Inr still low 4 weeks on: My inr is... - Anticoagulation S...

Anticoagulation Support

3,797 members1,339 posts

Inr still low 4 weeks on

callum19 profile image
22 Replies

My inr is still low 1.4, 1.5. What could of caused it. Thanks any advice would be appreciated

Written by
callum19 profile image
callum19
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
22 Replies
daisyd profile image
daisyd

Lots of things can make a change in your INR, I guess your anticoagulant clinic have increased your warfarin

Stress, illness, new medication, dehydration, food with vit K is ok but try and keep it to about the same everyday, their are good lists on the internet where you can check vit K amounts in foods

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to daisyd

I've had an accident and stress with family problems too? My waferin is 7 mg daily going back on Monday have tried half pack of spinach at lunch time today just hope it helps it is it standard to get a home testing kit for inr or is it down to your Dr

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to callum19

Thank you for your help

Tipper profile image
Tipper in reply to callum19

Spinach like all green vegetables will lower your INR! I'm not sure what you expected it to do?

daisyd profile image
daisyd

Hi I have coagucheck machine best thing ever, had to buy it myself birthday/ Christmas presents ,cost over £400 my GP gives me the testing sticks on prescription they cost over £70

Check with your anticoagulant/ GP first

When my INR goes low I have Clexane injections to give myself my INR has to be around 3.5 due to Antiphospholipid syndrome

INR can change quite quickly I was told not to eat too much vit k as my INR would be likely to go the other way

Vit K will make your INR lower,if it were me, I am not a Doctor I would miss eating any over the weekend.

Hope things improve for you soon

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to daisyd

I've had little spinach for iron but totally stopped slimming world. Had an accident about a week or so before my inr collapsed but women things too. I've had a frozen shoulder because of it too but a lot of stress but don't want to say what on a public wall. I'm having my blood gases checked on Thursday in the sleep clinic and fbc was taken yesterday to send if it picks up anything

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to daisyd

Where can you but them from the machines

Hi Callum19

Changing your diet, like an having an infection or some other medication can affect you INR; I'm afraid that's life for us on Warfarin. The simple answer is that it is important to get your INR back into range and the sure way to do that is to increase your daily dose of Warfarin until it is in range. If you were "self managing" it would not be difficult or unsafe to do that but otherwise it would be dangerous to just change dose without proper supervision so get onto your clinician, be it your GP or anticoag clinic and insist that they address the issue without delay. It will mean having more frequent blood tests until you are safely back in range and then probably reducing your dose back to a more normal level.

7mg per day is not a high dose. I am on that to get between INR 3 and 4. I know lots of folk on above 10mg per day so get on a higher dose for a while.

Applewood31 profile image
Applewood31

Hi I find too much Vit K makes my INR levels drop you need to have the same amount every day to keep levels on track I worked out how much and have my greens or Kewi fruit the same every day and mine have been fine for the last 6 weeks Godluck its not easy being Warfarin

nissanjean profile image
nissanjean

What dose of warfarin are you taking?

Why was it prescribed/

What is your target range for INR?

What diet have you been taking?

What medications are you taking?

Kind regards

Jean

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to nissanjean

7mg daily

Pe dvt and had cardiac failure they thought I also had af so on medication for that

Started slimming world diet

Penicillin vk profalaxis 500mg daiy, folic acid, provera, zapain, gabapentin, mitazapin, water diretic frusomide omeprazol citrazin for allergies qvar and ventolin cepap auto machine but may have to go onto ventilator and oxygen. Tests still bring carried out

Sometimes I gave to háve 8000mg flucloxacillin and penecillin vk a day for a week but it's never made it go low

Thank you for helping me

nissanjean profile image
nissanjean in reply to callum19

Hi Callum

Please research fluclaxicillin and antibiotic toxicity .There is a website called Floxie hope.

Please look under the dangers of fluroquinolones as well.

nissanjean profile image
nissanjean

How long has your INR been low for?

Have you had any diarrhoea?

Have you taken your Warfarin at a different time of day etc.

Have you got a coaguchek machine?

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to nissanjean

Yes had diorhea

Inr low for 4 weeks current dose 7mg taken between5.30 pm to 6.30pm every day

I don't have a home testing machine

Thank you

nissanjean profile image
nissanjean

Hi Callum

You need to check the drugs you are taking to see if they are interacting with warfarin. Then take a look at your diet to see if the amount of vitamin K has been increased.

Lists of foodstuffs containing low,moderate and high levels of vitamin K can be found online.

Next check any supplements,herbal teas and/or fruit juices that contain vitamin K.

Stress and infection can affect INR.

A coaguchek machine can relieve anxiety as you can self monitor and take some control over your monitoring/life.

Kind regards

Jean

Good luck.

jajaja profile image
jajaja

I am totally puzzled by your story. I would have expected vigorous attempts to have been made to get your INR within range -- which I assume means above 2. So I would have expected your warfarin dose to be raised to get the INR into line. And in the meantime, I would have expected you to be having to inject yourself with Clexane or another form of heparin every day, and to be having to get tested at a doctor's/hospital every 2 or 3 days. You don't mention any of this happening. Has it actually gone back to the target range without anyone telling you so clearly?

If you are really being tested on a normal schedule and it is consistently that low, then I suggest you ask to see the doctor (if at a surgery) or sister (at a hospital clinic) in charge and ask what they are going to do about it. I am afraid you will probably find them quite uninterested in why -- that knowledge wouldn't change what they need to do.

callum19 profile image
callum19

Well inr range was 1.5 today on 8mg of waferin and 340mg of clexin a lets hope it works back in a week if there's no improvement I'm going to ask to see a vascular specialist. Next week have a pre op so they may for further investigations themselves

After the first dose of clexin feel better already thud discomfort in my arm has eased off too.

Thank you everyone for your kind words if support

nissanjean profile image
nissanjean

Callum

You say that you are having clexane injections and that you took 8 mgms of warfarin.

Are you taking the same dose of warfarin every day or does the dose vary?

Clexane will thin your blood BUT will not affect the INR reading.

With a reading of 1.5 it would appear that your INR is not yet within the therapeutic range.

Who prescribed the clexane. Was it your GP or a dr from the anti coagulation clinic?

Was your dose of warfarin increased at the same time?

Jean

callum19 profile image
callum19 in reply to nissanjean

Hi my inr did go to 2 but then collapsed as I suffered stress my carers left me high and dry after two years was very upset about it. Last week it started to rise agin to 1.7. Do hopefully on Tuesday it will be a 2 stayed away from vitamin k

nmosese profile image
nmosese in reply to callum19

Yes move away from vitamin k foods

ld31 profile image
ld31

Hi my inr ratio is 3 to 4.5

nmosese profile image
nmosese

My INR was 1 for about three weeks. After I decided to change my diet and minimised green vegetable and nay food with high content of vitamin K, it improved to 3.1. I was on 10mg of warfrin then. I also stoped eating eggs a lot and just eat lots of vegetable or chicken soup and friuts nd omega 3 and other fatty oils. Very NB.

You may also like...

INR levels in hot temperatures

degrees during the day and 27 degrees at night. My INR has gone way out of range. I have not...

No Blood Test (DVT INR Warfarin) for months now?

My feet have suddenly swollen something awful, would this have anything to do with Warfarin level,...

CCG now refusing INR test strips on prescription

and test on average every 10 days. I also see an INR nurse at my GP practice every 6-8 weeks. This...