It’s now 4 months after my wife suffered her stroke. Medications have been a difficult issue as she takes a lot for gut issues, pain relief, blood pressure, and last but not least stroke. The meds for stroke are Clopidigrel for blood ‘thinning’ and Inclirisan for cholesterol reduction. She now tolerates all quite well, but from the start notice what looks like bruising that appears randomly on her body more or less anywhere. It may start yellowish turning blue-black, may be transient or persistent. These do not seem to be caused by physical impacts but just appear. Not a great concern, hopefully, but one wonders what is going on where you can’t see! Does anyone else experience the same and has there been any change to medication as a result. We suspect it is the Clopidogrel. David
David, I find with my anti platelet medication, which is what Clopidogrel is, I’m on Ticagrelor, I bruise very easily. I only need to tap myself, or brush against something and I bruise. I don’t always remember what I did, but I always have bruises. You would think I’d been playing with the English Rugby team sometimes. If your wife is concerned though, she should have a word with her doctor. I just take them in my stride now and the only time I would worry now is if one was hot and painful.
Hi @DavidG11 since being medicated with clopidigrel I too have this issue, any minor bump/ scrape seems to cause masses of bruising for me too. Sometimes I look like I’ve been hit by a train and just slightly bumped into something by accident.
My foot has a black bruise now fading since Christmas when one of the kids I look after dropped a can on my foot by accident. I just assumed we are all the same thinned blood showing bruising in HD.
Thank you, that’s reassuring.
Thank you, we were warned about easily bleeding and bruising, but the little bruises just seem to appear when not aware of any bump or contact. Clearly it doesn’t take much!
It seems a very common issue for people on Clopidogrel or other blood thinners. For me it did settle after quite a few months but i do still occasionally have random bruises appear from nowhere.
The random bruising (medically termed ecchymosis or purpura ) is a very common and expected side effect of Clopidogrel (and other antiplatelet medications like aspirin) .
- How it works: Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug. It doesn’t actually “thin” the blood; instead, it makes platelets less “sticky.” This prevents them from clumping together to form clots, which is crucial for preventing another stroke.
- The side effect: Because platelets are essential for plugging up tiny, everyday leaks in our blood vessels, making them less sticky means these minor leaks (which happen all the time from normal movement) can lead to small amounts of bleeding under the skin. This manifests as bruises that seem to appear “out of nowhere.”
Yes, thank you. I couldn’t think of the correct term but was aware of how it works and had come to that conclusion on a knowledge base of not a lot! So very grateful for the confirmation that it’s to be expected. It is worst on the heel, but she has had foot and calf operations that might explain why it’s worse. 
Aye, I bruise more easily while on Clopidogrel. My partner says she looks like a Dalmatian since being on it. She used to mark easily on her skin before Clopidogrel, now she gets haematoma and common bruising all over the shop and rarely recalls how each one happened. So, she is very sensitive. I’m not as sensitive but do bruise far more easily than I remember and I am to understand it is a common side effect of anticoagulant medication. I apply arnica cream straight away when I experience a bump or two.