colonoscopy

[Bidart17]

I have a colonoscopy on Sunday & no one seems to know when I should stop Apixaban. After coming off Flecainide I’m having episodes most days. Anyone had experience of when they were told to stop Thanks

[Pearce1940oscar]

I didn’t have to stop apixaban when I had mine colonoscopy

[CDreamer]

Seems to vary between doctors and hospitals. You should ask your surgeon but generally here is the NICE guidelines.

For most minor surgical procedures and those associated with a minor bleeding risk, it is recommended not to interrupt oral anticoagulation.In general, these procedures can be performed 12–24 hours after the last dose of apixaban is taken.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anti...

Guidance goes on to say - For medium risk - stop 24 hours, high risk 48 hours.

My husband just had surgery yesterday and is high risk and stopped 48 hours prior to surgery so the surgery team need to read your notes to advice I would think so always question them as things sometimes get overlooked.

Hope that helps

[Czech_Mate]

Seems to vary. I'm in the Czech Republic and for colonoscopy and a dental operation I was told to stop 2 to 3 days before . What caused problems was that I started taking it again immediately after the colonoscopy. With that experience I would ask about when to start taking it again afterwards.

Incidentally the colonoscopy was much less of a hassle generally for me than the colonoscopy.

Good luck.

[Bluetonic]

I didn't stop.

Didn't have a sedative either due to the risk of it putting me back in AF.

Worst part was the bowel prep, the procedure was nowhere near as bad as I thought especially being fully awake.

Only slight discomfort when they had to turn a corner

[john-boy-92]

Is this a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy ? The surgeon / person carrying out the procedure should have told you when to stop, particulalrly if it's a colonoscopy with an expectation to remove polyps. If you're having the full bore clearout with Moviprep, it's unlikely that there will be any anticoagulant in your blood stream taking into account the short half-life of most anticoagulants. However, it's best to check with the hospital.

In my experience, bleeding is not a problem unless you have a large flat polyp removed, and the scab detaches days later.

[bantam12]

I didn’t take any 24 hours before and 48 hours after my last one.

[Frances123]

I have had a few colonoscopy’s over the years and it’s been between 48 & 72 hours. It’s so they can remove any polyps if needs be at the same time. They won’t know if there are any, what type etc until they are inside looking. Otherwise you have to go back and go through all that bowel prep again😖. The prep is worse than the procedure. I had a flex sigmoidoscopy on Monday and had to stop for 72 hours for that. I hope it goes well for you and everything is clear.

[Quivery]

Hello Bidart, as others have said, there is always the possibility at colonoscopy of biopsies being taken or polyps being removed, which can lead to a risk of bleeding for anyone, but more so if you take anticoagulants. Do they know you're taking Apixaban? They should have a set protocol for missing out a particular number of doses (or not) according to their policy. I'd get in touch for clarification - you can't be expected to guess. Good luck with the prep - the bowel needs to be really clear so it isn't the best experience! Keep drinking lots and lots of fluid to avoid dehydration and to flush out the bowel. All the best for a good outcome.

[Mabel247]

I didnt stop Flecainide or Rivaroxaban when I had a colonascopy and had no problems with the sedation drugs.. When I had an ablation I stopped Flecainide and Rivaroxaban for a couple of day and 6 days after the ablation I went into AF and I'm still back on it since July last year Another ablation schedualed!