If you’re one of my kids taking blood thinners, there’s some important things you need to know about them. I don’t take them, but Helen, a friend of mine does. She knows I write health related articles and thought the information that appeared in our local newspaper, The Kitsap Sun, would be helpful for you to know. After reading the article I was shocked by how many folks die from taking the newer more expensive blood thinners relative to the old standby Warfarin (Coumadin).
The article begins by telling the story of an 88 year old woman who bled to death after having been prescribed Xarelto. Since 2010, Xarelto and its newer cohorts, Pradaxa and Eliquis have 8000 deaths associated with them as compared to Warfarin’s 700. In addition, 58,000 folks reported serious side effects from these three drugs compared to 5000 on Warfarin. These numbers are particularly alarming considering only 10% of patients on blood thinners use them. Wow!
NOTE: The newest kid on the block is Savaysa, but insufficient data is available to determine how it fits in the scheme of things.
So, why are doctors prescribing these drugs? Apparently it’s for convenience. You don’t have to make those pesky trips to the lab to have your blood tested and there are no dietary restrictions. If you are on Warfarin, you have to go in for a test every 4 to 6 weeks to check the clotting capacity of your blood and carefully watch your diet.
Millions of dollars in advertising is spent touting the benefits of Xarelto. After all, if you have to take a blood thinner, it would be much better to avoid those regular blood tests and dietary restrictions associated with Warfarin. However, it’s not all butterflies and roses. With the new drugs, there is no antidote if you start to bleed. If you take Warfarin, your medical team knows how to stop it. Plus, the new drugs are considerably more expensive. As of this writing, Xarelto is $344 for a 30 day supply compared to $4 for Warfarin (Walmart prices).
If that news isn’t bad enough, the article reports that a British doctor with “extensive financial ties” to these new drugs came up with a new system for determining who should be taking blood thinners. Under this new system, the numbers jumped from 3.7 million of us to 4.7 million. Think about it. A million more bottles of pills at $344 each.
There’s more to the article, but this post gives you the most important information. My thanks to the authors John Fauber and Coulter Jones for their excellent reporting. What would we ever do without our investigative reporters?
As a side note, I’ve included a list of foods and supplements that thin your blood naturally. If you have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, diet alone will probably not be enough, but for the rest of us, adding these food may well help keep us off blood thinners.
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Gingko biloba
- Ginseng
- Feverfew
- Fish oil
- Turmeric
- St. Johns Wort
- Chondrotin sulfate
- Celery seed
- Aniseed
- Fruits and vegetables high in salicylates which are known to thin blood (see http://The Shocking Truth about Blood Thinners for foods highest in salicylates).
Mama Vic loves you and wants to keep you healthy and safe.
