Low dose aspirin

C

Camper6

Well-known Member
Location
Northwestern Ontario Canada
Do you take a low dose aspirin daily?

Did your doctor recommend it or did you do it on your own?

I'm in the process now of reviewing all my medication on my own and checking the side effects.
 

I was taking a low-dose aspirin every day, then stopped for reasons unknown (probably ran out of them) then started again recently. My family history is loaded with heart disease. Although I'm apparently ok for now, I'm only just edging into the age territory where the relatives started dropping like flies.
 
My doctor was a little too protective advising me to do the aspirin routine. After going through the facts of all of my tests and family history I stopped. If there is no reason to take one then why bother?
 
I took a low dose aspirin for about 5 years, then the news came out that unless your doctor actually recommended it, it wasn't necessary. So, I've stopped taking it daily for about three months now. Can't say I feel any different, but it may have helped me loosen up in the mornings.:)
 
I don't, and I won't. My dad started taking daily aspirin when he turned 80 on the advice of his doctor. I took him to the ER several times with severe bleeding in the bathroom. On one visit, the doctor told me, "A few more minutes, he would have bled out & died."
Thinning blood is a double-edged sword. It supposedly prevents strokes & heart attacks due to clots. But it raises the risk of a bleeding stroke.
It does, however sell lots of aspirin....
And it's interesting that they're now advising against it.
 
Well the ones that I take are coated and they are baby aspirin. So I don't think there is a bleeding problem and I always take any medication with food on the stomach.

I have an appointment on Oct. 2. I will ask my doctor all about it.
 
I used to take one regularly but quit because I didn't like the way it made me feel. Now I take one as needed just for a headache which isn't often. The bleeding threat is real. My mother bled form both ends until an operation removed part of her stomach.
 
Always considered aspirin 'the wonder drug' ... I used it for years until I got stomach ulcers and had esophagus/throat issues.
I still feel it is good in moderation.
Just do what your doctor says.
 
My doctor recommended taking a baby aspirin before I get on a flight and taking another baby aspirin after the flight is over to prevent blood clots. I do not regularly take aspirin for anything I do take Excedrin for headaches and Advil for inflammation if needed.
 
One of the best geriatricians I've ever worked with has taken most of her patients off low dose aspirin because recent studies show the risk of bleeding is greater than the benefits.

This Harvard Health newsletter reviews three of the more recent studies.

From the link:

Older people, greater risk?​
​
The third study focused on older people: whites ages 70 and older and blacks and Hispanics (whose baseline risk is slightly higher than that of whites) ages 65 and older. The 19,000-plus participants took 100 mg of aspirin or placebo daily for a median of 4.7 years.​
​
Aspirin did not lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, or disability. But it did raise the risk of bleeding severe enough to require transfusions or hospitalization, as described in three papers in the September 16 New England Journal of Medicine.​

 
I took low-dose for a while, but I had a gout attack in my foot a couple of years ago and read that small doses of aspirin can elevate a person's uric acid level. So I stopped taking the aspirin.
 
I took a baby aspirin daily for a few years, as directed by my doc. My last visit he said to discontinue them as recent testing found them to be more harm than help. So now I do without them. Never noticed any reaction to taking or not taking them.
 
Re: "Doctor's Advice. I advise people to do their own research. Doctors (of course) don't have a lot of time to research the effects of drugs, so they rely on studies that are funded by drug companies. Besides, they are financially connected to drug companies, so it's unlikely they will recommend against a drug (or a flu shot, shingles shot, pneumonia shot, etc.) That's not my opinion; it's the facts provided by several doctors - some retired, such as "John Abramson" who wrote the book, "Overdo$ed America." He explains the business in great detail. He quit practicing medicine when he realized that he was prescribing drugs that harmed his patients because he was relying on dug-company studies.
Even finding unbiased information on the internet is sometimes difficult for the same reason.

Example: Several women in my diabetes support group were excited about a news piece a few years ago that said "In lab tests, Metformin (a common diabetes drug) prevents breast cancer in mice." The women said, "I'm so glad my doctor gave me this drug...it's wonderful that it's good for my blood sugar and also prevents breast cancer." I found that rather ridiculous & amusing, so I did some research. I spent 2 hours on the internet reading several studies, articles, etc. that verified that Metformin miraculously prevented breast cancer in mice. (Of course, women are expected to transfer that benefit to themselves).
After reading at least 20 articles, I found ONE that said (in tiny almost-unreadable print at the bottom of the screen) "This study was funded by Merck - the manufacturer of Metformin." Well, it was money well spent. What better way to get women to demand a drug from their doctor than by thinking it prevents breast cancer?
One doctor - Nortin Hadler, MD (who was disgusted at such practices) explained how the results of such biased studies are accomplished. It's a technique known as "Data Torturing." A pricey study is started, some benefits (that may or may not exist) are recorded, then when people start getting sick or dying from the drug, the study is stopped & only the "benefits" are published.
 
For those mentioning the latest studies that warn about bleeding risks from good old aspirin: Have you looked into what companies funded those studies? Good chance it's those Big Pharma companies who make their super rip-off, available by prescription only, heart meds that carry their own bleeding risks. Thanks, alarmist studies, but I'll stick with my daily 85 mg. aspirin, that costs around .005 cents a day, vs. Big Pharma's $1-lots of $$$ a day!
 
The jury is still out. Some take it, some don't . Some Docs recommend it, some don't. Some people taking it bleed, some don't. My thoughts = it may not be the best medicine to prevent a clot, or maybe it is.

I have been told by different Docs to take a baby aspirin, full strength aspirin and no aspirin. You just gotta figure it our for yourself. Haven't experienced a clot, so am currently not taking it. 🤔
 
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