Heparin??

I am going to be given Heparin the day before, the day off & the day after surgery..frankly, I'm a little nervous and concerned about this considering the recall they had in February of this drug. I trust my dr wouldn't give me something that would hurt me but you never know how a person will react, etc....any thoughts and/or comments??

Thanks...you all ROCK!!!

I waqs given one shot of Heparin in the hospital just before my surgery and suffered no ill effects. I believe they can run a test before they give you the shot to determine if you will have a bad reaction - they did not do it for me, as I was blissfully unaware back then of any potential problems.

It is my understanding that the batches that were recalled, have been collected already, and the batches that are being used now, are free form whatever the recalled batches were affected by (gee that was a mouthful!)
Here in Australia it is standard procedure to give post operative patients Heparin or Enoxaparin injections (or similar anti-coagulant) whilst in hospital. I had the injections and had no ill effects apart from the injection site being tender for several days. The risk of getting Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) after surgery is quite significant, so as a preventative anti-coagulants are given.

I think fear is a normal part of it. I am a nurse and I give patients heparin and lovenox EVERY day that I work (I work on a surgery floor) I am going to be getting heparin prior to my surgery Tuesday and post op as well. I would much rather take the heparin than to have a DVT or PE! Every medicine comes with a risk, even tylenol for that matter, but sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks. If you are still concerned about the shots...talk to you dr again before getting them...maybe there are other options. GOOD LUCK!