Is K2 safe to take when on Eliquis? What supplements should we be avoiding?

If I remember correctly, since Eliquis acts differently in the body then coumadin does, it IS Ok to take K2...but I just want to be sure. Am about to start a K2-D3 supplement and I don't want to cause any bleeding issues.

Is there a list somewhere of what NOT to take with Eliquis? It seems that even the pharmacist seems unsure when it comes to many of the supplements...maybe because it's still a fairly new drug?



Barb

Barb, I take K2 with eliquis and so far no problems. I also took it with Coumadin and had no issues....ronH

Hi Ron - I'm not sure about Eliquis but I do know that you have to be careful taking K with coumadin. From what I"ve read, you were lucky not to have any issues taking it with that, but that isn't a great idea..... Eliquis is definitely a better choice, but hopefully a few more people will hop on and let us both know what's OK and what's not with this drug.

Glad you are well. I appreciate your quick response ~ Barb

Barb - I have continued to take the K2 daily... 200 mcg while on Eliquis.

You can take it with warfarin with the supervision of a physician. Actually, it's important to do that because warfarin contributes to both bone loss and accumulations of calcium in soft tissues such as aorta and arterial blood vessels... so the K2 helps direct circulating calcium into bones where it belongs to help prevent the osteoporosis/osteopenia side effect of warfarin.

Jackie

OK good to know, Jackie - thanks. Will be adding some good supplements to my protocol, and trying to de-stress more too...


Be well ~ Barb

Hi Barb, just a quick drop in after returning home from Houston with Magdalena, we are both so glad to be home at last and I'm taking a well needed couple days to unplug the world (outside of run to Whole foods and cooking) before getting back online again on Sunday.

But I noticed your post on Vitamin K and Coumadin.. The key here is to get a consistent daily intake of a modest dose each and every day of K2 (between 45mcg and 90mcg max while in Coumadin and K1 (around 45mcg to 50mcg/day).

The K1 is easy to get in foods but harder to eat a consistent daily level. Thus it's often wise to take such a small measured supplemental dose of both Vitamin K1 at 50mcg and K2-MK7 at 45mcg/day minimum and you can gradually increase the K2-MK7 up to around 90mcg if you have a home INR test machine you can easily use to titrate your K2-MK7 as well as K1 dose to not have my much impact on Coumadin dosage and INR levels.

Generally, the doses mentioned above will not lower a persons INR by more than 0.2 INR points or so.... A very small drop. Everyone taking these vital and critical fat soluble k2-MK7 and Vitamin K1 should adjust their dose of Vitamin K and Coumadin to insure a stable INR and taking such doses of Vit K consistently can very much help stabilize a more fluctuating INR level in many people and should not be contraindicated at all following these guidelines and checking one's INR frequently to confirm remains in a therapeutic range.

The point being, that the older recommendations not to take in ANY vitamin K at all when on Coumadin has been superseded and overturned ... Though for sure a good number of cardios still have not got the message yet. Adequate a Vitamin K levels are essential for a myriad of good health issues and reducing your levels to near zero Coumadin has been very bad advice for the vast majority of people in spite of its prior near total acceptance as medical dogma. Progress continues to happen in all areas of medicine.

Don't worry at all about Vitamin K1 or either K2-MK7 or K2-MK4 while on Eliquis, Xeralto or the new Edoxaban just approved by the FDA as the third Factor Xa inhibitor NOAC.

You can take as much Vitamin K as you might reasonably want for better health without any problems with these NOAC drugs. These drugs are not Vitamin K antagonists.

Best wishes,
Shannon



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2015 08:33AM by Shannon.

Thanks Shannon - that's good to know. It's kind of unsettling that my pharmacist doens't even seem to know whether a supplement might be a problem while taking Eliquis, so how are the rest of us supposed to know? Certainly the doctors don't know.. I would love to know if there are other supplements that we should be wary of taking while on these blood thinners (ie. Eliquis). Do you know of such a list?

Very happy to hear that you and Magdalena are back home and you can both rest and breathe a sigh of relief. Please relay our good wishes for continued good healh and a speedy recovery.

Welcome back. You were missed ~ Barb