Apixaban for Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation User Reviews (Page 3)

• H...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 9, 2023

Apixaban "Started taking this in August 2023 for afib. I experienced extreme pain and weakness in my arms and shoulders, but didn't connect it to Eliquis. As an example of my issues, in spring 2023, I worked three days chainsawing trees and then stacked all the wood in big piles. However, this fall, when I started the same job, I couldn't even complete one hour of work. The same chainsaw felt too heavy, and my arms were in pain. I spent the next week hardly able to do anything, and my productivity was completely shot. I went to the doctors, got X-rays, and was evaluated. I was told it was arthritis, but it was actually my muscles hurting. One day this week, I was pleasantly surprised that the pain subsided, and I was able to sleep. That's when I realized I had missed two doses of Eliquis. Bingo."

• Ell...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 20, 2021

Apixaban "While on this, I developed gastrointestinal problems, which my gastroenterologist put me on 35 mg Pepcid at night, it stopped then. Next, my ankles became swollen, my big toe swollen and hurt. I felt bad every AM. I decided to cut my dose in half AM and PM. I found myself feeling good again and wondered what it was, then it dawned on me I couldn't take 5 mg twice a day of Eliquis. Feel so much better."

• Dan...
• March 7, 2017

Apixaban "Possibly due to my flu/pneumonia, I had an episode of ventricular tachycardia followed by atrial fibrillation. I had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) put in. I was put on beta blockers and antibiotics in the hospital and monitored for several days before going home with a prescription for Eliquis in addition to the other medications. The need for a blood thinner was debated because of very low risk factors. After the fourth dose of Eliquis on the second day of being released, I developed an itchy red rash over much of my face, neck, torso, arms, thighs, and genital area. The doctor advised me to stop taking Eliquis."

• mig...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 18, 2017

Apixaban "The following problems occur when taking Eliquis: First, I want to mention that I am also on Sotalol since 2008 (taken alone, no side effects) 80 mg AM and 40 mg PM. It seems as if most drugs that I try out have an effect on the Sotalol, although the register says that there is no interaction between those drugs. Besides, it runs in the family that most of us (3) have a problem with almost any drug. Eliquis: headache, restless heartbeat, perspiring, dizziness, physical instability, general weakness, and shaky legs, etc. Generally, unhappy."

• Jam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2021

Apixaban "I had a TIA in October 2020 and was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. I was prescribed clopidogrel and 60 mg Lixiana, an anticoagulant. Ended up in A&E with severe vaginal bleeding. Am now on 5 mg of Eliquis twice per day (no clopidogrel) and again after 2 weeks experienced heavy bleeding and ended up in the hospital for 3 days having a saline drip to 'irrigate' my bladder until my urine ran clear. Have not been fortunate to see a cardiologist (he has a waiting list of 38 weeks) but was under the care of a urologist in the hospital. My GP insists taking Eliquis is preventing me from having a stroke or heart attack. But I am frightened of these severe side effects and fear a cranial bleed. Feel tired and listless and as a formerly fit 74-year-old, now have no energy and trouble walking far. Am between a rock and a hard place and think this drug is lethal and not fully understood by the medics. There must be an alternative as life is not worth living like this."

• Rad...
• May 12, 2017

Apixaban "I have Afib and have had multiple cardioversions, ablation, and antiarrhythmic drugs and cannot stay in sinus rhythm. I was on Coumadin for a while but had large swings in INR despite frequent monitoring and no change in diet. I have been on Eliquis for 3 years and have had no bleeding or side effects. Other than the fact that it is expensive and must be dosed twice daily, I have no complaints whatsoever."

• Jha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 18, 2016

Apixaban "Cardiologist put me on Eliquis for A flutter about 4 months ago. Have no symptoms or problems with A flutter. If they didn't tell me I had it, I wouldn't know I had it. At first, I felt tired and had no energy. They said that could be due to A flutter. That has gotten better. I'm 70, so it could be just my age slowing me down. I go to the gym, work with a personal trainer, and he says for my age, I am in excellent shape. I play softball. I have no side effects of Eliquis so far. Maybe I bruise easier than before, but it goes away. Minor cuts don't seem to bleed any more than when I was on low-dose aspirin. I still want to get off of it, so I am going to a cardiologist to see if he can cure the flutter."

