I am on 75mg of Plavix and 81mg of aspirin. I don’t see the neurosurgeon again for 6 months for an angiogram.
They never mentioned any bloodwork so I wondered if other people are monitored with bloodwork for their Plavix/aspirin treatment or not. Thanks
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I was only on Plavix for a very short time as I didn’t do well on it, BH isn’t here for me to ask so I want to say less than a month. I think the Plavix was originally for three to six months. 81 mg of aspirin for the rest of my life. No one checks on the possibility of aspirin toxicity.
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Our (my wife and me) experience seemed to be that a specialist, such as a neurosurgeon, might order a drug but defer long-term testing and monitoring to a family physician. Obviously, the family doc should have all the history of whatever the specialist did. As we get older, other drugs for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. usually come into play and the family doc is in the best position to take all of that into account.
If they are going to play football with your treatment and pass the monitoring ball around, it might take some strong words to them to remind them that you want to be well and you’re not a doctor (presumably) so let’s get on the same playing field. Ask me how we know!
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@joycelee
I was prescribed 75 mg Plavix and 375 mg Aspirin two, three weeks before the second surgery when a stent and more coils would be inserted. I had to go to the hospital to check the bloodwork once a week if I remember correctly. Once the proper dosage was determined, I didn’t need to go back and check it again. I don’t remember how many weeks it took, but it wasn’t for the entire six months.
When it was time for my angiogram checkup the neurosurgeon ordered a new bloodwork the same morning when I was waiting for the procedure, he told me that he wanted to know the levels of my platelet aggregation before he went ahead, it would give him a peace of mind he said.
It’s called the Plavix VerifyNow Platelet Reactivity (PRU) Test
The pharmacist at the neurosurgical office always called me back when we were on our way home and she told me how much and how often I should take my pills.
It turned out that I was what she called a “high responder” to Plavix. So I ended up only taking 1/2 of the Plavix 3 times a week! You can imagine what could have happened if they didn’t caught it!
I asked if this was a common problem and she said that it is a genetic thing and that’s why they are monitoring it. So when my dose was stabilized I stayed on the low Plavix dose and I didn’t have to go back for more bloodwork other than once a month.The Aspirin dose was also changed to 562 mg daily due to the Aspirin bloodwork checkup.
I had to take this for six months and after the following angiogram I could stop the Plavix and my Aspirin was lowered to 325 mg.
One year later I was able to start my 81mg Aspirin that I will take for the rest of my life.
I strongly suggest that you should talk to your neurosurgeon and ask why they don’t send you for the bloodwork to check your clotting levels. If they did this to begin with and the dosage was good for you, then I don’t think it is necessary with more checkups.
The Plavix VerifyNow Platelet Reactivity ( PRU) Test.
I actually think that this is the golden standard . This is a medication where one size does not fit all.
The only problem is that the bloodwork has to be done at a hospital, the blood sample can not be transported, it has to be analyzed immediately at the lab.
Please tell us what happens.
Good luck
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Thank you for your detailed response!
I was on Plavix and aspiring for a week before my coils and stents procedure on an unruptured aneurysm and continue on the same for three months at which time I stop the Plavix and keep taking the aspirin. I was told they checked my levels when I came in for the surgery and they were “therapeutic”. ( I guess that means fine). So for the three months following the surgery I wondered why they wouldn’t do another blood test unless they felt it was fine for three months. I will ask eventually but I have sent so many questions to the portal online I feel like an annoyance. I am thankful to hear other people’s experiences! Thank you 
Yes and adding to the confusion I had my surgery in CA because healthcare in NV is not good. I live in NV and I feel
like my PCP here is out of the loop. She has been sent the records but doesn’t seem to be be that involved. I talked to her one week post surgery and she didn’t mention any monitoring. I am thinking that the testing my surgeon did of my platelets prior to surgery when I was on Plavix and aspirin was thought to be enough and no further bloodwork needed before my follow up angiogram. My surgeon was amazing and I can’t imagine he wouldn’t tell me follow up bloodwork is necessary but I wanted to hear from others here in the site.
I am looking to find a neurologist or neurosurgeon here to be available to contact in case of emergency and to guide me post surgery.
Thanks!
Like you, I was tested before surgery. Never again though. I just went off at the end of 6 months and remained on 81 mg aspirin for the flow diverters.
