Turmeric and afib

[Kingsley09]

Is anyone with afib and on anticoagulant ( apixaban) tried taking turmeric for pain relief and how has it worked for you as I know it has blood thinning properties but I’m only going to take the powder form and just a teaspoon a day as I’ve tried it on a really bad day for my pain relief and the next day I seem to have a really good day so would like to try using it more I rang my anticoagulant clinic and the nurse there said if I take it for approximately 3 days and don’t get a bleed I should be ok but would like to hear from someone that has done this and been ok

[BobD Volunteer]

Sorry no experience other than in food but suggest that you ask you pharmacist as these are the experts in drug contra indications.

[Kingsley09 in reply to BobD]

Hi I thought asking the anticoagulant clinic was the right place to ask also I did ask a pharmacist and he said he wasn’t sure that’s why I wanted to hear from someone who is on an anticoagulant like apixaban even though the nurse at the clinic said if I took it for 3 days and didn’t have a bleed it was probably ok

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Kingsley09]

Frankly I feel that is a really silly response. You really don't want to risk a bleed of any kind. Sorry but we are not medically trained and can't advise on such matter. If others have personal experience then fine. Remember most blood ladies are merely just trained in taking the stuff .

[Aprilbday]

...”the nurse said if I take it for approximately 3 days and don’t get a bleed I should be ok....”

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

Who would risk a bleed? Why would a nurse give that kind of advice-sounds like a non-caring one!! A lazy answer!! Does the nurse not understand the impact of a bleed?

Can you please call the clinic , speak to a different nurse, doctor and/or pharmacist specializing in understanding these drugs and herbal seasonings ?

The risk is too great. I am so sorry for the pain you are in. I hope you feel less pain tomorrow and every day afterwards.

[Kingsley09 in reply to Aprilbday]

Thanks for your reply it’s becaus the nurse said that it has worried I’m assuming she means like bleeding gums or nose or bruising all things that at the moment don’t happen, I don’t think that in small amounts in your cooking it would hurt and I have read that it’s possibly only in large amounts the capsules I believe and I have to go to the eye clinic at my hospital and I mentioned it to the eye consultant and he said he would doubt if in small amounts in cooking would make any difference as there not all bleeding all over the place in India so your probably be ok to use it in your cooking which I will still do but I’m definitely not going to take in capsule form your meal for tonight sounds really tasty thanks for your good wishes same to you

[Aprilbday]

And also.... thanks for your post! I did not know that turmeric thins the blood. I just used some on my chicken and vegetables when cooking for dinner tonight. However, because I have now learned that turmeric thins the blood, I will avoid it like the plague!

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Aprilbday]

Some things are said to thin blood. Aspirin for example stops the platelets sticking together so it could be said it thins blood. Anticoagulants do not thin blood . They slow down the clotting process but the viscosity stays the same. Spontaneous bleeds do not start from anticoagulation and you still need an injury to cause a bleed. So much confusion caused by this misuse of language I fear.

[Aprilbday in reply to BobD]

Really!!! What an education you just gave me. First, aspirin really does thin your blood and spontaneous bleeds need an injury. There is a lot of mis information out there on this. I even read several reports citing an anti inflammation diet as helpful bug when you read the diet it has lots of vegs on there very high in vitamin K which I did not think was idea for us.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Aprilbday]

Gum disease is a favourite cause of blood in mouth. What I mean about spontaneous bleeding is that it doesn't just leak out for no reason. Things like nose bleeds are caused by burst capillaries. Gastro Intestinal bleeds can be a result of ulceration etc and brain bleeds either a blow or burst capillary. I hate the term "blood thinner" as it can make people think that they will leak for no reason but I don't think " making blood less sticky" works for aspirin so will allow it under advisement as they say.

[Aprilbday in reply to BobD]

Terrifying just to talk or think about it.😱

[Hidden]

I was taking turmeric until I thought to check on the internet where it said it was contraindicated with anticoagulants as it enhanced their properties.

Di

[Aprilbday in reply to Hidden]

Exactly!!! I mean why risk it?

[mavisrich]

Yes we bought turmeric and then read about it increasing the effects of warfarin. So... no go. We will not take any risks of a bleed unnecessarily.

[Aprilbday in reply to mavisrich]

I agree completely. Do you also avoid vegetables with a lot of vitamin k?