• Rev...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 3, 2021

Apixaban "I've been on Eliquis for more than 5 years [5 mg twice a day]. Worst medication devised by mankind! From bruises to discolored skin, and painful skin to the touch. If anyone, including myself, touches my skin, it causes me pain. My cardiologist says the benefits outweigh the side effects. Maybe he'll end up on it someday, and then if I'm still alive, he can get in touch with me with his experiences."

• Gra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 27, 2017

Apixaban "I recently started Eliquis (brand) as my doctor wants to do a cardioversion in hopes of getting my heart back into a normal rhythm. You need to be on a blood thinner prior to, and after, this procedure. Because of my past experiences with side effects, I quartered a few of the 5mg tablets and took one quarter (1.25mg) on each of the first two days. On the third day, I took two 1.25mg doses of Eliquis, twelve hrs apart, for a daily total of 2.5mg. Within 30 min after taking the second 1.25 dose, I began to feel a continuous internal tremor that lasted for 5 hrs. - no pain, no external tremor, no feeling ill. I am afraid to increase the dosage to reach the prescribed 5mg x 2/daily. Has anyone else experienced this side effect?"

• Ken...
• May 30, 2016

Apixaban "I have been on Eliquis for 18 months for atrial fib. I have not experienced any side effects other than I bruise more easily than before. I had a cryogenic heart ablation performed 8 months ago, followed up with heart monitoring for 2 weeks. My surgeon has released me to go off all heart medications as of today (sotolol, Eliquis)."

• SKW...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 22, 2016

Apixaban "I have been taking Eliquis for about 7 months due to AF. I resisted taking Eliquis forever and insisted that aspirin was doing the job. My cardiologist was nice but firm in mentioning that I have a history of strokes on the maternal side of my family. My AF got worse after 8 years of being on Flecainide, BP and cholesterol meds, so I had a cryoablation in June of 2016. So far, I have not had any bad side effects, but I do have some dizziness and occasional flushing. I also have a tendency to get rashes. Has anyone had this happen? So far, I've been fine and no AF, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works."

• EBR...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 11, 2015

Apixaban "I have been on Eliquis now for four months. Indication: Acute Pulmonary Embolism (PE); Source: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). In addition, I initially had briefly Atrial Fibrillation (AF), triggered by the PE, but this was gone the next day. My true emergency treatment was 72 hours of intravenous heparin started in the ICU of my hospital, switching to oral Eliquis on the 4th day. Sad to say, my Medicare Part D formulary will require my switch to another equivalent drug after covering Eliquis through this month. Not to worry, there are three effective and FDA-approved drugs in this category of Factor Xa inhibitors of coagulation (clotting), and I can safely switch to the one covered in my Medicare D plan next month."

• Dan...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 4, 2021

Apixaban "I am now 76, and I have had atrial fibrillation since 2006. In 2007, I got Apocard (flecainide) 250 mg and Asaflow 160 mg, then 80 mg until 2012-2013 when I got gastritis largely because of the Asaflow (practically aspirin). Since 2013, I am on Eliquis 5 mg twice a day. From day one, I had no adverse effects whatsoever. In the meantime, I also had an ablation, which really produced wonders, I reduced the Apocard to the minimum dose of 100 mg and hardly get any palpitations anymore. I take large daily doses of magnesium (400-500 mg) with vitamin B6. On days when predisposition to palpitations is higher, I also take Calmday 5 mg one or twice. Other days, I take Valium 10 mg (at nighttime)."

• pba...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 9, 2021

Apixaban "I have been on Eliquis (5 mg x 2 a day) for 14 months due to an A-fib diagnosis, and so far, have not experienced any adverse side effects. While on Eliquis, I did notice that when I cut myself shaving, I bleed less than when I was previously on a 325 mg aspirin."

• Lou...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 30, 2022

Apixaban "After being on Eliquis 5 mg twice per day for a few weeks, I had severe bleeding from the nose, mouth, small abrasion on the arm, genital area, etc. Could not get an appointment with the doctor---nurse had me reduce it to 2.5 mg twice per day and told me I could cut the 5 mg tablets in half, which I later found should not be done apparently because cutting causes some loss of the tablet. Continue to have excessive bleeding with minor scrapes and cuts for long periods. Also, no appetite, no energy, difficulty keeping balance, and the sensation of the body 'swirling:' causing a fall off the commode with a huge bruise, increased loss of urine, and progressive decline in vision. Did not have these problems when on Coumadin some time ago."

