Aspirin is bad for you ... AGAIN!

[Independent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Rant... Not just for aspirin or eggs, but for the health industry and in particular the pharmaceutical industry. On my above post,i mentioned some numbers. I'd like to go a little further and get this off my chest. I have AFIB... as do 34 million others. There have been numerous new medications said to reduce the risk of blood clots, and the meme is that doing this will go far towards protecting those who might be subject to Stroke... The inference is that two of the major drugs will lessen the chance of stroke "significantly"... though at this point, after careful searching of the internet, including medical websites, i can find no definition of "significantly". The two drugs in question are Xarelto and Eliquis, both of which receive much TV advertising. The cost of these drugs, even with subsidies or GoodRX, comes to from $5,000 to $7500 per year. The studies that I have read are similar, and though somewhat different, very obscure... as I would expect that taking the drug would reduce my chance of dying for a stroke (risk enhanced by AFIB)... would be like, maybe 10 to 30 percent. Not so... First... the number of AFIB associated deaths is not even mentioned. Second, as far as I could see, the overall risk factor in the expanded studies, was somewhere under 2% in the first place. Maybe I'm just getting too old to understand this stuff anymore, but I would have hoped that somewhere along the way, there would be enough morality within the pharmaceutical companies to present information in a way that reasonable people could make their decision without be subjected to scare tactics. end of rant

I agree that getting data with numbers is very hard. It seems to me that if the drug company is going to advertise directly to the public, they need to put "number of people [getting this benefit] per hundred taking the drug, in excess oft the number reporting the same benefit from a placebo".

i.e. if 20% of the people taking this pain medication report "significant" reductions in pain, and 13% of the people taking a placebo report significant reductions in pain, then the number above is 9.

I'm quite sure that won't happen unless the gov't requires it, because I think "morality within the pharmaceutical companies" doesn't exist.

[Independent]

This aspirin guideline makes me feel good. I haven't been taking aspirin because I'm concerned about stomach bleeding. In my case, I thought that was a bigger risk than the heart attack.

[Oz investor]

unlike the statins i have been prescribed where i MIGHT be able to persuade the medical to swap to alternative strategies

the 100mg of aspirin daily is MANDATORY until 2022 ( and probably for life ) the co-partner ( Plavix ) of this treatment strategy does have a fall-back strategy ( Warfarin ) if things starts going badly wrong .

*** " if you tell the truth, then you don't have to remember anything". ***

works for me also ( and no one believes me anyway , a double bonus )

i suppose i could always opt for suicide , but would ( the fear of ) aspirin be blamed for that as well

[Oz investor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Independent This aspirin guideline makes me feel good. I haven't been taking aspirin because I'm concerned about stomach bleeding. In my case, I thought that was a bigger risk than the heart attack.

i AM bleeding but the tests on urine ( blood ) and gastrointestinal ( bleeding ) persistently return negative results

i guess the next quest for an answer scares them ( the medical professionals )

the hemoglobin count keeps on sliding ( but not enough for a bone marrow biopsy ... yet )

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Independent This aspirin guideline makes me feel good. I haven't been taking aspirin because I'm concerned about stomach bleeding. In my case, I thought that was a bigger risk than the heart attack.

+1 I get nose bleeds a lot in the winter and dropped the aspirin years ago since I didn;t want to exacerbate them. I just turned 70 and the new guidelines suggest I don't take them anyway. Brain bleeds are the risk the daily baby aspirins present.

[stephenson]

There are a lot of generalizations in this thread. People should be careful about accepting these as the basis for their own medical care.

Any discussion that smells of “staying away from doctors,” should be discounted.

If one does carry aspirin with them to mitigate the effect of heart attack onset they should, from what I’ve read, be full strength, and chewed.

[LARS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenson There are a lot of generalizations in this thread. People should be careful about accepting these as the basis for their own medical care. Any discussion that smells of “staying away from doctors,” should be discounted. If one does carry aspirin with them to mitigate the effect of heart attack onset they should, from what I’ve read, be full strength, and chewed.

Ditto.

[imoldernu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenson There are a lot of generalizations in this thread. People should be careful about accepting these as the basis for their own medical care. Any discussion that smells of “staying away from doctors,” should be discounted. If one does carry aspirin with them to mitigate the effect of heart attack onset they should, from what I’ve read, be full strength, and chewed.

