Good to hear from you again.
Yes, all the anticoagulants have the same effect.
After all,
1) they basically turn users into hemophiliacs
(surely you've noticed how you bleed from minor wounds?)
2) About my blinding eye disease: it's caused by tiny abnormal capillaries which grow into the retina, in some older people. They are very fragile. When they leak, the blood (and toxic fluids from inadequate eye metabolism) permanently kill retinal cells right in the macula - i.e., destroying central vision.
Right now, they can only forestall the (groan) inevitable by fairly recently discovered chemicals which act to prevent the growth of these capillaries (and to a degree, dry them out). They reach the affected area by eye injections (no, it's no fun but not as bad as it sounds).
Within days of getting the eye diagnosis, I put 2 and 2 together - the anticoagulant effect (which is so useful against stroke risk from AFIB) and the nasty fact that it's uncontrolled bleeding which blinds people with my eye disease.
What to do? My retinologist is a dead loss in terms of honest advice concerning exploring such options ("what am I? A cardiologist?" "Do you want to have a stroke"? etc.) undoubtedly affected by liability concerns. (If he steers me even by hinting, away from anticoagulants, he might be sued by me/my family if I have a stroke.)
Anyhow, I found on my own the options to avoid anticoagulants (eg. the Watchman which seems the best), and thus have been exploring how and whether I might qualify for this surgery. (For example, people with internal bleeding can NOT take these anticoagulants , Afib or not).
Your (approx) annual hospital visit for your heart issues sound terrifying, especially (I imagine) because they just happen - i.e., no set date. (I identify with that aspect of it especially as recurrences of my retinal bleeding happen unpredictably.)
Not to mention the ambulance drama and how you must feel during this annual emergency. Sympathies!
"Funny" how people with the same condition can have such radically different manifestations and experiences!
And yet we can still help each other. At least, there's that.
One of my best friends has the same problem and has the eye injections.
What a dilemma. Cardiology needs anticoagulation for afib to prevent stroke, and Opthamology needs to prevent bleeding which will worsen the degeneration.
The Watchman makes sense. Of course you thought of it yourself! Will any doc do it for you?