bleeding on brain

Hi,
I have been recovering from brain surgery after I had life threatening bleeding after a fall. I have been on Eloquis for a few years after receiving a pacemaker. I am literally blessed to be alive! I fell through the cracks of the system and suffered headaches and problems for almost a month.
I worried now because the only medicine I'm taking to prevent clots is baby aspirin. I have an appointment with my cardiologist in a few weeks. Any input on how I should approach this problem would be greatly appreciated. I really worried about bloodclots.

Jane

5 Comments

BloodThinners

by Artist - 2015-06-19 01:06:45

I am also only on Baby aspirin. In my case, my blood is periodically tested and falls within the range that my doctor says is acceptable in being effective for helping to prevent blood clots and lessen the likelihood that I will have a stroke. I recommend asking your cardiologist to run appropriate blood tests to evaluate whether the aspirin is sufficient treatment. The nice thing about baby aspirin is that it is a conservative approach that does not produce some of the side effects that drugs like Warfarin do.

Eloquis

by aldeer - 2015-06-19 08:06:01

If you are on Eloquis (one of the latest blood thinners), you don't have to worry about blood clots. As a matter of fact, it is recommended not to take aspirin of any strength while on this drug. I am on Pradaxa(another blood thinner) and have been for many years. I also had surgery for bilateral hematomas (blood clots on the brain) many years ago and have a-fib. Best of luck to you and keepi in touch with your cardiologist as to what is best for you. aldeer

bleeding on brain

by trish - 2015-06-19 08:06:33

Did you know there is a class action suite against Eloquis for causing excessive bleeding, hemorrhage and even death. Trish

What is a stroke ?

by IAN MC - 2015-06-20 03:06:51

People say they take blood-thinners " to prevent strokes"
but this is not strictly true !

There are 2 types of stroke :-

- 8 out of 10 strokes are caused by a blood clot cutting off blood supply to the brain , these are known as ischemic strokes and blood-thinners HELP to prevent these; no guarantees though

- 2 out of 10 strokes are " Hemorrhagic strokes : when a weakened blood vessel in the brain ruptures and the bleeding into the tissues again cuts off blood supply to the brain ; this leads to a stroke ! All blood-thinners increase the risk of this happening, it doesn't matter if you take aspirin,warfarin , Eliquis , Xarelto or Pradaxa . Any one of these blood-thinners increase the chances of having that type of stroke especially if you bang your head or have a fall .

Untreated high blood pressure plus a blood-thinner really does increase the risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke !

The reason that all blood-thinners could be used as rat poison is that in sufficient dosage they all would cause rats to die from hemorrhagic strokes.

Perhaps everyone who takes a blood-thinner should wear a crash helmet !

Jane , I guess the bottom line is that you if you have a fib you are much more likely to have an ischemic " blood clot " stroke than you are to have a brain-bleed stroke so blood -thinners may be a good idea .But it is a trade-off between risks and benefits.

Ian

Anticoagulants

by PJinSC - 2015-06-20 11:06:11

The term "blood thinner" is a common catch-all phrase but is actually not correct. Your blood in not actually thinned out. These products affect your blood's ability to form blood clots, therefore they are "anticoagulants". Warfarin (Coumadin) interferes with the vitamin K in the clotting process, which is why folks must watch their diet for vitamin K intake. I took Warfarin for ten years due to A-fib, and constantly had trouble staying in the required INR (clotting time) range. That and I was tired of being stuck every two weeks, so I went to Pradaxa for two years, but did not like the reflux pain at night, sometimes even if taken with food. Now I am taking Xarelto with no side effects I have noticed. Never did take aspirin alone for clot prevention. In fact, you should not take any N-Saids except acetaminophen while on anticoagulants, because of the added effect to the anticoagulant itself.

I asked my cardiologist and my EP about the class action suits against Pradaxa, Xarelto and Eliquis, but not Warfarin. They both said that generic drug producers like Warfarin can't be sued, but privately owned companies that produce the other three can be sued. They said to take that for what it was worth. If you read the disclaimers in your drug information packet, they all warn about possible increased bleeding if you injure yourself or if you have a propensity for internal bleeding. I personal have had no problem with Pradaxa or Xarelto as far as increased bleeding. Cuts and scratches stop just fine, and I noticed that I do not scar like when on Warfarin. I have always had good fortune with quickly clotting, so it may just be me.

All that being said, do not hesitate to question your doctors until you get satisfactory answers. There are also many good websites for folks on anticoagulants. I used to look at several for how to control diet when on Warfarin. Not so worried about it now.

Good Luck and Good Life. PJ

You know you're wired when...

Your favorite poem is “Ode to a Cardiac Node”.

Member Quotes

It's much better to live with a pacemaker than to risk your life without one.