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Usually this is Warfarin the most common given in tablets 1mg, 3mg, and 5mg You may be given a number of different strength tablets to make up your dose, and it is important that you become familiar with the different strengths and colours that you need to take.- do not confuse the dose in mg with the number of tablets that you take - medication taken once a day at the same time with a glass of water - care to be taken not to take the wrong dose by mistake and if you do make a note in the book you have been given and take only your normal dose the next day. If the dose you took in error greatly exceeded your normal dose, contact the anticoagulant clinic. First to check medication already taking - avoid aspirin, non-steroidal antiinflammatories, cranberry juice, spinach, brocolli, foods rich in vitamin K also dangerous to binge drink alcohol check with the leaflet inside your medication for interactions and adverse effects Women may experience heavy periods while taking anticoagulants and women who think they may be pregnant should seek a pregnancy test as soon as possible.

An anticoagulat medicine prevents harmful blood clots from forming in your blood vessels by making your blood take longer to clot. Aspirin is also used in general but if it is thought that Warfarin is the better one for the condition then you are commenced on this - never take both. Your blood must be monitored while you are taking this medication quite often more so initially until the right dosage is established and then frequent but less often long term This test is called INR TEST which stands fo International Normalised Ratio. This is a standard test that measures how long your blood takes to clot. Normally, blood that is not anticagulated has an INR of approximately 1.0. The dose of anticoagulant that you need will depend on your INR test result. If your result is out of the range approriate for your condition, your dose of anticoagulant will be increased accordingly. The anticoagulant dose required to achieve the target INR varies for each person. Your anticoagulant clinic will arrange your blood tests for you. Your pharmacist will help you with prescriptions - there will also be a deiivery service and make sure you do not run out of tablets. ALWAYS  carry your anticoagulation card with you with the target figure on it. All of this information is given to the patient at the anticoagulation clinic, they can also get help from General Practioners, Pharmacists and Hospitals.