@gloaming Yeah, I do understand that. I'd probably have reacted the same way you did had someone else posted what I did. But honestly, I appreciate your posts and what I said in that one really was aimed generally, at no one in particular.
I just know the mishmash of good, bad, misleading or misunderstood information on a medical topic can be so confusing, and can scare the bejibbers out of a person who may be suffering from a particular condition and takes all that information to heart, making them imagine things are so much worse than they really are. I know there are many issues with the medical establishment these days, making it difficult for people to trust or believe their healthcare providers. Some folks adopt a defensive or standoffish stance with their providers, not believing anything the provider says unless it's what they want to hear- this gets to be a vicious circle as the provider may react in kind and the patient stands to gain nothing at all in the way of the help and knowledge the provider possesses. That kind of leaves the patient to his/her own devices.

I guess I am lucky in that I've developed long standing relationships with my doctors that allow for the back and forth dialogue regarding my medical issues. And I do have the education and background in healthcare to understand what I read, and to ask the questions of my providers that puts this information in context of its application to me. That makes all this confusing information make sense to me, though I know not everyone can do that.

Funny, on the topic of Eliquis ( or bloodthinner) or not, I'm one of those people who will probably be a "lifer" on Eliquis by virtue of my A-fib, risk factors for stroke and family history. My A-fib, fortunately has remained paroxysmal and the episodes not that often and generally short in duration. My cardiologist has always been the conservative type ( as am I so I appreciate this) and didn't start me on the Eliquis till I had several 2-3 hour long A-fib events. Since I have a pacemaker with a remote monitor, my cardiologist/pacemaker clinic knows exactly when, how often and how long my A-fib events are ( since the monitor rats on me when these occur) so they know my A-fib burden is low. I've asked, when they tell me my last 3 month monitor report ( or maybe two 3 month reports) showed no signs of A-fib, about my chances of discontinuing the Eliquis, and the cardiologist always tell me that 1) I know, and you know, there will be more occurrences of A-fib, and 2) my other risk factors for stroke justify the Eliquis ( my CHAD2DS2 score of 4, plus a strong family history of strokes). I know he is right, and those requests I have to reconsider the blood thinner are always followed with reports of more A-fib. I can't argue with him, especially considering how conservative he was in waiting for more evidence of A-fib to start me on the bloodthinner. Fortunately, I have had no side effects from the Eliquis, and it's not even that expensive for me as I can use the manufacturer's coupon to pay my copay for the drug. Even still, if my A-fib remains as infrequent and brief as it has, I'd still happily consider a pill in the pocket anticoagulation if that becomes feasible.

And thank you for the warm welcome.