Most drugs have risky side effects. The FDA lets them through all the time. It's all risk/benefit.

A blood thinner increases the risk of bleeding to death?

The hell you say...

Submitter fails for not knowing how blood thinners work.

"potentially fatal bleeding"

But we MUST keep marijuana illegal because you know, it gives people the munchies and whatnot.

Doesn't every blood thinner carry risk of fatal bleeding? If you cut yourself bad enough on blood thinners you're gonna bleed for awhile.

This gets greenlit?

Ric Romero is on the medical beat now.

Any blood-thinning drug could cause fatal bleeding. What's your point?

Subby should read about the side effects of coumadin, a.k.a. warfarin, which is a commonly prescribed blood thinner. It's very easy to take too much or eat the wrong foods and have a fatal bleeding episode. Most drugs nowadays are considered in light of the drugs they may replace if brought out on the market.

To The Escape Zeppelin!: Submitter fails for not knowing how blood thinners work.

Take it up with the FDA not the subby.

The long-awaited approval for the new drug, called Effient, comes with a key qualifier: It must carry a black-box warning of potentially fatal bleeding in some patients.

" actually can stop the formation of blood-clotting platelets completely"



i know thinning the blood is risky... but that sounds like its doing more than just thinning.



the real story is that they are developing this drug to make money because their other patents are running out in 2011. imagine if those patents lasted longer.... they might have chosen to develop a drug that eliminates arthecleriosis in the first place.

NOT amused:

Earl of Chives: To The Escape Zeppelin!: Submitter fails for not knowing how blood thinners work.

Take it up with the FDA not the subby.

The long-awaited approval for the new drug, called Effient, comes with a key qualifier: It must carry a black-box warning of potentially fatal bleeding in some patients.

Did you know that Tylenol can cause a fatal reaction in some people!?!?!

Two forms of strokes exist. Bleeders and clots. Got the wrong type for the wrong drug, you have tragic effects.

Give the right doctors the right tools, things work out.

/Or give a surgeon a butterknife, it is safer.

What kind of fatal bleeding?
Like, "Oh hey, my blood doesn't form clots easily anymore, I better bind this cut instead of assuming it'll scab over"
..or like, "Hey what's this sudden, weird discoloration of the skin over my abdominal cavity"?

Hello love, hows about a shave?

TheJoeY: What kind of fatal bleeding?
Like, "Oh hey, my blood doesn't form clots easily anymore, I better bind this cut instead of assuming it'll scab over"
..or like, "Hey what's this sudden, weird discoloration of the skin over my abdominal cavity"?

A blood thinner probably won't cause your aorta to fail on its own

I'd like to see one that is actually a protein inhibitor/binder like heparin, instead of a platelet inhibitor.

Could cause fatal bleeding....duh.

But if you're taking blood thinners, excess clotting is your problem.

People are really stupid about medical warning labels. Read a Physician's Desk Reference sometime. Every single drug or compound out there may cause adverse reactions in very small percentages of the population.

News media loves this sheet tho.

Wait a minute. Perhaps she's right. Perhaps I've been wrong to blindly follow the medical traditions and superstitions of past centuries. Maybe we barbers should test these assumptions analytically, through experimentation and a "scientific method." Maybe this scientific method could be extended to other fields of learning: the natural sciences, art, architecture, navigation. Perhaps I could lead the way to a new age, an age of rebirth, a Renaissance!

/Naaaaaah!

I had five stents put in back in early April, and thus take Plavix. Now, since I haven't had any clot problems, I'm assuming it's working. I have no bleeding problems (my cut clot just fine), and no problem with bruising.

However, Plavix costs me $150+ each month. Damned pricey, especially when I don't have drug coverage on my insurance. Perhaps a little competition will drive prices down.

Everything comes with risks.

Big deal...aspirin does the same damn thing.

atlas spanked : Read a Physician's Desk Reference sometime. Every single drug or compound out there may cause adverse reactions in very small percentages of the population.

No, for heaven's sakes no! That book will give you nightmares. Especially if you are a hypochondriac like me. Besides, reading causes things like knowledge acquisition and that's never a good thing. Better just leave that to the experts, like Ric Romero.

atlas spanked: Could cause fatal bleeding....duh.

But if you're taking blood thinners, excess clotting is your problem.

