Stopping Apixaban before Colonoscopy

[Lovedogs1]

Can anyone advise me on when I should stop taking Apixaban before having a colonoscopy. I have had two conflicting answers from the hospital, one says one day before and another says three days before. I will confirm this when I can, just wondered if anyone has been through this. Thanks for reading.

[Hidden]

Hello

There is nothing worse than getting two or more conflicting pieces of information it can be so frustrating

I have not been in this position regarding this particular issue but even if I had I suppose different people , different Doctors may advise is all differently depending

I think the best bet is to get on that phone and try and find out which they want you to do and I hope you come back and let us know

Good luck with the procedure when you have it I hope it goes well x

[Czech_Mate]

I agree that it's worrying when you get unclear or conflicting information.

I had a colonoscopy last Monday morning. I am on Eliquis 5mg morning and evening as anticoagulant and was told by the hospital not to take the doses on Sunday.

The colonoscopy seemed to go OK and afterwards I actually felt better than I've done for a couple of weeks. Having said that, they found some inflammation in the colon so took a sample for analysis. On Thursday morning I had some blood when going to the toilet so went back to the hospital. The doctor who did the colonoscopy told me it could have been due to the fact that I started back on the Eliquis on Tuesday. Perhaps I should have left it for a couple of days as obviously it was bleeding from where they took the sample. Also when I asked about diet it seems I had been eating the wrong things after the colonoscopy, again worse because there had been some bleeding when they took the sample. I had started eating things with roughage and salad. I hadn't been told that I needed to be careful after the procedure as well.

Anyway it seems to have settled down now and I'm going back next Thursday to get the results.

Sorry for the long answer; what I'm really saying is toask them for instructions for after the colonoscopy as well.

Good luck.

[Lovedogs1 in reply to Czech_Mate]

Thank you so much for that information, I really hadn’t thought about restarting it afterwards. This is the second colonoscopy, this time they are going to remove a polyp that they found first time round. Don’t know why it wasn’t removed then. The first time I wasn’t on Apixaban, so it didn’t really matter but this time with a removing , there might be some blood, so I really want to be careful and get things right.

[Hidden]

You should normally get definitive instructions from the team who are carrying out your procedure, and that should have been given to you during your procedure pre-assessment interview. Any other information to the contrary should be queried with your procedure team.

In the meantime if you carry out an internet search on your question you will find a number of references including posts and follow up within the Heart Unlocked site under the AF Association group.

[DAVEEJG]

Hi . Cannot speak re your medication, but I am on Rivaroxaban (similar drug) and I have always been advised to cease taking it 3 days before any medical/surgical procedure.

[Gunn1955]

I went through the same thing last year

I am on 5 mg of apixapan too.

Basically what I found out was that if they are going to do anything where they are going to remove a polyp you need to stop for 3 days

…..I had to have two colonoscopies because I was not told correct info by the leaflet they sent me . The guidelines changed late last year I think but the hospital hadn’t changed the info they sent out …I asked the cardiac nurse if it was ok to stop the apixiban and she said ask the endoscopy department….they said ask the cardiac dept …it was very confusing to say the least .

You need to get your cardiac dept to confirm it is safe for you to stop blood thinner for 3 days . If it’s not ok for you then you have to have something called a heparin bridge in order to have the colonoscopy procedure where they are going to remove anything . Get a definite answer ….to avoid having to go through the dreadful bowel emptying procedure more than you need to !

Good luck !

[Scout1947]

I’m also on Apixaban and had a Colonscopy earlier this year when I was told to stop taking it 3 days before, which I did, and I was fine. Since then my Cardiologist has impressed on me that it’s very important not to miss any doses of Apixaban ever. So I think you should check with your Cardiologist. I hadn’t seen a Cardiologist before the Colonscopy, the Apixaban was prescribed by A&E.

Hope all goes well for you.

[Putterguy]

it’s last year when I had a colonoscopy and had two nodules removed. I was on 5mg of apixaban twice daily, I was told not to take it the night before and the morning of the colonoscopy. I restarted the evening. Didn’t have any issues. Best speak to the Dr doing the colonoscopy they will give you the best advice for your circumstances.

[Rogo23]

I recently had a colonoscopy and I was told to stop the apixaban three days before the procedure, I was told that the aspirin (75mg) was ok.

my advice is to call the local "oscapy" department and ask them we are rather lucky in this area as they are open for insertion seven days a week.

and unfortunately I am getting to know them all too well owing to a bit of anemia my GP decided that I should be delivered into their grasp, a colonoscopy is fairly unpleasant but mostly due to the moviprep (add orange barley water to it and chill it overnight in the fridge) and the rather fetching paper underpants with Velcro door. Otherwise not that bad.

however endoscopy is another thing all together and I get to have my follow up on Thursday. And I keep on dreaming that I am on the Nostromo with igorny weaver looking at me.

call them and ask when too stop, when you can restart and what you should ear afterwards always best to hassle the hospital because they know the answer.

good luck and a positive result from the test.

dan

[Wenlock]

My Surgeon stopped my Apixaban for 5 full days before my Cystoscopy. Also there's a shortage of 0 group blood. Your Surgeon should have advised you weeks before your op......

[Visigoth]

I had a colonoscopy in August and was told not to take my morning dose of Apixaban (the colonoscopy was in the afternoon). They took some biopsies during the procedure but I didn’t have anything removed. All was fine and I ate normally afterwards.

[Hidden]

Hello

CT scans are just as good and to be honest a lot more pleasant than the camera procedures

I hope everything goes well and you will let us know how you get on x

[Qualipop]

Get your advice from cardiology rather than the bowel people

[Hidden]

Hello

I had to have a scan on my bowel trace of blood and they say they thought it was a very small polyp and they will do another one in a year which will be about 5 months now

I am not sure if it was a CT one or not I did not have to stop any meds but I had to drink some stuff the day before but could carry on eating

I think you are very brave indeed and sounds like you have been through an awful lot but dealing with it all so much better than I ever could and I will keep everything crossed this all turns out to be nothing as you have had your fair share of things already from your reply x

[Hidden]

Hello

Happy Belated Birthday and there are many more to come you have got this far you are not going anywhere yet plenty more life left in you

I suffer with IBS to something else in common

Usually these things are just something simple and if and it is an if it is something else they catch them quick and you know from experience the fantastic things they can do now

So here is to your 76th Birthday ! x

[clapton19]

i underwent a colonoscopy 2 months ago, & was advised by the colonoscopy nurse to stop my apixaban 3 days before, which I did, & restarted 2 days after, no complications at all, although colonoscopy is not a pleasant thing to go through.