clopidogrel

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JohnCalderwood

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
Messages
95
Location
Vancouver B.C. Canada
Hello,

It has been a long time since I have been on here. I finally have a surgery date. April 13. Been waiting since October. I am not up to date here. Is anyone on clopidogrel? I was asked, if I qualify, to be on a trial study that could randomize me to be on clopidogrel. What does anyone know about this drug? Thank you.
 
JohnCalderwood said:
Hello,

It has been a long time since I have been on here. I finally have a surgery date. April 13. Been waiting since October. I am not up to date here. Is anyone on clopidogrel? I was asked, if I qualify, to be on a trial study that could randomize me to be on clopidogrel. What does anyone know about this drug? Thank you.
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Welcome back! Plavix can and has been known to cause bleeding if taking with other drugs, such as asprin or Coumadin and should be watched closely. My personal experience was coughing up blood while on it. I do not consider the drug to be safe nor safer then Coumadin or Asprin. You can read the FDA warning concerning it and Prilosec or Omeprazole at the link below:

http://www.valvereplacement.org/for...atients-who-are-poor-metabolizers-of-the-drug
 
JohnCalderwood said:
The trial does combine clopidogrel with aspirin. It is suppose to be a replacement for Warfarin though not with it. Why were you on it Ross?
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The only reason I can come up with is because it was pushed by my surgeon. I was on Coumadin, Plavix, 81mg Asprin and coughing up tablespoons of blood until I stopped Plavix. Honestly, I feel it's more dangerous then Coumadin.
 
Ross said:
The only reason I can come up with is because it was pushed by my surgeon. I was on Coumadin, Plavix, 81mg Asprin and coughing up tablespoons of blood until I stopped Plavix. Honestly, I feel it's more dangerous then Coumadin.
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I know of several poeple that have had problems with plavix and would rather be on coumadin which you can test and stay in range. John you dn't have to answer since it is none of my business, but is this a trial for the ON-X valve that plavix is one of the legs?
 
Please do ask questions Lyn. It is your business if I am asking for help or advice. I think you are right. I just reread over the consent form. And it is a "prospective randomized On-X anticoagulation trial(PROACT)-clinical trial of the On-x valve using low dose anticoagulation". It is sponsored by Medical Carbon Research Institute (doing business as on-x life technologies). I am getting a bit ahead of myself here. I am still a month away from my surgery. I believe I will have three months after that that I will be stabilized using warfarin. If randomized I geuss I will have a 50% chance of going on clopidogrel. This study is "to evaluate whether patients with On-X prosthesis can be safely managed with less anticoagulation and have less risk of hemorrhage." Please ask away. And if anyone else is taking this med. please chime in. Thank you. I know on these studies you are monitored VERY closely tested very often and I think have access to more care. I was randomized to a trial on a drug ten years ago, that was not even FDA approved at the time for CML that worked out fantastic for me. This is a different drug and a different scenario so I would like to find out as much as I can. Thank you. So far by the two posts it is not looking so good.
 
John what has never made sense to me is why do they want to use a very expensive drug, which from what I can tell, is still testing the waters, when Coumadin/Warfarin is much cheaper and you can actually know exactly how well anticoagulated you are and not be guessing. Some people get along fine with Plavix, but I was not one of them. Sometimes I think these Doctors go into Overkill mode with anticoagulation.
 
Putting clopidogrel, warfarin, and aspirin together is insane. You're lucky you didn't die from it. He may be a great surgeon, but it doesn't sound like he should be prescribing anticoagulants.

That doesn't make Plavix dangerous on its own, or when used with aspirin (which is how it was prescribed for me, and is for many people). There are warnings for each of these products not to mix these different types of anticoagulants (Coumadin works in a very different way from aspirin and Plavix).

Aspirin and Plavix have similar effects on platelets, making them less likely to bond together in casual encounters from AFib or other sources. Plavix increases aspirin's effectiveness by roughly 1/3rd. They work well in arteries, but somehow don't work as well in veins. Thus, they aren't useful for preventing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), like a person with circulatory problems might get on an airplane flight. As the heart and other organs are fed from arteries, it's still quite effective. Plavix has been out a long time and has a better safety track record than Coumadin, although it is overall less effective.

