Plavix

[Sherry]

Hi, All. My gp put me on plavix two weeks ago due to my numerous visual disturbances. I'm bruising like crazy. I bet I have 25 huge bruises all over my extremities. Don't know if this is normal or not, but I'm going to put a call into the doc tomorrow to see about going on half the dose. I'm on 75 mg. per day along with the coumadin. Do any of you have any insight on plavix?

 

[geebee]

Hi, All. My gp put me on plavix two weeks ago due to my numerous visual disturbances. I'm bruising like crazy. I bet I have 25 huge bruises all over my extremities. Don't know if this is normal or not, but I'm going to put a call into the doc tomorrow to see about going on half the dose. I'm on 75 mg. per day along with the coumadin. Do any of you have any insight on plavix?

Just what were you doing in Vegas?
Seriously tho, I do not know about Plavix in general but I cannot help to think it must be affecting you. If the only change is the added Plavix, then maybe it is increasing your INR. Have you tested recently? That might be a good place to start.

 

[Guest]

Sherry, looks like your choices are to see colors in your head or on your skin.

Plavix is like aspirin, it slows the ability of platelets to form clots in arteries. So it is quite likely that it is the cause of the bruising. I just talked with a doc about this today. There is a small chance that the combo will lead to significant bleeding.

 

[Sherry]

Al, do you know if 75 mgs per day is a standard dose? I'm wondering if I could take a smaller dose or perhaps a 75 every other day. The deciding factor regarding why he put me on it had to do with a confusion episode I had one morning as I arrived at school. I was speaking normally and could walk just fine, but I had such a faraway feeling that I had never, ever had before. An hour later, I had a doozy of a visual disturbance. He was just worried about the dreaded "s" word, and that's why the plavix. The bruising is crazy though. I've even gotten a few small ones on my fingers and on top of my knuckles. Go figure...

 

[Kathleen]

Plavix

I have been on Plavix and one baby asprin for 7 months and coumadin for 20 years. I have not had any changes in my coumadin dose or INR levels. I have had the most incredible bruises ever. The bruises are accompanied with what feels like a small hard circle and then the bruise spreads from there. I do not have to bump myself to get them it just seems like the vein pops and they appear. They do last for at least a month. If I do have the unfortunate bump the bruise is huge. I can count at least 20-30 per leg. When I had to have my pacemaker removed and an ICD implanted in August the IV sites and the vein draw sites were horrible. Needless to say the ICD site developed a hematoma that grew larger than a softball and bruised from my shoulder to my fingertips. My pharmacist did take me aside and asked if I was in need of any intervention--now he should know that Plavix and Coumadin do that since he is the person I get both from. I hope you don't have to be on it for a long time. I will have my time in in 5 months.
Kathy

 

[Sherry]

Kathleen, thanks for your response. can I ask why you are on both too?

I guess I'm a little freaked out by all this spontaneous bruising because I fear that it could happen somewhere else in the body, like the brain or in the stomach. Do you think it would be possible to just take a baby aspirin and get the same level of protection?

 

[geebee]

Sherry,
I take a baby aspirin daily and have been since my TIAs started prior to my third surgery. I have some increased bruising over coumadin alone but not nearly what you are experiencing. I am convinced the aspirin has made a difference with the TIAs. I still have them a couple times a year but the symptoms are quite reduced and there have been no long term effects (that I know of).

 

[Kathleen]

Plavix

Hi Sherry
I must admit I am a lurker here and don't reply much since I do have such a convoluted heart history that I don't want to alarm anyone. I am taking the Plavix and baby asprin for the stents I had placed after a dissection (explosion) of my right coronay artery during my third ablation attempt. I did have a stroke and brain hemorrage at my desk 4 years ago and the Plavix was never discussed at that time. I am meeting with my EP tomorrow morning and will tell him I do believe 7 months is long enough with this drug. No other side effects other than the terrific bruising. Find out how long they may keep you on the drug. I did develop a terrific chest cold and coughed so hard I did cough up blood so I do think the veins can pop anyplace in the body.
Kathy

 

[dmoses1]

Sherry,
I take a baby aspirin daily and have been since my TIAs started prior to my third surgery. I have some increased bruising over coumadin alone but not nearly what you are experiencing. I am convinced the aspirin has made a difference with the TIAs. I still have them a couple times a year but the symptoms are quite reduced and there have been no long term effects (that I know of).

What are TIA's?

 

[geebee]

Basically tiny strokes. TIA stands for Trans Ischemic Attacks (I think that's how it is spelled).

 

[azpam]

my dad and uncle almost bleed to death when on plavix. (GI wise) when in icu my dad's hemoglobin was down to 5.talked to my mom and told her to tell her dr.to take him off plavix NOW!~.next day they did and he gradually improved. but what a scare! my uncle was the same way. i don't like the drug plavix.don't mean to offend anyone-no hate mail please! be wary of any bleeding starting and catch it fast.(coughing up blood,blood in stool,etc)

 

[Guest]

Kathleen, I don't think that anyone would be shocked about your history. About the only thing we don't have here is someone with their heart upside down - I wouldn't be a bit surprised if someone wrote in saying that theirs is.

Plavix is just jazzed up aspirin. It works better than warfarin when you are trying prevent clots in arteries where the blood is under high pressure and high shearing forces. It is not as good as aspirin where blood flow is slow, such as in the veins and around mechanical valves.