I agree with all of that. But the idea that all doctors are altruistic, may be a little too trusting. While doctors do not receive "campaign contributions" from the Pharma companies, they may be enrolled in paid studies to report their experience with patients who are taking the drug.
We can draw our own conclusions.

[Koolau]

I was on aspirin "just because" until I developed chest pains and got stented. Now I'm on Eliquis. I thought I would bleed and bruise and all kinds of bad things. Instead, just like before, when I cut myself, I clot up instantly. So far, the only think I notice about taking Eliquis is that it hurts a lot less to sit on my wallet. YMMV

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff +1 I get nose bleeds a lot in the winter and dropped the aspirin years ago since I didn;t want to exacerbate them. I just turned 70 and the new guidelines suggest I don't take them anyway. Brain bleeds are the risk the daily baby aspirins present.

This is all very interesting.

I know someone that was very anaemic and it was probably their practice of daily aspirin. You have to be careful.

[ls99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Rant... Not just for aspirin or eggs, but for the health industry and in particular the pharmaceutical industry. On my above post,i mentioned some numbers. I'd like to go a little further and get this off my chest. I have AFIB... as do 34 million others. There have been numerous new medications said to reduce the risk of blood clots, and the meme is that doing this will go far towards protecting those who might be subject to Stroke... The inference is that two of the major drugs will lessen the chance of stroke "significantly"... though at this point, after careful searching of the internet, including medical websites, i can find no definition of "significantly". The two drugs in question are Xarelto and Eliquis, both of which receive much TV advertising. The cost of these drugs, even with subsidies or GoodRX, comes to from $5,000 to $7500 per year. The studies that I have read are similar, and though somewhat different, very obscure... as I would expect that taking the drug would reduce my chance of dying for a stroke (risk enhanced by AFIB)... would be like, maybe 10 to 30 percent. Not so... First... the number of AFIB associated deaths is not even mentioned. Second, as far as I could see, the overall risk factor in the expanded studies, was somewhere under 2% in the first place. Maybe I'm just getting too old to understand this stuff anymore, but I would have hoped that somewhere along the way, there would be enough morality within the pharmaceutical companies to present information in a way that reasonable people could make their decision without be subjected to scare tactics. end of rant

Let me confound you a bit more.
I HAD Afib. Last year, for a while. Cardio docs explained that the cause is unknown and that there is no non invasive cure. Pushed extremely hard the Xarelto, I declined, having seen the effects on late DW. So they said do ASA and stuff to limit heart rate.
After a few months afib went away after I did some changes to what I do take in the nutrient department. I won't discuss them so not to be accused of "practicing medicine without a license". No changes in my workout, dance, skating routines. Never did take ASA and the rate limiter only when afib was active.



It has been over six months since any episode. I concluded that Afib is neither an electrical nor a vascular plumbing problem.

[LOL!]

How many people used aspirin-taking as a subtle excuse not to exercise, not to maintain weight, and not to have low blood pressure?

It seems that pushing a pill was/is easier than trying to get patients to make lifestyle changes. And complaining about it is even easier.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! How many people used aspirin-taking as a subtle excuse not to exercise, not to maintain weight, and not to have low blood pressure? It seems that pushing a pill was/is easier than trying to get patients to make lifestyle changes. And complaining about it is even easier.

Taking a baby aspirin was standard preventive medicine many doctors were given all their patients(+50) for a long time, it wasn't restricted to only those in poor health.

[imoldernu]

After reading another article about aspirin, I wonder whether the older persons... 70+ ... or like me, 80+ will react to the observation that they are inactive, obese, and have very poor diets.

Quote:

Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. This could include brisk walking, swimming, dancing or cycling.

Quote:

For people who are obese or overweight, losing 5 to 10 percent of body weight can decrease their risk of heart disease, stroke and other health issues, according to the ACC.

Quote:

A diet full of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains and fish is best for overall cardiovascular health, according to the ACC. Limit eating salt, saturated fats, fried foods, processed meats and drinking sweetened beverages.

What's left? Oh, yeah... giving up sex.

Just wondering...