Guest guest Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Wondering if anyone out there has purchased one of the home INR testing machines. Seems like a pin prick on the finger to obtain the blood sample is a lot better than drawing a whole vial of blood using traditional labs. Also, when travelling for any extended period, your INR tester is right with you and you can test daily if you like. What do you think ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 I am a medical technologist who has some familiarity with the home kits, or any other finger stick method for INRs. As long as you have your testing done only by the finger stick method all will probably be ok. However the fingerstick methods do not correlate well with the " real " lab methods so that if you switch back and forth between methods, it will be difficult to regulate your Coumadin dosage properly. If you stick (no pun intended ); to one method or the other your dosages are more likely to be regulated properly. Brenta Home INR Testing Wondering if anyone out there has purchased one of the home INR testing machines. Seems like a pin prick on the finger to obtain the blood sample is a lot better than drawing a whole vial of blood using traditional labs. Also, when travelling for any extended period, your INR tester is right with you and you can test daily if you like. What do you think ? Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 How expensive are the home kits? Best, brenta davis wrote: > I am a medical technologist who has some familiarity with the home > kits, or any other finger stick method for INRs. As long as you have > your testing done only by the finger stick method all will probably be > ok. However the fingerstick methods do not correlate well with the > " real " lab methods so that if you switch back and forth between > methods, it will be difficult to regulate your Coumadin dosage > properly. If you stick (no pun intended ); to one method or the > other your dosages are more likely to be regulated properly. > Brenta > Home INR Testing > > > Wondering if anyone out there has purchased one of the home INR testing > machines. > > Seems like a pin prick on the finger to obtain the blood sample is a > lot better than drawing a whole vial of blood using traditional labs. > > Also, when travelling for any extended period, your INR tester is right > with you and you can test daily if you like. > > What do you think ? > > > > > > > > Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com > List owner: AFIBsupport-owner > For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, > send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help > > Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or > should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 My husband has to travel 50+ miles one way every week to get his tested. This sounds like a deal for the insurance company too, because it is not cheap having it done at the hospital. When he has it done in the docs office with the finger prick, it is less expensive.... Best, slarsen47sl wrote: > Wondering if anyone out there has purchased one of the home INR testing > machines. > > Seems like a pin prick on the finger to obtain the blood sample is a > lot better than drawing a whole vial of blood using traditional labs. > > Also, when travelling for any extended period, your INR tester is right > with you and you can test daily if you like. > > What do you think ? > > > > > > > > Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com > List owner: AFIBsupport-owner > For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, > send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help > > Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or > should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 I found a " finger stick " tester on eBay a few weeks back. It was just like the one that my PCP's office uses to test me. These babies retail for about $1500, and it was about $750 on eBay. I was very tempted to buy it, even though my PCP's office is only about 3-4 miles away. But, then I saw the cost of the test strips. I think they are about $12 each! (Not sure that I remember correctly; but they ware at least $12 each.) If you try to buy one at retail, you will need your doctor's prescription. And, of course, to be safe, you will still have to send the results to your doctor for instructions. So, I figured that I would stick with my PCP's office, if for no other reason that between Medicare and the health insurance that I had before qualifying for Medicare, and also retained (dual coverage) after going on Medicare, the net cost to me with my PCP testing is zero (plus, of course gas and inconvenience). My cardiologist office is even a little closer than my PCP, but they do not do the testing themselves. Rather, they send me to the Qwest office in a neighboring building for a blood draw. That adds inconvenience and also a delay in interpreting results and giving me new instructions, if any are needed. --Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 Good point about the cost of the test strips.! Best, manda Steve Goldstein wrote: > I found a " finger stick " tester on eBay a few weeks back. It was just > like the one that my PCP's office uses to test me. These babies > retail for about $1500, and it was about $750 on eBay. I was very > tempted to buy it, even though my PCP's office is only about 3-4 > miles away. But, then I saw the cost of the test strips. I think > they are about $12 each! (Not sure that I remember correctly; but > they ware at least $12 each.) > > If you try to buy one at retail, you will need your doctor's > prescription. And, of course, to be safe, you will still have to > send the results to your doctor for instructions. > > So, I figured that I would stick with my PCP's office, if for no > other reason that between Medicare and the health insurance that I > had before qualifying for Medicare, and also retained (dual coverage) > after going on Medicare, the net cost to me with my PCP testing is > zero (plus, of course gas and inconvenience). > > My cardiologist office is even a little closer than my PCP, but they > do not do the testing themselves. Rather, they send me to the Qwest > office in a neighboring building for a blood draw. That adds > inconvenience and also a delay in interpreting results and giving me > new instructions, if any are needed. > > --Steve > > > Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com > List owner: AFIBsupport-owner > For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, > send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help > > Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or > should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 Wow, 3-years ago when I was on warfrin I went to the hospital for the " pin Prick " inr testing. At that time I always joked that I was going to write a computer program that would read peoples INR's at home. Glad to hear there is a home test kit available! brenta davis bdavis66@...