Brother has right renal artery stent and left femoral artery stent, which one is he being given the plavix for

Question

His understanding is that if he dont take plavix for the rest of his life, that the stent(s) will fill up. The Drs also said that the arteries are now ok, and his veins are what is still wrong with him, but they indicate that nothing can be done, even tho its a vascular problem in his lower legs. No Dr has ever done an ultra-sound of his lower legs, only the top half at which time they found the trouble with the right renal artery and left femoral artery and rushed him to the hospital. I have tried checking online for info and what I am finding indicated plavix for the heart and also veins in the legs, to keep clots from forming. He cant afford plavix only making 960 a month from SS. I cannot believe nothing can be done for his lower legs, especially when no tests have been taken, we are getting a second opinion. I am going in thurs AM for removal of lung cancer of left upper lobe, will sure rest easier knowing its not hopeless for him. Thank you all so much. Marti

Answer 1

GO on line to the company that makes Plavix... I bet you can get it for free! My mother used to get allot of her meds free that way. You need proof of income, maybe tax forms, and his Dr. has to have a prescription to send in to them. TRY it.. you might get very lucky!!! Or ask the Dr. for samples of this!

Answer 2

Ok...
If he has an obstruction up high in the arteries, it is difficult to do a transfer of another artery down low.
The stents work pretty well, if they hold.
He needs to stay on plavix to keep his blood thin enough to not clot off the stents.
You are right in seeing another vascular surgeon.
There are a lot of vein and artery transfers that can be done to open up the peripheral artery and circulation system....

What I'm saying is, when there is a higher blockage, one closer to the vena cava system, such as his femoral arteries, that is the problem, not down lower... then it is harder to fix the distal problems. So I guess I'm saying, be realistic... and see if they can find a generic or another blood thinner to keep him on.

Good luck with the surgery... and remember it is never hopeless.

Answer 3

The company that makes Plavix has an excellent patient assistance program. It's also covered by Medicare-D and most Medicaid programs.

FYI, sales / distribution of the the generic Plavix has been halted for a week or so.

Answer 4

ALERT----plavix just came out in generic form. It's called clopidogrel. Tell your brother to ask his doctor or pharmacist. He needs to keep taking it, or his stents will clot.