The UPS and downs of Coumadin

Joe has been taking coumadin since he before he left the hospital. Coumadin is basically rat poison. It 'thins' your blood, making it harder for the blood to clot if it encounters a damaged area in a vein or artery. (this is my medical degree from Google talking here...) Anyway, the goal for coumadin is to arrive at what they call the 'theraputic' level, which is between 2.0 and 3.0. The absorption of coumadin in the blood can be impacted by your diet. Dark green leafy vegetables prohibit your body from absorbing the drug. The doctor recommended that Joe not STOP eating green leafy vegetables, but instead to eat about the same level every day. Joe is required to go for weekly blood tests until he can show that he is consistently staying at a theraputic level. Joe, obviously, would like to not have to go every week and get his blood drawn, so he would like to get at that therapeutic level ASAP- then his blood checks can be every other week or even once a month.

Right after we left the hospital, Joe's coumadin was at 2.1. We thought this was great news (Joe especially, because this meant he got to discontinue the shots...) A week later, his coumadin had dropped to 1.9. The doctor upped his dosage to 6 milligrams on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and 5 milligrams on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This week his coumadin dropped again to 1.6 milligrams. So now Joe is taking 6 milligrams every day.

Here's the thing... Joe hasn't changed ANYTHING about his eating habits. If anything, he is eating less green leafy vegetables than he was when he first came home. So... we can't really figure out why the level is dropping... for now, he is stuck with weekly blood checks (he he, that's a pun!).

We have found out that the doctor is planning the vein 'repair' procedure for sometime in January. Joe's medical insurance is changing DRASTICALLY in January, so he has asked the doctor if there is any possible way for him to do the surgery in December. We'll see. Once that procedure is done Joe will only need to take the coumadin for three more months and then this entire experience will be OVER....

Have a wonderful weekend all!
C