[MarkS]

I take curcumin which is the active ingredient in turmeric - I have a friend who is researching its properties. It has no effect on my INR on warfarin but apixaban I'm not sure about.

[songbird74]

I share your problem - I have really bad knee pain from a split cartillage and have been looking for possible treatments. My physio said that a lot of people are finding turmeric helpful and I was also recommended devil's claw by someone else. I have tried devil's claw gel and it seems to help with no obvious problems but of cause that is only a very small amount getting through - I wanted to try tablets but pharmacist says he doesn't know - probably wont hurt but he can't say as there haven't been any big enough trials. A pharmacist at the AF conference last year told me I could try NSAIDs so long as I stopped immediately if I had stomach pain and my cardiologist told me I would be OK to take ibuprofen so long as it was occasional not all the time but I have been loathe to risk it. This is an area which could do with some more research I think as there are so many of us on anti-coagulants

[Kingsley09 in reply to songbird74]

I think you have hit the nail on the head with these newer anticoagulants like apixaban they don’t know enough about them so they err on the side of caution and stop you taking a lot of other things which means that there are a lot of us out there that are in a lot of pain which for me has made my life a lot worse as I’m in pain now everyday as paracetamol do nothing for my pain and I believe that being in pain all day can not help your heart they definitely need to do more research on how the newer anticoagulants effect other medication that’s why they say don’t take so many other drugs as they don’t know

[Aprilbday in reply to songbird74]

I have read several double blind studies with peer reviews on using blood thinners for A-Fib. Sometimes it was noted that people had “spontaneous bleeds”. I am wondering if some of those unexplained bleeds are caused by herbs because doctors do not appear to know much about herbs.

[Gfern]

I am fairly new to apixaban and also suffer with knee pain for which I used Fastum gel which is quite effective. This is not advised now so I went looking for an alternative my GP has given me a product called Etoflam which he says is safe for me to use. Perhaps you can ask your doctor about this and see what their recommendations are for yourself.

[songbird74 in reply to Gfern]

thanks I will look into that

[Harrybin]

Apixaban interferes with platelets and i understand turmeric does also so don't take both together i did and had low platelets

[sdalen]

Spontaneous bleeds can happen anytime and are most frequent 30 to 40 days after being on a NOAC. I had a large rectal bleed about a month after and followed by a colonoscopy which revealed nothing other than diverticulosis which happens to be a fairly large risk factor for bleeding from NOACs because of their effects on the intestines. Warfarin does not have this intestinal effect. The bleeds are more serious with some of the NOACS because of a lack of reversal agents but I understand a couple will be available in May. We will see. And yes, herbal meds can influence their effect and so can SSRIs used for depression...but being so new, who knows what else. I would avoid supplements and look for the foods instead. iron supplements can increase bleeds but not apricots (good source of iron) or prunes.

[Pjt55]

I took tumeric for pain before AFib diagnosis. It worked so well! BUT when I went on Eliquis,I was told by EP, Primary MD, pharmacist, nutritionist, and package insert along with online drug interactions websites. They all told me they cannot be taken together. Tumeric thinks blood besides helps pain. I was so disappointed. High dose tumeric was the only thing that touches my chronic pain. But was assured the small.amount of spice in cooking is ok.

[Neerajmgr]

My fathers AF is cured and Ejection fraction increased from 30 to 50 % . I used massage therapy. The oil was mixed with turmeric which contains curcumin. CRP whcih was initially 0.9 gone down to 0.1 in just 2 moths of regular massage. I think skin absorbs cucumin very well. and there is a definite link between Heart failure, AF and inflammation. Reducing the inflammation cures the disease.

[Hidden]

I was told I had afib and was prescribed warfrain butility have never taken it is take 1 tablet every day and have done for 3 months

[Hidden]

Sorry about the txt

[gdp333]

Yes...I have been on Turmeric Extract 95% Curcuminoids along with Aged Garlic Extract but can not take with Eliquis. I alternate days with Turmeric and Garlic one day and Eliquis the next. It is a juggling act but you get used to it. As long as my heart is in normal rhythm from Tikosyn (Dofetilide) Afib heart rhythm medication, I can get off Apaxiban for days on end and just go with Turmeric and Garlic. ( Also quadruple strength fish oil -Natural Vit E and Ginger Extract).