Warfarin???

[xsfxsf]

I was on Warfarin for about a year after a DVT, leg. I didn't like it because of all the bleeding not to mention the hassle of tests. I lost a lot of blood in a bowel program incident on it, had to be in ICU and get transfusions so they took me off it. This was about 7 years ago. My concern with these things is that if I'm bleeding from a part of my body I can't feel, I could lose a huge amount of blood before noticing. So it seemed dangerous to me, I was always worried I had some internal bleed. But if the DVT had progressed to an actual lung involvement probably they'd still insist on my taking it.

[bigtop1]

I don't understand why you have to be on Warfarin for life. Was it because they don't want to try a substitute?

[annev308]

I’m not sure that any reversal agents have cleared clinical trials for xarelto etc. many pcps, especially in rural areas, are not comfortable using non-reversible anticoagulants even though the half lives are short.

[nonoise]

I?m not sure that any reversal agents have cleared clinical trials for xarelto etc. many pcps, especially in rural areas, are not comfortable using non-reversible anticoagulants even though the half lives are short.

Pradaxa, the one I take has an FDA approved reversing agent. https://www.pradaxa.com/dabigatran-reversal-treatment

[HockeyFan]

Pradaxa, the one I take has an FDA approved reversing agent. https://www.pradaxa.com/dabigatran-reversal-treatment

A reversal agent was just approved by the FDA for Elequis, the one I take. And no INR testing!

[gjnl]

These new infrequent or no INR/Protime medications like Eliquis and Pradaxa are pretty expensive if you have to pay out of pocket. If you have Medicare Part D these drugs, are usually tier 3 and 4 medications, which means you have to meet a deductible to get any coverage (in my case, $405.00 per year) and then pay a copay of a percentage of the negotiated price or if the drug is less than the negotiated price, you pay the lesser amount.

Warfarin and Coumadin are usually tier 1 drugs on Medicare Part D plans and therefore you don't have to meet a deductible and there is no copay. Yes, you have to test regularly (once a week or twice a month), but Medicare does pay for weekly testing at home with a finger prick test. I test with a CoaguChek XS meter through Alere. Alere sends supplies (paid for by Medicare) to my home. I report the INR (international normalized ratio) result to Alere, they send the results to my doctor and he monitors and adjusts dosage if necessary. I guess Medicare has done the cost analysis and finds that paying for weekly testing is cheaper than covering these more expensive medications.

Testing weekly at home has become as routine as brushing my teeth.

[annev308]

Whoops! Sorry, y’all - I stopped keeping up with this longer ago than I realized!