Nattokinase and bruising, how much is too much?

Question

So I started taking nattokinase a few weeks ago, just 2000 FU on an empty stomach in the morning. Nothing crazy. But tbh I've been noticing way more bruising than usual, like on my legs and arms, spots I don't even remember bumping 🦵 I looked at the /peptides/nattokinase page and yeah increased bleeding risk and bruising are listed there. But I can't find much on like, when does it actually become a problem? Like is a few extra bruises just expected and harmless, or is that a sign you should back off? Also kind of worried because I still take fish oil and a low dose aspirin most days. Both of those thin blood too right? Am I just stacking three things that all do the same thing and asking for trouble 👀 Haven't done bloodwork yet since starting but I probably should. Anyone here run nattokinase alongside other blood-thinning stuff and get labs checked? Did your clotting times change a lot? Just trying to figure out if what I'm seeing is normal or if I need to drop the aspirin or the fish oil or what. Tbh I don't even know if my GP here would know what nattokinase is if I asked her about interactions.

student748 · Accepted Answer

For what it is worth, stacking nattokinase with aspirin and fish oil is genuinely three things hitting the same pathway from different angles. Aspirin blocks platelet aggregation, fish oil also nudges platelet function, and nattokinase is fibrinolytic so it's breaking down fibrin. That's a triple hit on your clotting system and bruising you can't explain is your body telling you something. I'd be keen to drop at least one of those before waiting for labs personally. The aspirin is the one i'd question first since it's the most aggressive platelet inhibitor of the three, but that's something to talk through with your doc especially if you're on it for a real reason. And yeah nah, most GPs here won't know nattokinase. But they don't need to, they just need to know you're bruising easily on a combo of blood-thinning stuff. A coagulation panel and platelet function check would tell you heaps. Don't self-manage this one blind.

holly763 · Answer

Yeah that breakdown of the three pathways actually makes a lot of sense, tbh I kinda knew they overlapped but hearing it laid out like that makes it feel more real. The aspirin is probably the easiest one for me to pause too since I don't really have a strong reason for taking it daily anyway, it was more of a habit thing. Did you personally run nattokinase solo without the other two and notice the bruising calm down? 👀

fasted_scientist · Answer

Spot on that all three are hitting clotting from different angles, ngl I'd probably drop the aspirin first too. But I'd want to know why you're on daily aspirin in the first place. If a doctor put you on it for an actual reason, don't just stop it because some bloke on a forum said so. That's a conversation for your GP, not us. The bruising alone is worth getting checked out though, especially if it's getting worse.

holly763 · Answer

Yeah fair point on the aspirin, tbh no doctor told me to take it, I just started it on my own a while back for general heart health stuff. Probably not the smartest move in hindsight 😅 So dropping it first makes sense to me. Gonna hold off on the nattokinase too until I get labs done, for a while at least. Did you ever run nattokinase yourself or were you just going off the mechanism?

Nattokinase and bruising, how much is too much?

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