INR testing machine

Looking to buy INR machine for husband just had Surgery now on life time warfarin . So expensive anywhere I can get second hand cheaper , go won’t even prescribe the strips

[daisyd]

Difficult if the Doctor are not on your side the strips alone cost £75.00

You would have to be prescribed Warfarin ? Wether your doctor would agree to that with a coaguchex machines

[Hidden in reply to daisyd]

He is on warfarin and will be for the rest of his life . It’s ok Doctor going to prescribe strip I’ll just buy him the machine . Just thought it would be a good place to ask if any one new of anywhere that sold them cheaper . I thought I was worth an ale . I mist have been wrong

[daisyd in reply to Hidden]

Machines very expensive. But worth it I have to have a blood test every week, which if I had to attend surgery to have test would be a painAre you sure they are not thinking of putting him on one of the new anticoagulants where an inr wouldn’t be necessary

[Hidden]

Hi Wifeylove,

I would suggest that you make contact with Coaguchek UK ( I assume you are in UK) and enquire. The last I was aware Coaguchek themselves have a 12 month interest free purchase plan. Google .... Coaguchek UK. You could also check price of Test Strips at the same time. Beware of dealing with Amazon - with this type of stuff they are not always the cheapest.

Ideally, you do need to be working with an INR Clinic who would then be able to prescribe test strips as mine does. My GP surgery has an INR Clinic associated with its practice. No sweat.

What is Hubbys theraputic range and target INR. Mine is a range of 2.0 to 3.0 with a target of 2.5. However, this can vary a bit if there are other conditions with patient.

The other consideration is the doses of Warfarin prescribed. How frequently have you been told to test ? What have you been told about diet ? Consistency of food and drink is the key to Warfarin. If your local GP practice doesn't have an INR clinic ask the medical person who is prescribing Warfarin where your local INR Clinic is ? TBH, if you are being prescribed Warfarin that person should offer you access to a clinic that will enable you to self test and will support you too. Every now and then my Clinic asks me to come in with my device and we take bloods from the same finger at the same time and drop some onto the test strip in my device and the surgery device ... and get a reading. The two readings then are checked - mine usually are the same, or .1 difference. That confirms for the surgery that both devices are in sync. and that mine is still accurate. We do this once a year. my next test like this is on 23 August.

My INR clinic gives me a test date. Coincidently mine was yesterday. So before I went to work I took a test and my INR was 2.4. I then phoned it through to my GP's Reception and asked them to notify the INR Clinic who then rang back 2 hours later with my next test date (23 August) and because I am so stable I was told to keep the same dose. Sometimes my results wander a bit in which case when the clinic rings back they will vary the dose a tad.

I would add that I've been on Warfarin now for some 12 years. In that time I have had to have a number of procedures which have required me to stop Warfarin temporarily or cut my dose back for a while. This includes knee replacement and Cortisone Injection into the right shoulder. In the olden (pre CoVid days) I have taken my kit wherever I travel including to the east coast of Australia on hols. No sweat. If I am going to be away on holidays which coincides witha test date ... I just arrange with my INR Clinic that I phone them or email them and life continues.

No matter what you may be told by others the fact that you are on Warfarin is no restriction on a patients quality of life since you are able to test whenever you wish. Although I am on 10 weekly tests I do tend to test more frequently, maybe at 3 weeks, then again at at 6 weeks, then at 10 weeks - at which time I phone my 10 week test results through. That way I have more peace of mind. Bear in mind that with all my comments I am a boring old patient and not medically qualified.

There are quite a few on this forum who are on Warfarin but not all self test. In my view self testing is the way to go. But each unto their own. If you need me to explain any of my comments, let me know.

John

[happy12345 in reply to Hidden]

Can you tell me where you are in UK. I have been on warfarin for 12 years also. I self test but my gp will not prescribe stripes. Be interested to no. It's a postcode lottery.

[Hidden in reply to happy12345]

Hiya happy12345,

I was put on Warfarin in Jan 2010 . MY GP at the time suggested I go to the Coaguchek XS device 'cos I drove buses on a shift system and couldn't always make the surgery for tests. They were 100% supportive and prescribed the test strips from the start .... so I started in East Surrey.

Two years or so later I moved to Cornwall, 10 miles east of Penzance and both my original surgery and the one I am now with have without quibble prescribed test strips.

If your GP is a problem I would make a formal complaint to your local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and ask for the GP's decision to be reversed.

Good luck.

John

[happy12345 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply. Same as you I have been on warfarin since Jan 2010. I got my own machine, I have always bought my own stripes as GP and INR nurse always have said I can't have them they won't give them in Harrow. I am aware of people getting them on perscription as near as Watford to me. So unfair as it's a postcode lottery. Thanks for your advice, don't think I'll have much joy tho have persued it before to no avail. Just wondered where you lived thinking of moving.

[Hidden in reply to happy12345]

Hi Happy,

It is all obviously wealth based. You guys in Harrow are considered wealthy compared to us guys down the pointy end of Cornwall ( even by Surrey standards for that matter). The Wealthy can afford to pay, the poor of Cornwall can't. And I can tell you Cornwall is poor (having lived elsewhere in Britain and overseas) - anywhere with seasonal employment has to be poor. Much of Cornwall is poor, not just in terms of income but with society in general particularly infrastructure.