• Lin...
• September 20, 2018

"On Eliquis since Jan ‘18 for a-fib. Have terrible joint and muscle pain, diarrhea, fatigue, weight gain. My doctor won’t take me off of it. I see him soon and will ask to decrease the dose to 2.5 mg twice a day. I’m a 54 y/o female. I would not recommend this drug to anyone!!"

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 12, 2020

Apixaban "Didn't prevent my stents from clogging up. On it for over a year and just knew my stents were plugging up. Had to get three more stents in me. Wish my dr would take me off it and just leave me on Plavix. Will say this, have had no side effects from the meds."

• PGd...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2022

Apixaban "I've been taking Eliquis for nearly 2 months, and since taking it, have suffered from an almost permanent headache and the feeling similar to being kicked in the belly. Previously, I was on Warfarin for over 5 years without a problem. The two symptoms I mentioned came on within 2-3 days of taking Eliquis."

• Kar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 1, 2024

Apixaban "I started Eliquis two weeks before a cardiac ablation. After the ablation (three weeks ago), I began to have fatigue, shortness of breath, and muscle and joint pain. I stopped taking it yesterday to see if this was from the Eliquis."

• 452...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 6, 2016

Apixaban "I am 64 with AFib. I have been taking Eliquis for 6 weeks and it is the only med I take. Side effects are heightened skin sensitivity and retro ejaculation. Not sure about shortness of breath and exhaustion."

• Fra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 3, 2017

Apixaban "After two weeks, itching over most of my body. Switched from warfarin, recommended by cardiologist. Exploring Watchman implant in light of TIA. Procedure very expensive, and insurance won't pay unless all other options are followed. Will this side effect continue?"

• fly...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 20, 2017

Apixaban "44 yo male prescribed after a second incident of paroxysmal AFib, was on low-dose aspirin prior. I've had no side effects after 6 months on it other than easier bruising. It has the same bleeding risk as aspirin but is much more effective for clot control with AFib. Hopefully, I can get off it soon since I just had an ablation, but at least it's convenient to use vs. the kinds that need all the monitoring and diet issues. Can't rate it a 10 just because of the obvious bleeding risk issues. I'm lucky enough that my insurance covered it for a $20 copay, and recently that has dropped to $0, so I guess it's becoming more mainstream vs. the other meds."

• Eri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 1, 2022

Apixaban "I am 53, male. Diagnosed with heart failure, fatal arrhythmia, and chronic fatigue. (Since 2010) I have only been on Eliquis for 30 hours. Two 5 mg doses twice a day. It’s a miracle pill for me. It’s cured my dangerously high BP. *I am currently seeing 94 over 78. It’s cured my episodes of atrial fibrillation. *No episodes within the last 24 hours. It’s cured my chronic fatigue. *It took between 6 and 8 hours from the first dose to begin actually feeling the amazing improvement. I haven’t felt this good in nearly thirty years! *It is the result of one of the best nights of sleep I’ve had in a very, very long time. I hope others are as fortunate as I am in treatment. It’s an incredible experience. Two big thumbs up!!"

• Ros...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 21, 2023

Apixaban "I was prescribed Eliquis in March of 2022 due to having paroxysmal afib. I was diagnosed back in 2014 but was terrified of blood thinners due to all of the negative reviews, so I put it off. However, my experience has been very positive. I take the 5mg pills 2x a day and have not had any side effects at all, except for minimal gum bleeding the first week. In fact, multiple times I have asked if it's possible that it isn't working at all since I actually seem to have less bruising and bleeding than before. Doctors and nurses say I must be less clumsy than others, but that's not true at all. I also had surgery and stopped it for 3 days before and 2 days after with no problems at all. Every person's body is different and you may find this medicine works for you with few or no side effects. Also, Bristol Myers helps if you can't afford it, so the cost is no longer an issue."

• ple...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 4, 2017

Apixaban "I started on Eliquis for 2 weeks. I did have some side effects, like bleeding easily when hit, bruising, then I stopped. The doctor said if I didn't take it, I was subject to a stroke. He convinced me. I had been off of it for about a month because I just stopped it. Well, I'm now back on it and have no side effects at all. Go figure."