I visited the he hematologist today and he has taken me off Warfarin and prescribed Apixaban. He was very informative. He said I should really take this for life as there is no reason they can determine as to why I had the clot. He said as I am active, not overweight and do not smoke, my chances of another clot are 1 in 3. I thought that was high. He said although the stent has been fitted to keep the vein open (I had the stent as another vein was laying across the one in which I had the clot and was squashing it slightly), stents themselves are a hazard and can actually cause clots. He said if I got another clot in the same leg, the leg would suffer greatly. I have to stop the Warfarin right away and start the Apixaban tomorrow night and I have made an appointment with him next week for a telephone call to see how its going. He said Apixaban can cause stomach issues and light headedness and he needs to monitor it. Fingers crossed I get on with it as it does seem better to take long term than Warfarin.
Seems a little strange. On one hand he says that you don't have risk factors for DVT , but on the other hand he says your risk is 1 IN 3, which as you say ,is quite high. Have you had abdo CT scan, blood tests for inherited blood clotting abnormalities etc? I think perhaps the main reason for the higher risk and the need for lifelong anticoag is the stent, and that's one of the negatives of having a stent put in. If you didn't have the stent, then with a spontaneous first ever DVT with no continuing risk factors ,they would only give 3-6 months anticoag. I thought ,from what you said in the other forums, that you were happier being on warfarin (warts and all!) than one of the new oral anticoagulants.
Perhaps it is the way I have written it, what he was saying was there were no obvious risk factors, no reason why I should have had the DVT but I had one so whatever caused it, the risk is still there. Yes I have had full body CT scans, dye scans, ultrasound scans, blood tests, kidney tests, every test there is. I was happy with the Warfarin but as it seems I am going to have to take something for life, the new anticagulants will suit me better.
Hi, hello again, my son has been taken off warfarin after 6 months post stenting and put on Apixaban also. He will be on that for another 6 months. He is lucky that he doesn't seem to have much in the way of side effects. He will stop anti coags then. He has been told by Mr Black at Guys that the stents will be coated by vein wall by 6 weeks and unlikely to clot after that. He had 6 month scan last month and all 33cm of stents clear and in place! Hope that continues into the future. Still feeling lucky! Hope all continues well with you. sheila.
Good news he is doing so well Sheila, thank you for the update. I have no side effects either I am pleased to say. I am also happy to be able to drink cranberry juice again, one of my favourite drinks! Good luck to your son in the future!