John

[Bdhoagie in reply to Hidden]

Hi John,

I read your comments with interest. I have been on warfarin for 13 years, and never knew about self test! I have been going to our local cottage hospital each time for the blood test, the results e-mailed to me within a couple of days. Until recently, my INR was quite stable, nearly always within target range, even bang on target quite a few times! However, for some unknown reason, it's being a bit erratic, down to 1.3 then up to 3.4 and this obviously means more blood tests, weekly/fortnightly, which, pre covid, wouldn't be a problem, the blood clinic was drop in and wait. Now the clinic is appointment only, and invariably, all the appointment slots are taken by the time I get my e-mail! A self test kit will be ideal, I just don't understand why it's never been mentioned to me before! I am on warfarin for life and aged 62 now, so hopefully, quite a few years yet!!

[Hidden in reply to Bdhoagie]

Hi,

As a start point you could approach them on whether they would support you on your self testing quest. If they would then ask them what you would have to do to comply with their requirements.

The last I knew was that Roche (who market the INR testing kit known as Coaguchek XS) made the device etc available on a 12 month purchase plan. The last I heard it retailed at £300 which was spread of 12 interest free repayments. If you Google Coaguchek XS you will get current info.

I've been self testing since April 2010 with two different ( I moved house) Surgeries supporting me. I work as a bus driver and so shift work prohibts me from attending all the INR tests in a Clinic. I'm now 78, was 65 in the beginning.

Warfarin does tend to do that. Does for me and much the same values as you listed. I have found that by the time my Clinic gets itself sorted it is easier to stop all green leaf vegetables for a week or so. But you can only really rely on this if you self test.

I can provide more details if you want to go onto a confrontation with your clinic testers. Its not bloody rocket science .... more a case of people wanting to cover their ass !

John

[Bdhoagie in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply, I shall investigate further!

[Midnight_Voice]

There are Coaguchek XS devices on eBay from about £200 upwards, such as ebay.co.uk/bfl/viewbids/125...

though this may rise as bidding intensifies.

I bought mine new from Roche; the cost was about the same as one professional hospital INR test in the US, where I was going to spend the next three months, so for me it was a no-brainer.

The NHS covers the strips and the Warfarin, and the local hospital taught me to self-dose if I looked like I was going out of my 2.0-3.0 range (which raised a few eyebrows where I now live).

It is well worth asking if you can be supplied with the Coaguchek VAT-free, as this is medical equipment for someone with a long-term disability, and warfarin for life is indicative of this. It is something you have to agree in advance with the supplier; you can’t reclaim the VAT later, so it has to be something done at the point of sale. Normally, signing a simple declaration that the supplier can hold will suffice. They won’t care, as the VAT would only be passed on to the Government anyway, but the Government might care, so they need that declaration from you to cover themselves.

I didn’t do this for my Coaguchek as I could put it down as a business expense, but we have done it recently for a bidet toilet my wife needed.

Well worth it too -

medisave.co.uk/coaguchek-in...

where showing the ex-VAT price is a large hint that you could go this way 😛

[Hidden]

Thank you very much that helps a lot

[No_choice in reply to Hidden]

I have a Coaguchek XS I no longer use, I have messaged you direct.

[trevorb]

You don’t pay VAT if you inform Coaguchek that you are taking warfarin for life. I have been using mine since 2013 and it is still accurate. For the flexibility self testing provides I would say it is priceless.

[Cerinboo60]

I bought my coaguchek xs in 2007 as I’m on lifelong warfarin and get my test strips on prescription from gp. My anticoagulant clinic tell me when to test and I phone them with result on which they adjust my dosage. The machines are very reliable and worth every penny for the peace of mind and convenience. My machine was purchased direct from Roche and results are calibrated once a year by anticoagulant clinic. If gp won’t prescribe test strips get in touch with local ccg. Hope this helps.

[patrick333]

Hi

The information I am adding may not be directly relevant but maybe for some of the 'tribe' reading the comments who track more than just INR. My comments relate to a different way of covering GP/INR test costs when you may have a lot of GP visits in a year due to additional medical stuff etc.

In Ireland, some patients pay to attend GPs and don't have 'free' schemes. Due to my salary, I can not avail of free GP care. I attend a number of hospital clinics (blood and liver) and INR is one measure I keep track of.

I don't self-test, but I will look into it as an option. I generally do an INR about every 6 weeks if I'm within my range (2-3) but it is not uncommon to go outside the range and this mostly corrects easily with a temporary adjustment of my meds. I have come off Warfarin about 4 times over about the last 4 years for various procedures. For the above reasons, I do attend the GP practice and the INR nurse often enough.

My GP practice offers a payment scheme of €15 pm and each INR is €5. Normal GP visits etc would be €55-60, so over a year this is good value for me (when a GP or medical card ie free visits are not available). Best wishes to everyone in whatever approach works for you.

[Jerry99]

Hello, not sure this is helpful but I bought a INR testing machine for GBP350 online in 2009. Don't know if they have risen or fallen in price since then. Very easy to use.

[Jerry99]

PS I was getting my strips on prescription