Pradaxa for Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation User Reviews (Page 2)

• Country
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 21, 2019

"I have been taking Pradaxa over a year now. I am happy to say I have not noticed any side effects. I am frustrated because due to taking this type of medication I can't take anti inflammatory drugs. Not even CBD oil. I have fibromyalgia and it has been a real problem."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 25, 2012

"Downside for me with Pradaxa was severe acid reflux. Neither my doctor nor my pharmacist told me until I complained of this that Pradaxa works in an acidic environment so they put acid in the capsule. This was particularly difficult at night. I was taking Tums by the handful. Within a day of not taking it, the acid reflux disappeared. I'm now trying Xarelto. So far, no upset stomach."

• Anonymous
• May 28, 2011

"I have been using Pradaxa for 6 months now,.I have had severe heartburn issues (horrible heartburn, stomach pain etc.) and found the only way to avoid this is to take the medicine and immediately afterwards have a meal. It seems the food on top of the medicine works better than the other way around (food first, medicine second). Small snacks are not sufficient to suppress the acid attacks. Also, I have to take Nexium to reduce stomach acid production. I have to take it at least 1 hour before breakfast to be effective. According to the company, no testing has been done re: Nexium interference with Pradaxa. I noticed a marked improvement re: bleeding and bruising in comparison to Coumadin."

• CJ27
• July 22, 2011

"I have been taking Pradaxa for a couple of weeks now. (150 mg a day). I have had no major side effects. Just some heartburn, (that went away after taking it for about a week) and some stomach issues. But nothing so severe that I would stop taking it and go back to Lovenox shots everyday. In the past I have been on Coumadin (once a day for 2 years) and Lovenox injections (once a day for 1 year) Pradaxa is by FAR the best blood thinner! "

• heart...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 7, 2012

"I had been on Coumadin for over 10 years and thought Pradaxa would be a God send. However, within a few months of taking it I began to have bad stomach pain and digestive issues. My internist diagnosed me with a peptic ulcer and urged me to consult with my cardiologist about stopping the Pradaxa and going back on Coumadin, which I did. In the 3 months since I have discontinued Pradaxa I am still getting over the stomach/digestive issues (which I have never had before in my life) and am getting my blood PT/INRs back to normal as well."

• lou
• May 31, 2011

"Have been on Pradaxa for 2 months. Loved it compared to warfarin but am now noticing small round bruise circles and getting the gout which I had no attacks for 9 months until I started taking this medicine. Would love to be on this but I guess side effects are catching up to me. "

• Anonymous
• December 3, 2011

"Two weeks ago I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and put on medicines including Pradaxa. I have never been on any other blood thinning medicines, so this is all new to me. Almost immediately I noticed a severe increase in gas, followed a week later by loose bowels. Yesterday I developed heartburn that will not go away even with Tums and Zantac. I appreciate the suggestions about taking with food and lots of water. I take 150 mg twice a day. I was trying to take 12 hours apart, at about 8 am and 8 pm, but it looks like taking at breakfast and dinner is better. I have had an ulcer, hiatal hernia and GERD about 10 years ago that was finally improved by surgery. Sure hate to go back to heartburn again!"

• TheTo...
• August 16, 2011

"I have been on Pradaxa for about 4 months and have not experienced any digestive side effects. However, I do not have a history of these problems. I'm not happy though because my cardiologist is forbidding me to take ANY of my Celebrex now. No NSAIDs at all. I have severe arthritis in one knee (knee replacement in the other knee) and now I have joint pain that is getting worse. I admit I have sneaked a few Celebrex in and the pain relief was immediate. So I need to be able to go back to that medicine. I've scheduled an ablation in a few weeks and hopefully that will do the trick. I have never had any type of stroke and the use of this medicine is purely a preventive measure because I do have irregular heartbeats at times."

• Anonymous
• February 2, 2012

"I have been on Pradaxa for about six months. What a change; more energy, NO ITCHING. I wish I had never had to take warfarin. I have had some problems with gas, but find if I drink more liquid when taking the medication it is better. My only concern is my doctor telling me of concern regarding heart attacks. From what I was told, there is a study being done."

• Pradaxa
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 9, 2022

"After reading comments on other blood thinners, I needed to make comments on Pradaxa. I was in the hospital in December of 2012, 9 years ago and at that time put on Pradaxa. I have had no complications I know off and no more serious Afib situations. We were looking into different alternatives due to an insurance big jump in co-pay. I spent considerable time researching options. I was horrified at some of the review comments I read regarding the alternatives. I will suck it up and stay with Pradaxa. Another big plus is that Pradaxa has now an antidote if need be. I take 150 mg once a day that I feel is adequate for me, longer half-life in system. We raise and eat a lot of garlic also. I hope this writing helps someone with their choices."

• Grampa
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 22, 2018

"We live in the wine country , and I developed severe AV fib after the fires. I was put on Pradaxa 150 mg bid. I was told to take it with meals and often was too much time between breakfast and dinner. So I have been taking it at 6/6:30 am and pm. Recently, I started having loose stools and sometimes have to limit our local travel. Our diet hasn't changed except minimal outside grilling the cold weather since Dec/January. My wife prepares and cooks the Med diet with me a little heavy into the Paleo side. This evening, I will go back to taking it right before/with meals. BP and Pulse rate are good with a low dose daily beta blocker. Still not able to walk quickly up our local hill as I was before the AV episode. The loose stools started after 3 months on the drug and a new RX of the brand name."

