A good Blood Thinner

From what I know, all blood thinners are made of basicly the same stuff, because they are designed to do the same job. So if someone has a problem with one, they will most likely have a problem with the others. Every medicine has side effects, but not everyone wll get them. It's like being alergic to peanuts, some peope are dealthy allergic, and others can eat them all day long.

I'm in the UK and I am on Warfarin. I've had not problems with it, and I take it every day, at the same time (within an hour) at a dosage percribed by blood levels. 

What are you on now, and why are you wanting to swtich?

My doctor gave me a choice of either warfarin or rivaroxaban. I chose rivaroxaban. No blood tests. No side effects. And less travel insurance than if you have warfarin which needs blood tests.

I have been taking Apixaban (Eloquis) for the past year with no probs to date. I was very reluctant to take any blood thinners but due to the high risk of stroke associated with PAF and after much research I decided this was the safest and is as good if not better than Warfarin and no frequent blood tests.

Hi David, I pretty sure that a blood thinner without potential side effects doesn't exist.

I too have been on Apixaban now for almost a year without problem (except of course for when I cut or scratch myself and it takes ages to stop the bleeding-no biggy though!!)

I did quite a bit of research before choosing Apixaban (which is what was recommended to me).

There are pros and cons for Warfarin and the newer type thinners. 

I guess Warfarin is tried and tested, but requires regular blood tests and some people have significant difficulty in maintaining the correct levels in their system, so regular blood tests are required.

Vitam K is an antidote to Warfarin, and can be administered to reverse the effects of Warfarin should you have a significant bleeding episode.

The newer thinners require no testing, but also, as yet, have no antidote to reverse their effects. My understanding is though, that an antidote is not too far from being released.

New thinners can also have a bit of a negative impact on some of your organs though.

I'm young(ish), 49 and apart from having had heart failure, am in pretty good shape, which is why I went for apixaban.

My sister-in-law, who has a PHD in Pharmacology and lectures trainee nurses on this topic, says that she would've gone with warfarin because it has an antidote, it has been around for a long time and is tried and proven.

I guess when all is said and done, life's a gamble and your need to weigh up the potential risks verses benefits and take your age and health into account and go with what you think is best for you.

Good luck with it all, hope this helps.

Re: the antidote issue. When I went back to my doctor I initially told her I had decided on warfarin for this very reason. But after talking with her and reading up more about it I changed my mind.

In the ROCKET AF trial, rivaroxaban was at least as good and tended to be better than warfarin at preventing stroke and Rivaroxaban also significantly lowered the risk of bleeding in the brain and head.  There are pros and cons with everything and it was my choice to have no blood tests and no special diet. i.e eating a low vitamin k diet. i love my greens and nuts!!!! Good luck with whatever you choose.

Hi David I am on Apixaban which I have been taking for over 2 weeks, So far so good, after all the problems I have had with medication. This does upset my tum a bit but not enough to worry about. I have taken Rivaroxaban but after only 4 days I had a bleed. I have also got travel insurance without a premium being added.

So I am hopeful things will go well.