Cardiologist requested Vit D levels check as I was feeling fatigued. Had a blood test last week - levels a bit low & started on Vitabiotics Vit D 1000 IU per day £5 approx for 3 month supply (other brands are available!). Just realised today that I’m feeling much livelier - others out there might like to get checked.
No sooner had I been for that blood test, I got home to find a request to make an appointment for an anticoagulation check (I’ve been on Apixaban for 2 months). Anyone else on NOACS had this? Shame the HCA didn’t check to see if there was anything else pending - 2 sticks instead of one!!!!
Agree about the vitamin D - lack of sunshine and/or an indoor lifestyle deplete our levels. I read an article some time back which advised all elderly???? people to take vit D supplements.
Apixaban testing is routine - probably will settle down to once or twice a year. I sympathise with the running back and forth - had the same thing happen in our new multi-million-pound cardiac unit - stress test one day, Holter monitor the next. To save another 45 mile trip I asked for holter to be fitted when I attended the stress test but was told ‘sorry we don’t have enough monitors to do that’. 😀
Sorry Archie - I missed the word ‘anticoagulation’ in your post. It sounds like someone is confusing Warfarin INR checks and DOAC renal checks. To clarify my answer to you - my GP surgery had annual renal checks but this year has changed to bi-annual.
The check is not for the anticoagulation it is for kidney function. There is no check needed for the anticoagulation function of any DOACs but it is normal for kidney (and sometimes liver ) function tests to be done periodically. In most case if things are normal these will be stretched to annual eventually.
Interesting Bob, and why I asked the question as I had the kidney function done alongside the Vit D last week & it was fine. She definitely said anticoagulation check - I hope I don’t turn up to find it’s an INR which would be irrelevant for someone on a NOAC.
Update - turns out the wrong letter was sent out, they wanted a baseline FBC which will then be checked annually. Phlebotomist decided to send some for LFT as well, so with all the other tests I’ve had, all bases are now covered.
See last Thursday’s Guardian and other newspaper reports re vitamin d. I was on vit d last winter when tests showed I was seriously low. Not sure now. Will talk to GP next visit.
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