Hi all! I had coiling done on my 4 mm anuerysm 5 weeks ago. The anuerysm had a wide neck, therefore I also received a neuroform stent. All went well and I am doing good. At my one month post op, my neurosurgeon (who is very well known and highly regarded) told me to stop taking my plavix (I’m currently taking 75plavix and 325 aspirin) in 2 weeks. I was kind of surprised that I would only be taking it 6 weeks since I have seen others write that they were on 6 months or so. He told me that a lot do 6 months, but that he feels shorter is better and that a lot of others are seeing what he is doing and are starting to follow suit. I’m curious to hear from you all about how long you were on it. Anyone else on it for 6 weeks?
Blessings to all!
I am taking it for 6 months, but I am answering, because I read here several times that stopping Plavix abruptly is not wise. When I see my neurosurgeon I am going to ask if there is a weaning off protocol.
That's very interesting Kim. I wonder what the advantage of taking it for a much reduced time could be as this seems to be completely at odds with the reason for taking anti platelet medication for a stent in the first place!! I also had a stent put in place for a wide necked aneurysm back in mid October and have been on Ticagrelor (Brilique) ever since. Ticagrelor is basically the same as Plavix. My neurosurgeon told me it was very, very important to keep taking it. I was told to keep taking it for 6 months and I am due to stop taking it in mid April and have not been advised on how to stop so I assume I just stop abruptly and hope for the best!
It’s making me very nervous to just stop at 6 weeks. I know I have to trust my dr, but I do wish I was hearing stories of ithers who were doing this protocol. I will say that I have made friends with a lady in my area that was treated by the same surgeon and stopped at 6 weeks and she is doing perfectly 5 years out…but it does seem that the protocol for most is 6 months. I wish I could remember what exactly my surgeon said when I questioned him about it. I know he said that others were seeing his results and following suit…and he also said something about, “you should see the number of cardiac patients I end up seeing because they are left on plavix too long, and they end up coming to me with brain bleeds”. 
Kim,
The NP in the neurosurgeon’s office told me today that they have not seen issues with stopping Plavix abruptly after six months, but if I wanted to slowly wean myself off of it after six months I could. I did some research and it looks like issues start for cardiac patients who stop taking it after a year.
It seems there isn’t really a set protocol for this stuff. Each doctor seems to have their own protocol.
Kim,
I found this Pub Med article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22957528
Thank you for finding that for me.
I talked to my dr.'s nurse practicioner today. I asked her if she could explain to me why my dr does 6 weeks of plavix instead of longer. I explained that I was having some anxiety over it and was hoping to better understand. She told me, "it’s just the way he does it…he might keep people on longer if there were problems, but he was happy with your scans at your 1 month follow up…and we haven’t seen problems with people hook off at 6 weeks."
I was really hook for more of an explanation than that. 
Wanted to post a follow up. I spoke to my surgeon and he told me that the reason he wanted me coming off of Plavix at 6 weeks is because of the risk of bleeding. He said that he has done the 6 weeks protocol with Stents and coiling since 2002 and has not seen problems that make him think additional time is needed. He said that if I were to take a bad fall, get in an accident, etc…that I am on systemic blood thinners that could make it hard to stop the bleeding. He gave me his blessing to continue on plavix for 6 additional weeks if I chose to. I am glad to have a better understanding.