a couple of months ago I switched from Edoxaban to Apixaban but night mares have caught up with me again. Is Rivaroxaban likely to be a better option?
Last two nights I've woken from stressy dreams with tachycardia ... which soon calms down with deep breathing etc.
I'd be very grateful for any advice ...
Hiya 108cat,
I was first put on an anticoagulant, Warfarin, in January 2010. At the time these new oral anticoagulants were still in the process of development. Once these NOAC's became available my GP started trying to pursuade me to change to Edoxaban. I kept refusing.
I self tested my Warfarin INR with my own device at home, worked with my surgery for a new test date and all was well with my world.
Eventually my GP got her wicked way with me as I had some medical issue ( in around Nov 2023 ) which meant an additional prescription for some other drug ( can't remember now all the details ), the catch was this meant I had to move off Warfarin ( so she said) and onto Edoxaban. I did her bidding.
At first all was well and it all seemed just fine, then gradually ( as the Edoxaban went to work on me ) I started nightmares. I gave it 6 months but by then my nightmares had become so vile, disturbing and disteressing I wasn't prepared to continue. I delivered a written hardcopy message to my GP telling her of my problem and saying I wasn't prepared to continue with any of the 4 NOACS that were available any more and I planned to continue with Warfarin - apart from which the cause of the switch to Edoxaban had ceased so there was again no issue with Warfarin.
Once again all is well with my world.
John
Thank you Ben, I was wondering if Rivaroxaban would be better than the other NOACs so far it sounds like warfarin is the best option but I was hoping to avoid the testing.
Cat
Hi John ... sorry to call you Ben (!)
It occurs to me to ask if warfarin has any other side effects, fatigue, breathlessness etc.
Thanks for your response,
Cat
Hiya Cat,
No worries, I chose Ben Hall 'cos he was a 19th century bush ranger in outback Australia and was shot and killed near an Australian rural town I know well.
I'm probably not the best person to ask about Warfarin side effects.... I've never had a problem. Being an anticoagulant of course means that if one is working in the kitchen or doing DIY around the home, one mistake could cause bleeding. No fatigue, no breathlessness though .... and in fact I continued driving busses on shift work with the knowledge of both my employer and DVLA with absolutely no problems at all.
The testing is no issue. You either have a GP Practice with an INR Clinic in which case they take a blood draw and do the test. Generally there is a pre determined theraputic range - mine is 2.0 to 3.0. My perfect target is 2.5. my tests normally get me between 2.3 and 2.7. Diet is the other consideration too. Alternatively, you buy your own test device and do the tests at home and just phone results to your surgery. The process is a bit like what a diabetic goes through with their blood tests. No sweat. I even take my kit to Australia when I go on holiday. My tests strips for the device are on a normal NHS prescription.
Anyway, I wish you well in your journey.
John a.k.a. Ben Hall 😊
Hello there. I have been on Apixaban since my Ablation in 2022. I must admit most of my dreams are very vivid, but always have been. I do though, on few occasions, wake up with racing heart but mostly if it's one of those dreams where you are being active - however I do get scary dreams and again I wake with racing heart like I am actually in the dream. I personally don't let it concern me though as my heart soon settles down again.
Apixaban gave me panic attacks I am unable to tolerate any of the new DOAC’s. . I take warfarin. I don’t know why your anticoagulant was changed, but I think you need to go back to GP.
As we all know, we are all very different. I no longer take an anticoagulant as my heart is well controlled by Flecainide but I still remember the effect of Rivaroxaban - dreadful diarrhoea - apparently quite a common side effect - I was taken off it after under a week (having used far too much toilet paper)!
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