I am a poor Warfarin stranger

I've not written much about my own mother here, mostly because anything she does is completely overshadowed by my in-laws.

But recently, she's been having a series of heart problems, all related to being born with a hole in her heart. It's probably not anything that would be a huge issue today, but when you're born in 1951, I'm guessing it is.

And so, she's found herself in the hospital for tests and on lots of medicine, including Coumadin, which is a commonly known blood thinner.

What's a bit ironic about this is that my mom is a nurse but hates everything to do with hospitals and medicine. She's the true definition of crunchy, in fact, I think she might have originated the term. And so although she inserts IVs for a living, she hates going herself.

This is all to say that a recent finding at 23andMe has been Warfarin sensitivity, which is Coumadin. And as it turns out, I have an increased sensitivity, meaning I might require a lesser dose than normal. I suppose this wouldn't really matter for me, because I was fortunate to have been born with a healthy heart.

But since my mom has been genotyped, this information is extremely valuable to her. And in fact, she is also increasingly sensitive to it, a result that she showed her doctor when she went in to have her meds evaluated. I suppose in a way she got a bit of ammunition to ask her doctor to possible decrease her meds (mostly because she hates to take them at all), but also because this type of information could help to inform her PCP about her dosage and what she needs for it to be beneficial.

[So, what diseases am I at a higher risk for? Curious? I'll reveal all next week. And if you're interested in learning more about 23andMe, definitely visit their website for more information].