Diarrhoea and blood thinners continued

[Broseley]

In my previous post I asked if anyone else had diarrhoea from taking blood thinners. It seems that quite a few of you do.

I have just consulted the PIL for edoxaban. There is NO mention anywhere about diarrhoea in the list of side effects. I suggest that if you are sure your diarrhoea is related to your blood thinners, that you report this using the yellow card scheme. Edoxaban is quite a new drug and I'm sure these reports will be useful. If you are on a different drug, check if it's on the list of side effects first. Details of how to report are on the PIL.

Incidentally, bleeding from the gums us also not mentioned on the side effects list!

[Bagrat]

I was always led to believe anticoagulants do not cause gum bleeding, rather they highlight the fact your gums are vulnerable and need more attention. Maybe chat with your hygienist. Mine always says keep brushing regardless and things will improve.

[Broseley in reply to Bagrat]

If you Google it there's loads of dentists websites that mention it. Also here: nhs.uk/medicines/apixaban/s...

[Bagrat in reply to Broseley]

Yes, but in the NHS advice "This type of bleeding is not dangerous and should stop by itself." It also says if you're conerned or it doesn't stop consult your doctor.

[Broseley in reply to Bagrat]

It's not that, it's my hygienist who thinks it's down to the poor state of my gums, which I take great care of. I need to educate her about blood thinners as it doesn't mention bleeding in the PIL.

[Buffafly]

The problem is to be sure what is actually a side effect eg bleeding from gums is a sign of gum disease which may be revealed or exacerbated by an anticoagulant but isn’t a side effect as such. Diarrhoea could come in the same category but without investigation you can’t be sure. Unexpected/unexplained bleeding should always be referred to a health professional.

[Broseley in reply to Buffafly]

Good point. Thanks.

[Vonnegut]

I had such bad diarrhoea from Rivaroxyban the first anticoagulant that I was prescribed that the doc agree I should stop taking it after a few days! The next one caused constipation, so, thankfully, now that I take Flecainide ( 100 mg twice daily) which has put an end to episodes of AF, I no longer take anticoagulants (and still here at at almost 80!)

[Broseley in reply to Vonnegut]

Thanks, that's great news! I Googled Flecainide and it's only used when you have an abnormally fast heartbeat, and when nothing else works, so I don't think this would apply to me. But I'll keep looking and maybe ask to try something else, though I don't want to have to use warfarin. My mum was on that for years and it meant fortnightly blood tests which was a real pain until I got her changed to apixaban.

[Vonnegut in reply to Broseley]

It was prescribed for me because the lowest dose of Bisoprolol brought my heart rate down too low! As you know, we are all different and it works for me and though it may increase my fatigue a little, it keeps my heart rate reasonable with no AF!