Nobody has ever studied its effectivness when taken every other day.

 

[tobagotwo]

I would truly revisit the Plavix prescription. It just may not be a good drug for you. Perhaps aspirin would do as well, without the added bruising.

Your prescriptions cover two of the three best-known ways to stop clots from forming, the third being the cleanup of fibrinogen, which can be accomplished with soy products. I would be very leery of being on two such powerful anticlotting prescriptions at the same time.

Does your GP know for sure that your visual disturbances are caused by tiny clots? Often it's from a temporary constriction of the veins, rather than an actual blockage. I would go to an ophthalmologist for an exam of your eyeballs before attempting to stop clots which may not be there with a second anticlotting drug.

The ophthalmogist can tell if there have been any tiny blockages. I had this done when I went for Lasik. It's not invasive, it just takes some patience staring into a special machine.

Best wishes,

 

[Yaps]

hmmm..I take both coumadin ,plavix and an aspirin.. I also bruise easily.. they wont let me stop plavix... ....,one time I did..was waiting to get paid..lol..Ive learned to keep quiet when meds run out..lol

 

[Kathleen]

Plavix

Sherry
I agree with Bob that I would look into other causes for the spots rather than introduce Plavix coupled with coumadin. I will let you know what my EP tells me this am. Originally they said 6 months after the stents but changed it to a year. How long have you been on it?
Kathy

 

[Mary]

Al, do you know if 75 mgs per day is a standard dose? I'm wondering if I could take a smaller dose or perhaps a 75 every other day. The deciding factor regarding why he put me on it had to do with a confusion episode I had one morning as I arrived at school. I was speaking normally and could walk just fine, but I had such a faraway feeling that I had never, ever had before. An hour later, I had a doozy of a visual disturbance. He was just worried about the dreaded "s" word, and that's why the plavix. The bruising is crazy though. I've even gotten a few small ones on my fingers and on top of my knuckles. Go figure...

Sherry,
I was put on Plavix and enteric coated aspirin after a TIA episode landed me in the hospital for 3 days (presurgery). Your episode at school sounds like every TIA I've ever experienced--except my visual disturbance occurred at the same time.
I had many problems with bleeding and bruising. I can't remember what Plavix dosage I was on, but I eventually quit taking it due to the bleeding issues. Unfortunately the TIA's resumed, but seem to have stopped with the new aortic valve I'm now sporting. Have they run a carotoid ultrasound to make sure there's no plaque in the arteries?

 

[Guest]

While there may be bruising with the combination, one of the most important points to remember is that at TIA is a stroke. It is a stroke that lasts for less than an hour. It is a huge risk factor for a full-blown stroke. Until things are fully diagnosed, it is probably not wise to change doses of the medications. It may not have been wise to just start Plavix without a thorough workup of what the cause of them is, but if they have stopped, the treatament is effective without finding the underlying cause. I have a web page about the combination of warfarin, aspirin and Plavix - please look at http://warfarinfo.com/warfasaclop.htm

 

[Christina L]

Sherry,

Sherry,

I hope that you get everything taken care of regarding your Plavix concerns.

My first thought upon reading your post was, also, how is your doctor so certain this was a TIA.

I looked up mitral valve prolapse and visual disturbances on the web and got many, many hits. I read in one place how when the body is formed, the mitral valve and the central nervous system form at the same time. I think most people with mitral valve prolapse (or probably other valve abnormalities) will tell you that they have irritable bowels, visual disturbances, dizzy spells, nervousness, etc. etc. etc.

Also just read up on ocular migraines!! Hello!!

I think your cardio did the right thing for the time, but I can't see where you would need to be on Plavix for a long period of time. Maybe you can try a baby aspirin every day.

Sherry, you are about the same age as me - it is an age where women's hormones are running amuck - our hormones are closely tied with our hearts and central nervous system.

Anyway, don't worry too much about things (easy for me to say, huh?) - just see your doctor and get things taken care of and ask him why he is so sure this could be a TIA.

It took me quite a while to get my ocular migraines properly diagnosed - in fact I just had a mild one this morning - my right eye had the prizm-like effect in it for a few minutes and then went away, then I had a very mild headache. Classic ocular migraine. I have never had the far-away feeling, though, but everyone is different.

Christina L

 

[Sherry]

Hello, All, and thanks for the replies. Al, I will check out that page on your website.

The visual disturbance I had after the confusion episode was of the jagged line variety, not the gray blobs. I've had the jagged lines forever (well before surgery) and really have just tried to see them as the seemingly benign thing that they are purported to be. He (my general practitioner - not cardio) was concerned with the confusion issue. That was something really different for me, and that's why he put me on a short round of the plavix. Mary, I kind of wonder if just the coated aspirin would do the trick. I'm following up with him in two weeks and will ask again. I'd rather just go that route than to bruise the way I am now.

Christina, I know you've gone through a lot of this, and I appreciate your input. I've often wondered about the hormone connection and if that was causing me to have so many. The month leading up to my yearly physical (the week before the reunion) I was having several of the jagged line episodes per week. The one thing I have noticed, though, since I've been on the plavix for two and a half weeks is that I haven't had a single one. Coincidence? Don't know, we'll see. I'll let you all know what happens.

 

[Kathleen]

Plavix

Hi
I did talk with my EP and he agreed that I can go off the Plavix. I will stay on the baby asprin and of course coumadin. Good bye bruises.
Kathy