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.
Is self-management (adjusting warfarin dose yourself) accepted in the U.S. now?
Self testing is approved in the U.S. but all I can find (haven't looked thoroughly yet) are publications that discuss self-management in Europe and Canada. (Maybe Australia?)
Stoptheclot.org has this to say:
"While this type of anticoagulant management has gained acceptance in the medical community in some European countries, it has, at this point, not been promoted by the healthcare systems in the U.S. or Canada."
..... but that page hasn't been updated for several years.
That would be great if self-management were medically legal here.
(Brings up a question though----- would the patients then have 'extra' warfarin at home, so the person could increase their dose without a doctor's o.k.? And would Insurances pay for that?)
Self testing is approved in the U.S. but all I can find (haven't looked thoroughly yet) are publications that discuss self-management in Europe and Canada. (Maybe Australia?)
Stoptheclot.org has this to say:
"While this type of anticoagulant management has gained acceptance in the medical community in some European countries, it has, at this point, not been promoted by the healthcare systems in the U.S. or Canada."
..... but that page hasn't been updated for several years.
That would be great if self-management were medically legal here.
(Brings up a question though----- would the patients then have 'extra' warfarin at home, so the person could increase their dose without a doctor's o.k.? And would Insurances pay for that?)
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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.
The example of diabetes/insulin mentioned in this thread seems to be pertinent.
Insulin was at the top of the list and anti-coagulants were in second place.
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/556487
I'm glad I keep my doctor fully informed of my INR.
Sometimes I can find 'subscription' articles via 'the back door' when and if someone else has posted it a blog or forum.
But that takes a little work. I'd sign up since it's free.
This is what MY pharmacy and insurance plans will do---- so it may vary with others.
I can order 90 days of warfarin at a time WITH MY DOCTORS O.K.--- which I'm sure all doctors would do, but check that out.
To bring this to the topic here----- those who self-manage (and that's up to them PLUS their doctor) can keep a little stockpile of warfarin.