I also have eight stents, they are in all three major heart arteries, seven of them were inserted within eighteen months about six years ago. Half of my stents are drug-elluting, half are bare-metal. I was also told initially I would be on Plavix the rest of my life. However, I really worked hard to change my risk factors... of course I didn't smoke, I quit eating red meat, lost a great deal of weight, took the good drugs recommended by my doctor, and exercised daily.