> wrote: I am a medical technologist who has some familiarity with the home kits, or any other finger stick method for INRs. As long as you have your testing done only by the finger stick method all will probably be ok. However the fingerstick methods do not correlate well with the " real " lab methods so that if you switch back and forth between methods, it will be difficult to regulate your Coumadin dosage properly. If you stick (no pun intended ); to one method or the other your dosages are more likely to be regulated properly. Brenta Home INR Testing Wondering if anyone out there has purchased one of the home INR testing machines. Seems like a pin prick on the finger to obtain the blood sample is a lot better than drawing a whole vial of blood using traditional labs. Also, when travelling for any extended period, your INR tester is right with you and you can test daily if you like. What do you think ? Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 When I started taking Coumadin, I had a hard time getting my INR to a therapeutic level and had to get checked often. My physician had his office manager check with my health insurance carrier to see if they would pay for an INR testing machine. And they would and did! Saves them money in the long run. It is very convenient, especially when traveling. I keep the physician updated on my readings so my patient record is kept current. Bob Home INR Testing Wondering if anyone out there has purchased one of the home INR testing machines. Seems like a pin prick on the finger to obtain the blood sample is a lot better than drawing a whole vial of blood using traditional labs. Also, when travelling for any extended period, your INR tester is right with you and you can test daily if you like. What do you think ? Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 I purchased through my insurance company and with the assistance of my cardiologist who must fill out paperwork documenting the necessity of such durable medical equipment, an INRatio INR monitoring machine (http://www.hemosense.com). I had it compared to a lab INR result and it was accurate with just a ..1 difference in values. Delighted and with my cardiologist's blessings, I have been monitoring myself for the past 7 months. The cost was approximately 1400. Test strips run $156/12 strips, which allows for a 3 month supply if one tests weekly or 6 month supply if one tests bi-monthly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 When I started taking Coumadin, I had a hard time getting my INR to a therapeutic level and had to get checked often. My physician had his office manager check with my health insurance carrier to see if they would pay for an INR testing machine. And they would and did! Saves them money in the long run. It is very convenient, especially when traveling. I keep the physician updated on my readings so my patient record is kept current. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 I had been doing the regular venipuncture tests and happened to do the finger prick with the new doctor on the same day a few months ago. the finger prick showed a scary INR of 5.6, while the venipuncture result was a somewhat high 3.3. The problem is that these levels would require different decisions on what to do. I went with the venipuncture result. I did the same two tests a few weeks later and again the finger stick was higher - 2.6 compared to 2.1 on the venipuncture test. There is a high correlation between the two methods (about .94) , but that does not mean that they will give the same results. After talking to my former cadiologist's coumadin person and the lab people, I decided to continue with the venipuncture method only. They both said that they have seen strange results like this for SOME people and therefore don't use the finger stick method any monger. Has anyone else had such an experience? > > I purchased through my insurance company and with the assistance of my > cardiologist who must fill out paperwork documenting the necessity of > such durable medical equipment, an INRatio INR monitoring machine > (http://www.hemosense.com). > > I had it compared to a lab INR result and it was accurate with just a > .1 difference in values. Delighted and with my cardiologist's > blessings, I have been monitoring myself for the past 7 months. > > The cost was approximately 1400. Test strips run $156/12 strips, which > allows for a 3 month supply if one tests weekly or 6 month supply if > one tests bi-monthly. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Hi I live in the UK, not really heard about these home testing kits since they first came out, what I will say is that I have only ever had one done, the GP surgeries do not have the machines (considering the small cost of them) It you think about it the machine and testing strips are a small cost to anyone who has to be on warfarin for life, with the convince of testing in your own home, so why are they not being promoted. I think that the medical profession is not confident about the results that they achieve. To have a machine you would need to be able to contact the person in charge of your warfarin, they would have to be confident that the reading are correct, and prepared to change the dose as necessary. There may be too many ifs and buts to justify buying a testing machine at present. ine Re: Home INR Testing I had been doing the regular venipuncture tests and happened to do the finger prick with the new doctor on the same day a few months ago. the finger prick showed a scary INR of 5.6, while the venipuncture result was a somewhat high 3.3. The problem is that these levels would require different decisions on what to do. I went with the venipuncture result. I did the same two tests a few weeks later and again the finger stick was higher - 2.6 compared to 2.1 on the venipuncture test. There is a high correlation between the two methods (about .94) , but that does not mean that they will give the same results. After talking to my former cadiologist's coumadin person and the lab people, I decided to continue with the venipuncture method only. They both said that they have seen strange results like this for SOME people and therefore don't use the finger stick method any monger. Has anyone else had such an experience? > > I purchased through my insurance company and with the assistance of my > cardiologist who must fill out paperwork documenting the necessity of > such durable medical equipment, an INRatio INR monitoring machine > (http://www.hemosense.com). > > I had it compared to a lab INR result and it was accurate with just a > .1 difference in values. Delighted and with my cardiologist's > blessings, I have been monitoring myself for the past 7 months. > > The cost was approximately 1400. Test strips run $156/12 strips, which > allows for a 3 month supply if one tests weekly or 6 month supply if > one tests bi-monthly. > Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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