How expensive is Xarelto®?
Xarelto® is a prescription drug that is paid for by health insurance companies. Patients with health insurance only have to pay a co-payment of 5€ and can also be exempted from this in case of chronic complaints. The cost of Xarelto® for self-pay patients is € 365 for the first three months. Preparations with a lower dosage for prophylaxis are slightly cheaper.
Alternatives to Xarelto
As a direct Factor 10a inhibitor, Xarelto® is a relatively new active ingredient for the inhibition of blood clotting. Just like Xarelto®, Apixaban and Edoxaban also act directly on this factor. These new oral anticoagulants also include thrombin inhibitors such as dabigatran.
The classic alternative to the new oral anticoagulants are coumarins, i.e. marcoumar or warfarin, which inhibit the vitamin K required for clotting. Depending on what is to be treated or prevented with the anticoagulants, other classes of active ingredients such as ASA, low-molecular-weight heparins and pentasaccharides can also be used. The family doctor treating the patient should discuss exactly which drug is the right one with his patient.
What is to be observed during weaning
Xarelto® is an active ingredient that is prescribed for good reason by the treating family doctor. Weaning off should never be done without consulting the doctor. After discontinuing Xarelto®, the risk of thrombus formation increases significantly and patients can develop strokes, heart attacks, vascular occlusion and many other life-threatening complications.
In the event of intolerance to Xarelto®, a new active ingredient should therefore be used immediately and not just Xarelto® discontinued. The time without treatment with anticoagulants should be kept as short as possible.If the medication is changed, the risk of bleeding also increases, which is a major problem with Xarelto®, since there is no direct antidote for Xarelto®. If there are any signs of bleeding, a doctor should therefore be consulted immediately.
The effect of Xarelto® diminishes significantly after just a few hours or days after discontinuation and must therefore be closely monitored. However, a blood level check is not necessary either during the intake or when discontinuing Xarelto®.