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Thank you for letting me know. This is exactly what I am on schedule to do too.
Good luck to you.
You will be on aspirin for the rest of your life? Is that because of a ruptured aneurysm repair? Mine is unruptured coils and two stents, but I think they said 1 year on 81 mg of aspirin.
Thank you for all your replies!
@joycelee
I’m glad you found my lengthy reply useful 
I learned so much from the pharmacist that ordered the medication. When I asked her why it wasn’t necessary to monitor that very often, she said that once the bloodwork is within therapeutic range it won’t change much. Plavix is much different from other blood thinners, for example Coumadin and Warfarin needs to be checked regularly and it depends on what you eat. Food has no effect on Plavix.
My PCP also said that I was his only patient that was monitored so closely, it seemed to be because of the aneurysm.
The 81mg Aspirin for life is because of our stents.
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That is what I am wondering. I have two stents yet the surgeon said aspirin for one year. I will ask again at the six month angiogram check up why only a year. There must be a good reason!
It’s because of the stent she put in that I’m on aspirin.
I hounded my surgeon’s team after I was finally released from NSICU, specifically Ms. Jennifer one of the triage RNs until Ms. Ryann taught me about the portal. They don’t mind at all. I can still ask questions and she tells me she doesn’t mind. My guess is your team doesn’t mind either.
You might want to ask your surgeon to send an order for the PRU test to your local hospital. @oct20 gave wonderful advice! She really teaches me a lot. BH won’t be home until tomorrow evening so I can’t ask but it seems we did have to go back to the hospital. I do know that BH sent a message to Ms. Ryann I think the second week because I was having great difficulty stopping blood flow when I’d bump into something or get a cut. I had to buy a lot of protected gauze and Vet Wrap (coban) couldn’t use bandaids because they’d rip my skin off. Regular surgical gauze would get stuck and reopen and sometimes worsen the site.
Once the Neurosurgeon has done their repair, it does seem they pass you off. I had to see my Neurosurgeon a lot after I was released from NSICU. My PCP at the time didn’t know what to do with me he said and told me to get a new neurosurgeon. I would just ask Dr. Q-W to send me to PT or ST and she did without hesitation. She also said whatever I needed she would send in the order no problem. My current PCP is excellent and works really well with all my specialists. The Neurologist follows up on the issues caused from my rupture, they like to prescribe meds for the most part. The Neurologist can order follow up scans, have them share the results with your Neurosurgeon. My current Neurologist NP and my Neurosurgeon are in the same health group though about 70 miles from each other and Dr. Q-W can read the images that the NP orders. It’s how I got my stent back in 2020.
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My neurosurgeon put two stents in and coils. Still the plan seems to be Plavix for 3 months and aspirin for one year after. I will be sure to be asking at the end of the year “Are you sure I can go off aspirin altogether with stents?l”
I need to find a neurologist or neurosurgeon closer to home since the hospital and neurosurgeon I used are in CA and a 5-8 he drive away depending on traffic. I was just hoping I wouldn’t need to see anyone for six months which is my next appointment for an angiogram.
Thanks!
You may do better with a neurologist than a neurosurgeon. I’ve learned here that members have met with some difficulty getting a procedure done in a different State than the one they reside. If you plan on keeping the Neurosurgeon who has done your procedure. You can ask them of course. I’m curious if you had your procedure done at UCLA…
Thanks again for your response!
I am not sure about the site’s rules regarding giving the names of hospitals etc. Let me know and I can tell you where in CA I went for my surgery. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience with the surgeon, NP, nurses and administration.
You can absolutely share the hospital and your surgeon’s name anywhere! The guidelines concerning this is when folks don’t like the treatment or surgeon and they can’t post that due to legal issues. When we run across a great surgeon or hospital it’s good information to pass along to other members. If we weren’t allowed to do it, I’d have been kicked off years ago🤣.
Everyone can post their information here About the Recommend Doctor or Clinic category - #2 it’s under Support tab.
Thanks! I will do that under that tab. I can’t say enough great things about my surgeon, staff and hospital!
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I had a WEB device put in for an UNRUPTURED aneurysm. They told me 81 asprin for only a month? Nothing else?
Anyone here with a WEB been told the same/differently?
I want to say that they checked my blood work weekly while on plavix ! I am now just on asprin but after my surgery they did check it. Maybe call and just ask to give you peace of mind.
Good Luck to you !
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