Discussion Board

I just had my husband's prescription for Plavix refilled...3 month supply...$502.86....we have a $2500.00 deductible before the insurance kicks in 80%.
We are not eligible for discount's..we make too much

He had Quadruple bypass last May at the age of 52...because his veins were so damaged from years of smoking and bad eating....His Cardiologist told him he will be on Plavix the rest of his life. He has changed his eating habits, lost 25lbs..given up smoking, Had his diabetic medications reduced twice... and eats 100% better than before though not quite McDougall..we are working on that
Hopefully they will bring out the generic soon...
CHANGE you diet..NOW..so this dosn't happen to you..

You might want to contact Dr. Esselstyn and ask his advice. If your husband is following Dr. E's very stringent plan and gets to a med-low normal BMI perhaps he can give up the Plavix. But do consult Dr. E first. He will return phone calls.

I hope you can do what ETeSelle said. I read on the net some cardiologists don't think everyone needs the Plavix forever. it's supposed to come out in generic in May. unless they can stop that from happening! good luck to your husband, I hope he continues to do good. the smoking was bad but I have never smoked and have been a vegetarian for 26 years. and had a quad bypass this Jan. 25. the surgeon said I have great lungs!

I now follow Dr. Esselstyn's NO oil advice!

on the other hand, my mother smoked for 50 years, finally quit but died of lung cancer at age 77. She had no heart blockage!

Research consistently show that Plavix should be used for 6 to 12 months following a stent (DES), and then stopped.

For people with a history of coronary artery disease (like a heart attack or heart surgery), I treat them with a baby aspirin daily and sufficient statin to keep their cholesterol below 150 mg/dL. This treatment is continued for several years.

No other medications are given routinely (only given with special circumstances).

Of course, the diet they eat makes all the difference.

John McDougall, MD

I'm not sure the research you are referring to Doctor. But most Cardiologists believe it needs to be continued for longer time and may be for the rest of life.

Can you please post reference to the research you are talking about?

I'm glad to see Dr. McDougall post on this subject.

regarding heart bypasses (with no stents) there is info on the net that some cardiologists want their patients on Plavix but whether it is necessary is questioned.

I took Zocor for a month after surgery then my cholesterol was 84 (HDL 29, LDL 23) so I stopped taking it. will see what happens when it's checked again.

my diabetes is under control thanks to no-oil and losing a few pounds. that helped though I was not overweight. the HA1c test showed 5.3 which is good for a person with diabetes 2 taking no medication.

I will take the med for high blood pressure at least for a while.

How about trying Google?
http://www.harvardhealthcontent.com/new ... /69,H0111b

And what does that tell you anyway? There are hundreds of such articles on the web.

Sometimes we need to read and think. I linked you to an article about how long to take a statin drug from Harvard. Read it or not, it makes no difference to me, however when the information is out there and you want Dr McDougall to spoon feed you I think that's kinda silly.

Cardiologists believe that b/c the DRUG COMPANY told them that (for obvious reasons!). Here's just one example of how insidious THAT problem is:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =130730104

Great point ETeSelle, actually I've become so jaded over the way they push that crap I'm beginning to think they get kickbacks from the drug companies for prescribing it. With the way everything is computerized a big pharma should know exactly which doctor prescribes what, how often, and to whom.

Read the article. They don't get monetary kickbacks, but they certainly DO get kickbacks. Using a doctor's ego against him--CLASSIC!

The fact that most cardiologists recommend something has little to do with the science or even the welfare of their patients. (But, more to do with ego, money, education by the drug companies, and fear of lawsuits.)

You can easily find the articles on this subject at http://www.pubmed.gov.

To get you started please read these articles (or their abstracts):
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1001266
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19463351
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19549619
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19268735

John McDougall, MD

Thanks Dr McDougall I will check into it.

The Doctors reasoning for keeping him on plavix is that the veins used in the bypass were in bad shape..not the best...all those years of smoking and diabetes...(sludge) is what he called it...He said the Plavix would keep the blood flowing....My husbands's cholesterol has always been in the 220's because until surgery..he could not take any statins..he would break out in huge welts all over his body, and had severe muscle weakness from them(zocor, lipitor..etc)...since surgery he has been on pravastatin...that is gradually lowering his numbers..that seem's to work ok for him no side effects

Do you have Dr. E's book? If not, I would read it if I were you!