inr to high another day not allowed to take my warfarin

my husband had a p.e several large clots and pneumonia after a week in hospital with a drip for antibiotics, he also had injections to reduce the clots, hes now on warfarin his inr is way to high 4.5 today, hes having bloodtests every 2 days, how long does it take to settle? any help please would be grateful

[Hidden]

Hi Andy; what a worrying time for you.

I am a patient like your husband, not a doctor and certainly not an expert on P.Es or pneumonia but it sounds like they are doing the right things for him. Antibiotics to sort out the pneumonia and initially injections, presumably of a Heparin basis, for his PE followed by Warfarin. Don't worry too much about his high INR as they are obviously checking it every 2 days. 4.5 may be higher than their target but it is not dangerously high. I have taken Warfarin for 15 years for a mechanical heart valve and for the first 3 years my target range was 3.5 to 4.5 and it was often at the top end; in fact provided it stays at this level and not much higher it will help to get his P.E. under control and stop it getting worse.

It can take 2 to 3 weeks to get his INR stable and these are early days so try not to worry and be patient. At this stage it is better to be a little high rather than too low as some folk experience.

Hang in there and keep asking about anything worrying you, there are plenty out here keen to help. Keep us posted on his progress won't you. All the best.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

thanks pburt

I will try not to worry see how he goes its just been a bit worrying, having him home ,, I will keep you posted, many thanks for replying,

[Hidden]

Hello Andy I too have blood clots and am in early stages of getting the warfarin right, am having daily blood tests, my inr started at 1. 2 and is now 3.2 have also just stopped having daily injections, keep in touch with your doctor, and if your worried, no matter what anyone else says phone for a home visit from doctor, you can't be to careful with thrombosis, go with your instincts, best wishes to you both, hope it gets sorted soon

[Stanman]

Better to be a little higher than down in the 1's Andy. Mine took a month or so before it stabilised a little,doseage going from 3/4mg up to a final 8mg before I was taken off warfarin. I worry about it as I am a regular flyer but I had about three weeks where my INR was in the 2-3 range. Most of the time it was low, the last reading I got before finishing the warfarin was 1.1, my lowest and that was just before I got on a long haul flight!

Just make sure your husband moves around, cuts down his vitamin K and take away any sharp objects so he can't cut himself.

Any problems then get straight on to your GP or the hospital. Best of luck.

[Hidden]

thanks all for your advice,, I will wait for his levels today I feel a bit less panicky today, good luck and best wishes,,

[darksteele]

God it is so frustrating to hear how many people are still being offered older medication when new one a day treatments are available that do not need injections or regular INR test to check that they are working correctly. Guys look at the NICE website and read about rivaroxaban. They say it is a recommend treatment and doctors should not refuse to prescribe based on cost.