get to the lab, having to start injections again, etc.
And ... I'm dumping this lab. I use them because they're close to my house and have better hours than my doc's office. But, at this point, they've lost my standing order multiple times. This is the second blood draw in the last two weeks that has *disappeared*. And, even if you set an appointment with them, they take everyone in first come, first served order. I'm DONE with them.
I ranted at my poor husband for an hour when I got home tonight and it STILL isn't out of my system. I am SO beyond peeved I hardly recognize myself. Grrrr....
It is annoying when it happens, it just delays everything further.
The home system works like the one for diabetes. You just stick the finger with the home system. That sounds like a much better option to me. I would be extrememly mad and frustrated too if they lost my lab work. Hang in there.
I called the insurance company, explained that this was not working and needed another lab to choose from. They gave me a lab that was not on my list (they have to pay more) but still covered on the insurance and close to work. Dr has results now in 2-4 hrs. They can pull results on the computer instead of having to wait for a fax or call.
My INR has dropped again to 1.5. I'm glad I didn't wait to Monday to pitch a fit! We sent my dose back up to 10mg and I'll re-draw on Monday. I'll also be looking for a new lab on Monday.
I'm still annoyed with the lab, but at least I feel more human now.