And an emergency room visit to stop bleeding is better than one for a stroke or a heart attack, or a clot somewhere else.

Anyone who's on them gets a pretty standard set of "doctor's orders" that are designed to prevent accidental cuts that would be a problem.

No shorts, don't ever go barefoot, use an electric razor, etc. etc.

/Dad had a clot in his leg that moved into a lung a couple of years ago...over a week in ICU
//I got all of his shaving cream, which he'd been stockpiling for some reason. Still have like six cans.

Why don't you just admit you don't know what you're doing????

Fark the FDA.

Bored Horde: Earl of Chives: To The Escape Zeppelin!: Submitter fails for not knowing how blood thinners work.

Take it up with the FDA not the subby.

The long-awaited approval for the new drug, called Effient, comes with a key qualifier: It must carry a black-box warning of potentially fatal bleeding in some patients.

Did you know that Tylenol can cause a fatal reaction in some people!?!?!

Doesn't matter what I know. You are missing the point entirely. I think subby was simply commenting on the FDA's warning label, not trying to say drugs should be side-effect free.

My barber is Theodoric of York, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

Animatronik: Subby should read about the side effects of coumadin, a.k.a. warfarin, which is a commonly prescribed blood thinner. It's very easy to take too much or eat the wrong foods and have a fatal bleeding episode. Most drugs nowadays are considered in light of the drugs they may replace if brought out on the market.

In higher doses warfarin is used as rat poison for that very effect.

Water: Caution, overdoses may cause potentially fatal brain swelling.

"Who's the barber here?" Or, as my cousin likes to say: Who's farking this chicken?

Threadjack over...

As my friend the paramedic says, "All bleeding stops eventually."

Animatronik: read about the side effects of coumadin, a.k.a. warfarin, which is a commonly prescribed blood thinner. It's very easy to take too much or eat the wrong foods and have a fatal bleeding episode

Quite so. The only problem with this is it's cheap and the drug companies don't make any money off it. So now we get new stuff with all kinds of BS about how it's so much better...

Earl of Chives: "potentially fatal bleeding"

But we MUST keep marijuana illegal because you know, it gives people the munchies and whatnot.

My friend smoked marijuana and he then became mentally and functionally retarded and then died. He only took one hit but that demon weed destroyed his life. If it happened to him I cant imagine how many other people it has happened to. This demonic plant must be wiped from the face of the earth and all users and peddlers of this poison should go to jail for life. Big pharmaceutical companies are doing everything they can to save people through safe and legal means. If they offer legal alternatives that dont get you 'high' but fix your problems then they are the heroes.

toppgun: Earl of Chives: "potentially fatal bleeding"

But we MUST keep marijuana illegal because you know, it gives people the munchies and whatnot.

My friend smoked marijuana and he then became mentally and functionally retarded and then died. He only took one hit but that demon weed destroyed his life. If it happened to him I cant imagine how many other people it has happened to. This demonic plant must be wiped from the face of the earth and all users and peddlers of this poison should go to jail for life. Big pharmaceutical companies are doing everything they can to save people through safe and legal means. If they offer legal alternatives that dont get you 'high' but fix your problems then they are the heroes.

Lolz

dofus: Animatronik: read about the side effects of coumadin, a.k.a. warfarin, which is a commonly prescribed blood thinner. It's very easy to take too much or eat the wrong foods and have a fatal bleeding episode

Quite so. The only problem with this is it's cheap and the drug companies don't make any money off it. So now we get new stuff with all kinds of BS about how it's so much better...

It's true that some drugs are prescribed that offer only marginal benefit over generic alternatives. It's also true that drug companies spend a lot of money on advertising to ensure that consumers are brainwashed into thinking that some new drug is way better than the old drug. Recent inroads into the system where companies were allowed to legally bribe doctors to sell their product is a good start. But they're taking bucks they used to give the doctors and paying for expensive TV ads with em.

But in this case, the company has to show that the drug offers benefit above the current standard of care, because I think the FDA simply will not allow a drug that is more dangerous than coumadin to be marketed for the same conditions (e.g. DVT). So I haven't read about the clnical trials for PLavix, but I recommend that anyone that is interested in the drug do that.

+1 subby

There is an OTC product now available called Urgent QR, that is still hard as heck to find as not many pharmacies carry it. It is a "stop bleeding powder", a coagulant powder that you can sprinkle on fairly substantial wounds, along with a little direct pressure, to close them up faster.