As stated above, it should not be used in conjunction with acid reducers like omperazole (RollAids and Tums types are okay) . It's not a problem of toxicity: the acid reducers block Plavix's effects.

Best wishes,
 
tobagotwo said:
Putting clopidogrel, warfarin, and aspirin together is insane. You're lucky you didn't die from it. He may be a great surgeon, but it doesn't sound like he should be prescribing anticoagulants.
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Hey, he's just like many others Surgeons and Doctors out there. Clueless when it comes to anticoagulation. Excellent surgeon, yes. Up on the anticoagulation times, NO.

Anyone who thinks they can take the physicians word as gospel could find themselves in deep doo doo. Do your homework people!

I still disagree about it not being as dangerous as Coumadin, but then, we disagree on that all the time.
 
I know some people are in the ON-X trials and think i is great when people are willing to help things improve, and when Justin was younger he was in some trials, but since you ask, I personally would have to really think about being in a trial, that if it doesn't work one of the first symptons could be a stroke. I personally always fear a bad stroke more than death, even if the chances are slim
then as Ross mentioned Plavix can have problems of its own.
 
After six months of waiting and given a date of April 13 I got a phone call today asking if I could go in March 30. Next friggin Tuesday. I reluctantly said yes. Why does it feel like I am going to the electric chair rather than having heart surgery? Oh well this too shall pass. Both my kids just got colds one with a fever. I feel a slight sore throat coming on. Am I just chicken? Do you think it will be okay to go ahead if I get a flu/cold? I am only 42 and aside from my CML leukemia (ten years) I am relatively healthy.I should come through all right. I think.
 
Hi ,Welcome back and happy to see you reluctantly agreed to March 30th
For me waiting was the most difficult.
Wishing you all the best and you will do GREAT
Better sooner than later as i see it
Prayers and thoughts going your way..have someone keep us posted when able (we are worry warts.)
 
JohnCalderwood said:
After six months of waiting and given a date of April 13 I got a phone call today asking if I could go in March 30. Next friggin Tuesday. I reluctantly said yes. Why does it feel like I am going to the electric chair rather than having heart surgery? Oh well this too shall pass. Both my kids just got colds one with a fever. I feel a slight sore throat coming on. Am I just chicken? Do you think it will be okay to go ahead if I get a flu/cold? I am only 42 and aside from my CML leukemia (ten years) I am relatively healthy.I should come through all right. I think.
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If your remotedly sick in anyway, DO NOT GO. Call it off until you feel well. With that being said, we all felt the same way. Some of us waited months for a date, then when it came, it was as if someone called our bluff and it became very real. You know 2 things for certain, 1. If you don't do it, you'll eventually die. 2. You'll be fixed and not have to worry about it again, hopefully, for the rest of your life.
 
You do not want to be coughing and sneezing as you recover from chest surgery. Nor do you want to have anything but air in your lungs when you get out of the operating room. If you really think you have a cold, let them know.

Best wishes,
 
My sore throat yesterday and for half of today is now quickly turning into a cold. I will still have six days to get rid of this cold as long as it doesn't work it's way to the chest. I really want to get this thing over with(Ohs) but I have to give my body half a chance to get through it. HMMMM life...................
 
I am going to wait until Friday. I have an appointment with my G.P. at 10 a.m. I will assess, discuss with him and call it off if I have to. I am going to go to bed and see if I could get a good nights sleep. The more I think about it the more I think your right again Ross. I should probably stay with the tried tested and true. If I make it to the three months after the surgery I think I am going to pull out of the study and just go with warfarin. Are there any cases where warfarin was rejected or wasn't tolerated in the body. Any reason why a person may have to go on something different like this?
 
John I don't have the numbers, but I beleive it's less then 2% of people have problems with the drug itself. Now, I will forewarn you that most of the medical community doesn't know how to manage Coumadin properly. We've all been through it, we see it everyday in the anticoag forum, it's just something that can get very frustrating. I know we've helped countless people become stable because their clinics or managers couldn't. We are not pro's, just people who home test and some such as myself, self dose. We understand the drug and don't understand why the pro's don't in most cases.

A few have done the ON-X trial and have had no problems, so don't rule that out. It's your life and your choice. Do what your gut feeling says to do.
 
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