Eliquis and Supplements Safety

I've just started taking Eliquis 5 mg 2x/day in preparation for an ablation scheduled for mid-August. I will have to stay on the drug for at least 3 months following the procedure. This is my first experience on an anti-coagulant. Previously I’ve managed the blood clot risk with nattokinase.

Also, for a number of years, I’ve been on an extensive supplement regime, some of which I’m not sure are safe to continue now in combination with the Eliquis. Here are the supplements I’m unsure of and the dosage I've been taking:

Vitamin C – 800 mg x2
Vitamin K2 (as MK-7) – 100 mcg (in combination with Vitamin D 10,000 IU)
Ubiquinol – 100 mg x2
Acetyl-L-Carnitine – 500 mg x2
Hawthorn Berry – 550 mg x2
Krill, 2 capsules comprised of:
- Krill oil - 1,180 mg
- Phospholipids - 660 mg
- Omega 3 - 318 mg
- EPA - 178 mg
- DHA - 82 mg
- Choline - 82 mg
- Astaxanthin - 100 mcg

I know some of these have blood thinning properties, but I can't seem to get a definitive answer from the medical community as to the safety of taking them with Eliquis.

Some of you on this forum are well versed on this topic and I'd appreciate your input. Thanks a bunch!

I'm not an expert and probably some others on here could tell you better, but I'm almost positive that the Ubiquinol and Fish oil are not a good idea to take along with an anti-coagulant.....since they have blood thinning qualities.

Also, I would think you should stop the nattokinase, but probably you already know that.

Another way to check it is to search something like "Drug interactions". There are sites where you can search if you are taking 2 meds and you want to see if they are compatible (the docs don't always get that right) and most of those sites can check meds with supplements as well.

Hope that helps a little.

L — Always best to review with your treating physician.

God luck with everything.

/L

You can't get a definitive answer from the medical community because nobody knows for sure. The supplements industry isn't required to run clinical trials on anything they sell, so they don't. The end result is we often just can't get firm answers on things like that. But you can still get decent info from some of the drug interaction checkers that include supplements, like this one at WebMD.

Your list of supplements looks pretty tame to me, and I ran a few I wasn't sure of through the checker and it found no interactions. If I were you I'd just keep on doing what you've been doing.

Thanks Carey. You’re right. Physician says check with pharmacist and pharmacist says check with physician. Nothing definitive from either one. And Google searches provide conflicting views. Making the right choices about what to do when it comes to afib, drugs, and supplements can be a real crap shoot. It’s so time-consuming and frustrating at times. So with the above supplements, I’m going with my gut feeling on this and will keep on taking them.

Thanks to everyone else for your comments.

BTW, I’m the Canadian gal who back in December sought guidance with selecting an experienced EP for an ablation. With input from Shannon and others on the forum, I settled on Dr Atul Verma in Newmarket, Ontario. Would have loved to have Natale but the fee was prohibitively high. So, now, after a long wait of 8 months, I am finally scheduled for the procedure with Dr Verma on August 15. Yay! I’m eager to have it done. Here’s hoping all goes well.