Resource of Note—PTINR.com

October 25, 2007 6:25 AM CT

If you’re living with those very difficult blood thinners, warfarin or Coumadin®, you’ll find invaluable resources at PTINR.com.

PTINR.com features a vast array of educational resources and tools. There are articles specifically for those with atrial fibrillation, as well as those dealing with blood clots and heart valves. There are articles to help you understand the impact of Vitamin K and diet on blood thinners and to know the signs of trouble. There are handy lists of do’s and don’ts, and also a travel checklist.

Particularly helpful are the Vitamin K resources and tools. While most resources provide estimates of the Vitamin K content of foods (high, medium, or low), the Vitamin K Registry here provides the specific Vitamin K content of a myriad of foods. And you can either search or print this Vitamin K Registry.

You’ll also find a Vitamin K diary that you can use to track your daily Vitamin K intake, a valuable tool for both learners and blood thinner veterans. Especially valuable are the huge numbers of articles pertaining to interactions of foods and beverages, vitamins and supplements, and medications with Vitamin K. There is also an INR test results diary, which would be great to marry up with your Vitamin K diary to identify and track trends. With these tools, you won’t feel “on your own” to figure things out.

There are fun things to do as well, such as crosswords and “Know Your Vitamin K” quizzes that will test your knowledge of the Vitamin K content of foods. There are even featured menus in the Café PTINTR portion of the site.

This wonderful site is focused on educating those on blood thinners. Since it is sponsored by a company that sells home INR monitoring equipment, the site provides interesting information about home monitoring and guidance in getting doctor and insurance approval, including easy-to-use forms.

For many patients on Coumadin® or warfarin, home monitoring is a real asset. In the case of our founder, Mellanie True Hills, who was on the road for weeks at a time in a motorhome while on blood thinners, it would have been wonderful to have home monitoring equipment rather than having to track down labs across the country for getting blood draws and INR testing. While on Coumadin® several years ago, she asked her health care provider about home monitoring and was told that it was too expensive and too unreliable at the time. That no longer appears to be the case.

Another interesting item on the site addresses a problem discussed in the Women Living on Blood Thinners telesminar where several women discussed the challenges of living on blood thinners, including stopping the hemorrhaging from cuts. The participants were not aware of this helpful new product, ActCel Hemostatic Gauze. It’s a special gauze pad that you apply to a bleed, which helps stop the bleeding quickly and safely. That would be ideal for anyone on blood thinners. Now if only our doctors knew about helpful products like these and could pass the information on to patients.

If you’re dealing with blood thinners, PTINR.com is an invaluable resource.