If you can, get some for your first aid kit. I've used it a few times, and that was enough to buy some online, since the local pharmacies didn't stock it.

Coumadin [Warfarin] Black Box warning:

WARNING: BLEEDING RISK

Warfarin sodium can cause major or fatal bleeding. Bleeding is more likely to occur during the starting period and with a higher dose (resulting in a higher INR). Risk factors for bleeding include high intensity of anticoagulation (INR > 4.0), age ≥ 65, highly variable INRs, history of gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, serious heart disease, anemia, malignancy, trauma, renal insufficiency, concomitant drugs (see PRECAUTIONS), and long duration of warfarin therapy. Regular monitoring of INR should be performed on all treated patients. Those at high risk of bleeding may benefit from more frequent INR monitoring, careful dose adjustment to desired INR, and a shorter duration of therapy. Patients should be instructed about prevention measures to minimize risk of bleeding and to report immediately to physicians signs and symptoms of bleeding (see PRECAUTIONS: Information for Patients).

Generally speaking, unless you've been decapitated or dismembered, fatal bleeding from taking blood thinners is not usually a high risk. If you're bleeding to death from a shaving nick, you've got more problems than just blood thinners.

museisluse: Coumadin [Warfarin] Black Box warning:

WARNING: BLEEDING RISK

Warfarin sodium can cause major or fatal bleeding. [...]

Yep. And it's a pain in the arse to monitor properly. But it works for its intended purpose.

The alternative (for people too lazy/stupid to deal with Warfarin) is $100/$200/$300 a month - most of which goes into advertising and/or the drug company pockets. Which _we all_ pay for of course.

museisluse: Coumadin [Warfarin] Black Box warning:

WARNING: BLEEDING RISK

Warfarin sodium can cause major or fatal bleeding. Bleeding is more likely to occur during the starting period and with a higher dose (resulting in a higher INR). Risk factors for bleeding include high intensity of anticoagulation (INR > 4.0),

I've seen INR's as high as 16 in coumadin patients, and >30 in a snake bite victim. They don't even let those folks brush their teeth.

Don't read more into my sub than not wanting to pass on a good Theodoric of York headline. Glad at least a few got it.

/Not making any medical judgement on the drug although the tone of the article emphasizes the big black label " may cause death from bleeding".

//better than dying to a dwarf or small toad living in your stomach.

One of the FDA's key functions is to examine all medications BEFORE they go on the market to be certain that they are SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.

SAFE = Not likely to result in bank-breaking lawsuits against the drug company.

EFFECTIVE = Is likely to generate a massive revenue stream for the drug company.

Between the FDA and the drug giants stands a revolving door of opportunity for FDA officials who play by the "golden rule".

And who makes the "rules"?

Animatronik: Subby should read about the side effects of coumadin, a.k.a. warfarin, which is a commonly prescribed blood thinner. It's very easy to take too much or eat the wrong foods and have a fatal bleeding episode. Most drugs nowadays are considered in light of the drugs they may replace if brought out on the market.

I took that when I had the end of my femur replaced. I drank a crapload of beer in the following 4 weeks on that. Fatal bleeding is for sissies.

Earl of Chives: "potentially fatal bleeding"

But we MUST keep marijuana illegal because you know, it gives people the munchies and whatnot.


Dear god go die. Anything to push your agenda, I guess.

I never wanted to be a barber, anyway. I wanted to be a lumberjack.

Theodoric of York: Well, I'll do everything humanly possible. Unfortunately, we barbers aren't gods. You know, medicine is not an exact science, but we are learning all the time. Why, just fifty years ago, they thought a disease like your daughter's was caused by demonic possession or witchcraft. But nowadays we know that Isabelle is suffering from an imbalance of bodily humors, perhaps caused by a toad or a small dwarf living in her stomach.

full transcript (new window)

Catlike Typist: I never wanted to be a barber, anyway. I wanted to be a lumberjack.

That's okay.

I had an INR of 5.4 once on coumadin. I bumped my shin and 5 minutes later I had a lump the size of a golf ball on my leg. I suppose it's better than blood clots, but it is a real pain, especially since my insurance won't pay for one of those little tester units for me. It would be a lot easier to adjust my levels (and I could eat all those healthy green things that effect the levels) if they gave us home testers like they give diabetics.