Coumadin- blood thinner?

Question

I hve a blood clot in my leg.They started me on Coumadin. I was on 5mg. & they up me to 7 5. because im not theraputic yet. What does not theraputic mean????

Answer 1

Previous answers have been correct about defining what a therapeutic dose is. I would also suggest you ask your doctor about having a Warfarin Metabolism test.  It is a new genetic test that tells how your body uses warfarin.  I perform this test in the laboratory that I work in.  It is an excellent test.  Using the results of this test can help the doctor ascertain  the correct dosage more quickly and prevent multiple dosing changes and multiple PT tests.  See the link below for more information on the test

Answer 2

Your INR (international normalized ratio), which is basically a corrected prothrombin time (PT) is not high enough.  A therapeutic range for someone with a DVT is higher than 1.00 (which is normal).  Your therapeutic level would likely be about 3 ... any lower and your coumadin level is increased to hit a target INR between, say 2.5 - 3.5.

Answer 3

there is a level, that when reached is considered theraputic, below that level does nothing and above that level is very dangerous, that is why you have a test called an INR done frequently when you are taking coumadin to make sure your levels are therapeutic, a change in diet can affect this level, especially anything with vitamin k in it................good luck, my husband has been on it for two years and they are just now getting his dosage where it stays the same from one blood test to the next, for almost two years we were testing and changing his dose every week to two weeks......

Answer 4

It means that 5 mg wasnt working so they raised the dose to 7.5 mg.

Answer 5

Assuming they did blood testing to determine this, they think your blood still clots too much.

Answer 6

What the doctor means by "therapeutic" means that your blood is anticoagulated/thinned enough. If they're upping you, it means that your blood is probably going to clot more easily than they would like, and if they drop your dosage, it means that your blood is too thinned, thus leading to an increased risk of bleeding.

Answer 7

As runningwithscapels mentioned, it is because the clotting of your blood has not been sufficiently slowed. Coumadin is a drug that works differently on everyone, so that the doseage is highly individualized and closely monitored with blood tests. It takes a few days for you to reach a 'therapeutic' range and it is not at all unusual. Please be sure to listen to your doctor and get your blood tests as directed, even though it may be a hassle. You should have received some counselling on nutrition as well, because foods high in vitamin K will work against the effect of coumadin -- such as large amounts of green leafy vegetables.