Eliquis and AFIB

you should get the eliquis from a canadian drug company $200 for 180 pills

I pay $135 for three month supply of ELIQUIS although the off label is called Apixaban . My cardiology office are the ones who told me about it. They sent the prescription right there. It’s called pharmstore

@justlucky
I pay $135 for three month supply when I get my ELIQUIS/Apixaban from Canada. My cardiology office are the ones who took care of the faxing of the script there. It is so easy. It just takes a while to get it . Pharmstore

Not an expert here, of course, but maybe piecing together the group’s experience will help in answering your question. My Husband had a spike of BP while on Cyclosporin for a Lichen Planus outbreak. He had not been known to have Afib before, although both of his parents experienced Afib, and he was not taking meds for Afib. This BP spike may or may not have been the cause of the blood clot that moved to his eye, causing a stroke in his eye, and the resulting blindness. He had two cardioversions, both of which did not recover a steady heartbeat. Next came an ablation, and with that he was in rhythm.
We did get Eliquis from Canada for a number of years, until the US provided cost relief for Eliquis. In Canada we paid $274.11 for 168 tablets (how they packaged it). With the US changing the pricing structures on certain medications, we have now been able to order here in the States, and the cost is $119.00 for 180 tablets.
He signed up through AARP for an Optum Rx plan. He is on Medicare, and the plan costs $110 per month, and is taken out of his SS check.
I think you are doing well in searching the experience of others, as there are so many different answers as to whether or not to tale a blood thinner, and deeper, whether or not to take Eliquis. For us, Eliquis or not is not an option; it is a must. Secondarily, cost is a factor. And it is do-able compared to the past pricing.

My doctor connected me with Canadian Pharmacy Store a few years ago. It is $71 for 270 tablets. Apixaban. Recently it started coming from England and is much faster than it used to be.

I find this conversation quite interesting. I have PAroxysmal AFib first discovered in 2016. Ablation in 2017 and Afib free for approx 4 yrs before experinceing short infrequent bouts that have morphed into a lot of PACs and longer AFIB spells. Once we had established that the ablation was successful my EP took me off Elliquis. I read and attend conferences on AFIB. It seems like the vast majority of cardiologists and EPs are wedded to the idea that DOACs should be standard forever after devloping AFIB, some even recommending it even to those folks who have their LAA occluded. After I started experienceing some short afib episodes in 2021 , I asked my EP when I should be concerned about anti coagulants, His answer is - take Elliquis if AF episode lasts longer than 4 hrs, which I do using the 'pill in a pocket' approach. There have been some recent studies which sorta susbtantiate my approach - check out OCEAN, OPTION, ARTESIA, and ALONE. All of these studies imply that DOACs do not reduce the risk of stroke in those who have undergone catheter ablation. There are some caveats so the studies don't apply to everyone but each uses data from large groups. I'm curious as to how the EP community will react to these studies.

@chickenfarmer They have been discussed, here and on afibbers.org forum. The drug isn't without its risks, and it's almost prohibitively expensive for many. Apart from that, there is no question that they are superior to both warfarin and acetyl-salicylic acid.

Are they necessary....for life once diagnosed with an arrhythmia? I don't feel they ought to be, but it depends....as always.....on other possible risks that might be in play. Do you sit for long periods at a gaming console or surfing on your tablet? DVT is always a possibility for those of we-the-aged who tend to sit more and longer. Do you have some AF residually, some flutter, or just PACs now and then? Each of those presents a risk of thromboembolic events, and for the reason that the LAA is not being 'flushed' out regularly, in normal sinus, of its pool of blood. The scientific community seems to have settled on the 12 hour rule, but the figure changes with the address of the EP/cardiologist being questioned. Twelve hours in AF means you take a DOAC for about a month......if...............IF.................it is self-limiting and doesn't repeat in that month. If you get another bout, now the signs are you are returning to paroxysmal AF, and not just a flu shot reaction, and you should be on a DOAC again indefinitely.

That is my understanding, as inexpert as I am, about what I have read of the literature...the most recent studies. Me, this guy, I'm calling BS. The reason is that, as soon as you have your initial run of, or return to, AF, and it lasts more than a couple of minutes, already the pooled blood in your LAA is NOT BEING REPLACED. Depending on the condition of one's heart, valves, ejection fraction, and how quickly the AF beats are taking place, you may start the congealing and clotting process in the LAA inside of seconds. One size does not fit all when it comes to heart health, heart structure, other heart defects and cardiomyopathy, and other 'remodeling' from previous bouts of AF or flutter, so we can't/shouldn't assume that the 4-12 hour rule is a good fit for every patient whose heart resumes its disordered rhythm(s).

My cardiologist told me I would be on both metoprolol and Eliquis for life. I stopped metoprolol six weeks after my second ablation for AF, but I still take the apixaban because I do sit a lot at a computer, I do fly on trans-Atlantic flights, and I'm about to turn 74 with a history of some mild heart disease and arrhythmia. It's insurance for me. But, if I ever continue to sleep while my heart goes into AF, and the chances for every patient with a successful ablation of returning to AF is rather high (sorry, it's true), then the apixaban will do its job.

@gloamingYes the pill in a pocket approach has always been appealing to me. Especially for those who can actually realize that they are AFib. But then I began to wonder if those who say they can tell when they're in aFib can tell every single time. I've never felt either of the 2 episodes I have had which were under 3 minutes each. Currently I take Eliquis for a DVT issue but can really sympathize with the aFib users. It's a real gamble especially as I mentioned for those unable to self discover the episodes. But it's probably just another life long med as many of the meds we take for our conditions

@peggyle - thanks for the information, I, too, order Apixaban from Canada and is less than $200/90 days, including tariff. In checking your source, it appears they import from Singapore via Africa. I prefer NA manufacturers. I handle the ordering myself; my cardio team doesn't want to be involved once they hand me the hard copy prescription. However I will look into your source the next time I need a new prescription to see if anything has changed. Thanks again.

@justlucky You might find a very limited number of phramacutical manufactures in North America for the same reason most items are now manufactured elsewhere, $$$.