My other half (the one whose Nan died after the accident in the bath) has been admitted to hospital himself with a blood clot on the lung - he's being treated with Warfarin, but until his blood level is 2.0 or above, they won't let him out - first they said Monday, then it was today, now it's tomorrow - does anyone else have any experience of using warfarin as a bllod clot preventative - how easy is it to keep stable?

The people I know who take it have to have regular blood tests to make sure it is at its optimum level.  The best place to be when trying to get drugs stablised is in hospital although I know this can be very frustrating because as soon as you leave you get mostly forgotten about

My husband had a PE about 20 years ago following an accident he was in hospital anyway for 5 weeks because of his injuries but on going home the doctor continued to call every couple of days to check his INR for the 6 months he was on warfarin.  I believe even people who are on it long term always need monitoring, once a week perhaps.

My mother was on warfarin long term and had to have blood tests every four weeks to keep her on the correct dosage....but a friend of mine was only put on it for a short time until her condition improved (she had a clot in her leg).

warfarin is an excellent drug to thin the blood. The length of time someone would need to take warfarin depends on the reason for getting the clot in the first place.It is usually 6 months for a lung clot.
It is not always easy to stabilise the warfarin in the beginning......warfarin works differently in different people, and each person requires a different dose. The presence of other prescription drugs also complicates things, as just about every other drug interacts with warfarin to raise or lower the blood level. The "level" that you describe is called the INR.... in other words it is a ratio of the clotting of the blood. In the normal state it is 1. So  doctors are aiming to thin the blood to twice its normal thinness. Unfortunately, due to all the above reasons, it is quite usual for it to take some time to stabilise it, and it sounds like his management is spot on. It is very important to be patient with this (many people get fed up waiting), as the consequences of too low or too high a level are serious.

Many thanks Pinklillies - I had an awful week last week and was looking forward to Monday, then today, and now tomorrow for him to be home - but now we're wondering just how long it's going to take to get his INS levels right - could we be talking about a week or more?  And why can't this be done at home - after all, it seems to be just one dose of tablets and one blood test a day......

No advice Digger but send Big D my love and hope he gets better very soon :)
Lea :)

I know that you have had a terrible week. I am very sorry for you and your husband.
Your husband has had a life threatening illness, and needs hospital care right now. It is not just a case of daily blood tests. The risks of overdose and underdose are very great in the first days on warfarin, and the consequences of each is life threatening in itself. Underdose can result in further clots....overdose can result in stroke or massive haemorrhage. In the safety of the hospital surroundings these serious consequences can be dealt with promptly if they arise. They can not be dealt with at home.
Regardless of everything that has gone on, your husbands medical care is urgent and necessary. Please try not to let him see how impatient you are, it will not help him if you inadvertently promote the idea that he is not having the right treatment.

Its not just prescription drugs pinklilies you should let your doctor know about any alternative remedies too.  Also foods affect Warfarin I know grapefruit is one of them I'm sure there are others.

He's already been told alchohol is a no no - which is a real shame as we made full use of our duty free allowance when we went to Spain a few weeks back for a long weekend (so he could recover from the 'chest infection' he had.......  For chest infection - read blood clot on the lung......).  I did ask the Dr about diet affecting it (I'd read that Brassicas affect the Vit K level) and he poo poo'd it.  But then he also poo poo'd the idea that Dave should be sent home with surgical stockings......

Oh yea, forgot about the booze that upset my hubbie too :) I think you will be referred to a anticoagulant clinic on discharge and I am sure they will be clued up on diet etc maybe your doctor's right to pooh pooh I don't know, the clinic will hopefully work to evidence based ideas.  I am sure the hospital will let him go as soon as they can they don't seem to keep people in NHS beds any longer than they need to be :)