Warfarin

[frozen]

Hi. This is Lyn, Frozens other half. We came to England at the beginning of October for a two week holiday but unfortunately Reg had a stroke a few days before we were due to fly back. He is out of hospital now but will now be on warfarin amongst other things. Obviously we want to return to Calis to continue 'living our dream'but my concern is the avalibility of being monitered for warfarin and to be kept an eye on. I know the health care is very good out there but I have to make sure that everything will be available for him when we come back. I,m hoping that someone will put my mind at rest that we can continue to live in Calis and that Reg will beable to get all the help he will need.
We have many good friends in you lot and I can't thank everyone enough for all they have done in making sure our bills get paid, the dog is safe with the vet and our house is being looked after. Depending on what answers we get to this posting, we hope to back ASAP.

[smudge]

Hi Lyn
a friend of ours takes warfarin to control blood thickness, he also has a pacemaker.
He has a blood test every month at Esnaf (9 lira) then phones his doctor in UK to make sure his dosage is correct, he only uses the UK doctor because they like to monitor the pacemaker.
The warfarin tablets here are twice the strength of what he had in UK so only has half a tablet, he also needs a smaller dose here than in UK.
If you have any specific questions I will pass them onto him and get answers for you.
Hope you make it back soon.

[JulieDiane]

Warfarin is a very strong blood thinner, if not monitored correctly it can cause internal bleeding (dont wish to scare) personally i would speak to the doctor here in the UK to guage the amount of blood monitoring checks are required (once a month does not seem to be often enough) i would then contact the hospital direct to confirm dosages etc available... I have worked in the healthcare industry for many years now and usually blood monitoring and dosage changes are completed weekly. However i do not see why you cannot continue this in Turkey any differently to the UK  

Good luck  )

[sannyrut]

I agree with jdrussell.My mother,80 years,has been on Warfarin for 10 years,following an Aortic valve replacement.She has to have her INR checked regularly,so that the dosage of warfarin,can be adjusted if necessary.She goes to have this checked,usually once a week,depending on her previous result.I would suggest that once a month is too long,but I would like to think that a blood test could be performed in Turkey on a regular basis,as my mother has to constantly change her dosage of warfarin.I hope this helps you.

[MagicalGarden]

Hi all this is Mrs Smudge here.
Just to put Lyn's mind at rest. It was not the Dr's in Esnaf who suggested our friend be tested once a month. It was his heart specialist in Leeds who told him how often it needed monitoring.

Check with your own specialist and I'm sure Esnaf or any other hospital will test it when needed.

[kim]

Hi Lyn ,so sorry to hear about Reg ,hope he is ok ,give him  our love ,Kim Ray

[kanga]

Hi Lynn was in Calis last week and heard the news about Reg tell him we all hope he is on the road to recovery and feeling better and look forward to seeing you both next summer at the Almina for an Efes or 2 take care both of you Mark Andrea and family.

[frozen]

Thanks to you all for the information. Reg is now back in hospital, this time for medical reasons which I think are all connected with the stroke. It is a very stressful time but I'm putting my faith in the health service here to get him sorted so we can eventually return.
One other question, can warfarin be bought easily in Turkey and any idea of the cost?

[MagicalGarden]

Hi frozen
Have just phoned a friend on warfarin here in Calis. He said you can buy it over the counter at the chemist. The smallest size they do is 5mg. so he only takes half a tablet at a time. He cannot remember exact price but said its only a few lira a pack, nothing to worry about.

[laffa]

 :)Yes, by the way Pook. they've got some lovely Xmas decorations in Costco,and nice Xmas crackers, and a cranberry sauce with Burgundy.