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AFib - Question about blood thinners
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Mar 7, 2022 | Replies (126)Comment receiving replies
I've been on Eliquis since last April and had no problems until I decided to have a beer one night. All was well so the next night I had a small glass of wine (about 3 oz). No problems, so the next night I had another small glass of wine. Now I am afraid I have bleeding in my stomach. I'm not sure yet, but it feels like when I had an ulcer about 10 years ago--pain in the middle of my stomach.
Otherwise, Eliquis has worked for me. I am also on Diltiazem to control my heart rate. I know someone who had a severe stroke and he is lucky to be alive, and he lost part of his vision, so I'd rather take blood thinners than end up like him. My doctors here placed the fear of God in me--stay on Eliquis or take the risk of having a stroke.
As for bleeding risk. I have cut myself since going on Eliquis and I bled a little more than I would have otherwise and the cut took a bit longer to clot, but it did and nothing bad happened. Maybe it's just me and maybe I have more vitamin K in my system than some people (I eat a lot of salads--greens, etc.), but I am not so afraid of a severe bleeding incident now.
Replies to "I've been on Eliquis since last April and had no problems until I decided to have..."
I probably need to quit posting on this topic. All I know is what I have read and researched. I was on Xarelto for six months before I developed blood in my urine. As soon as I went off the Xarelto - no more blood (visual or in urine test). The cardiologist wanted me to take Eliquis. I read and read so much info online. What I learned is there are two types of strokes, ischemic and hemorrhagic. The ischemic is caused by a blood clot traveling to the brain. The hemorrhagic is caused by bleeding in the brain. Those of us with A-fib are supposed to avoid the ischemic type by taking blood thinners to avoid a clot. However, the 'common' side effects of Eliquis list bleeding in the brain*. To me, that is a hemorrhagic stroke. Supposedly, the ischemic strokes are survivable and people often gain back functions lost to the stroke. The hemorrhagic strokes are 30-60% fatal. And, people surviving them have only a 10-15% likelihood of gaining functions back. In my (uneducated) opinion, this is really a catch-22 and we need better medications with far less critical side effects. In the meantime, the pharmaceutical companies' gross sales annually for just one of these meds is in the Billions (with a B). *The other side effects of Eliquis are bleeding into the stomach, intestines, or eyes.
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How much do you take every day?