My husband is 87 1/2 and is in late stages of 6. His doctor has him on blood thinners because of an old clot in his leg. I am thinking of asking the doctor to take him off the Warfin. I really see no reason at his age for him to take the medication and be subjected to blood test every three weeks. I feel this is just one more thing that is not improving the quality of life. He is not better from taking it and if he passes I would rather it be from a natural cause. Am I wrong in my thinking ? In his will he says he does not want to be kept alive by artifical means.
Lily, your thinking makes lots of sense to me -- I know what a bother it is getting monthly PT/INR blood tests done and trying to balance your daily Vitamin K intake from vegetables.
my concern would be if he had a stroke that didnt kill him but caused him to be bedridden invalid, etc and placement may have to follow. most drs will probably not agree to taking them off due to this reasoning. especially since he has a history. then again many like me have decided to remove medications expecting the worse and they seem to fair the removal ok. getting the pros/cons from his dr would be a benefit. divvi
I agree with divvi the REAL CONCERN would be a stroke.I had a stroke a year ago and I still have problems.The doctor says I'm luckey be come back as much as I have,i know that is true.The doctors tell me the nursing homes have many stroke victims.They now have machines that let you test blood at home.
I am assuming the blood clot is gone! It sounds like he might be suseptable to thickening blood so maybe he should stay on it( but that is just my opinion and like butts we all have one) I would be worried about a stroke too because the outcome of a stroke can be no joke. I don't know, that is a touch call. My DH has nose bleeds shenever he is put on blood thinners so I can understand the reservation.
My husband was on a blood thinner for several years after his heart stent was put in and later started having A-fib. About a year after he was diagnosed with FTD he had his first bad fall. At that time the doctor asked us to make the decision to continue the medication or not. His suggestion was to stop it since a fall could cause bleeding in the brain and we would not know it. We decided to stop them even though we were warned of the increased risk of stroke. It worked out o.k. for us but everyone is different.