• Anonymous
• August 27, 2011

"I have been taking Pradaxa for about 3 weeks now. The first week I took it I had a severe indigestion. Doctor thought I was having a heart attack. Went to ER and it ended up being indigestion. I have had no problems in the past with any other medicines. The Doctor suggested I take Pradaxa 2 hours before bed and do some light activity before so it won't bother me. I still am having some indigestion. I had to be put on Nexium. Doctor wants me to try it for 2 more weeks to see if the symptoms will go away. "

• Wyo...
• January 23, 2012

"I have been on Pradaxa for almost one year. I have had Atrial Fibrillation and was given Pradaxa after being on Warfarin for TWO YEARS. I am pleased with Pradaxa but had to be given medicine for heartburn. No going back but following the STATS on the medicine as to the properties of bleeding. So far so good."

• Anonymous
• September 22, 2011

"I have been talking Pradaxa for 2 months. I take with a full glass of water and have no side effects. Definitely, it is better than Coumadin. I have a glass of wine once in a while and have had no side effects."

• JoMaKel
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 25, 2013

"Cannot tolerate Warfarin but only got Pradaxa to cover two months previous and one month after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. Had a bit of heartburn the first few days, but no side effects at all during the whole three months. Now after three months post ablation, still getting some atrial fibrillation I think, but my doctor will not prescribe it, only the hospital consultant - who is also very reluctant. "

• ttbur...
• March 27, 2012

"I just started this on Sun (today is Tue)-I notice that I stop bleeding quicker with this (150mg X 2 daily) when shaving than I did with warfarin (7.5mg X 1). I am taking the Pradaxa at 10:30am and 10:30pm. So far have only taken 5 capsules with no problem except for last nights dose that woke me up with pain in the lower abdomen at 3am. Lots of flatulence with the pain that eventually went away. "

• Grew
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 21, 2020

"I have been on Pradaxa for about 6 weeks now after taking warfarin for almost a decade. It has been a rough transition. Upset stomach, abdominal pain and cramps, extreme nausea (I haven't been able to eat much), and diarrhea. These side effects have decreased significantly over the weeks, but I'm still struggling. I'm holding out hope that this drug will work out for me but at this point I'm not convinced at all. I've literally lost 20 pounds in 4 weeks and am fairly miserable on most days."

• Kev
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 4, 2020

"Pradaxa almost was the end of me. SEVERE gastro side effects from heartburn to digestion issues. When my gastroenterologist said better go off it as it rips up your gastric system I did. And started feeling better. Horrid drug."

• FlipF...
• August 21, 2011

"My mother has taken Pradaxa for almost 2 months, she was taking 150 twice a day. However became anemic, they changed it to 75 per day. She now gets 2 units of blood every 2 weeks as we cannot figure out why her hemoglobin is so low."

• Anonymous
• September 30, 2011

"I have been taking Pradaxa for 5 weeks and the only thing that has occurred to me is dark reddish urine every now and then and I don't bleed as bad as I have on Plavix and aspirin. I have noticed more gas but no heartburn, I hope this works as in May of this year I almost died because of atrial fibrillation, which threw a blood clot in my small intestines and I got gangrene and they had to remove 80% of my small intestines. So far Pradaxa is working fine with me. "

• Anonymous
• March 11, 2012

"For my first 2 - 3 days on Pradaxa, my stomach gurgled. Fortunately, I have had absolutely no other side effects during my 18 months of use. After 7 years on Coumadin, the monthly blood tests and diet control were a bit of a pain especially when traveling for extended periods."

• Ras...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 8, 2021

"After many years on warfarin I switched to Pradaxa for its easier use and advertised effectiveness for prevention of blood clots and stroke given my history of blood clots and chronic atrial fibrillation. Returning from a 16 hour fight, after 3 days, I had two DVT’s in my leg and a large pulmonary embolism in both sides of my lungs. Timely application of heparin saved my life. Now back to warfarin!!. Thank you Pradaxa for never responding to me or my doctor for this almost fatal effect of your medicine!!"

• Anonymous
• November 21, 2011

"A bit to early for full review. I started Nov 14. Doctor said take with meals, and I've had none of stomach issues, except for gas. Have noticed loose bowels, and they may also be a side effect. I would rather not take this, but I understand from others that's it much better than warfarin. But it's very expensive. For me, its $230 monthly and insurance doesn't cover. Wish we could get price reduced."

• ADals...
• November 20, 2011

"I've been on Pradaxa now for about 2 months and love the convenience of not going for blood work almost every week. Being able to eat anything is great too! The only problem I've experienced is excessive gas....never had that problem before and now it's constant. Keep hoping that the gas will diminish soon, can be embarrassing. Some slight difference in bleeding when scratched."

• Anonymous
• December 11, 2011

"I had been taking Pradaxa for 3 weeks when one morning I went to get out of bed and had such severe pain in my knees that I almost fell down. With help I got to the bathroom. I had a scan to be sure I had blood flow, which I did. I had a blood test to see if my potassium level was okay and it was fine. At that point I got off Pradaxa and went to warfarin. I'll just put up with the blood tests and bruising for the next 2 months. Hopefully I will be off the warfarin then."