I am appreciative of the prescriptions that help me with various health issues, but I have encountered several that have side effects (not always listed as such) and cause other problems. After my double mastectomy, I was told I should take a drug that MIGHT prevent the breast cancer from returning somewhere else. I was told I needed no chemotherapy and no radiation treatment and no cancer cells were found in my sentinel lymph nodes. With the drug I had a 5% and 8% chance of it returning; without the drugs the chance doubled. Taking the drug would increase my cholesterol and bone loss so I would have to also take drugs for those as well. I opted out.
Some drugs seem to exacerbate other conditions and Eliquis was one of those for me. I'd wake up in the morning with pain in my shoulders, or hands, or legs, or back and even my ribs and sometimes in all of those places. The pain would usually get better once I was up and moving around, but it was always there. When I told my cardiac electrophysiologist, my internist, and my cardiologist that I believed the pain was from Eliquis the response was always "that is not a side effect of Eliquis." They are correct in that joint, muscle, and bone pain are not listed as side effects. I finally told my cardiologist that I no longer wanted to take the Eliquis. He had me wear a Holter monitor for 14 days. I had no A-Fib and he agreed that I could take a low dose aspirin twice a day instead. Amazingly, the joint, muscle and bone pain was gone within 2 weeks of my last dose of Eliquis. I am well aware that the A-Fib can return at any time and I am still at risk of a stroke if the A-Fib returns but I take responsibility for my choices. Some doctors support my decision to refuse certain drugs and some are not happy with my refusal. I believe I have to do what provides the best quality of life for me.
I do believe that there is too much reliance in the medical profession on drugs and the claims of the pharmaceutical companies.
I am considering the Watchman implant. My sister has a Watchman and is off the Eliquis now. She was prone to falling and the concern was that on Eliquis if she fell and hit her head she might have a brain bleed. You might want to ask your doctor about the Watchman implant.

Yes, indeed, Eliquis and Plavix both cause shortness of breath. Once I had The Amulet implanted and stopped these awful drugs, that problem disappeared, along with many others. They simply give everyone the same dose of these drugs without regard to side effects, risks or discomfort.