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Rare serious side effect of Eliquis: Muscle weakness

Posted by cmauncc1 @cmauncc1, Dec 27, 2021

In late July 2017 I was admitted for very high heart rate and Afib. Had been, and still am, on minimal meds. Hospitalist put me on Eliquis, 5mg 2X/day.

Within a month my leg muscles were weakening to the point where I could no longer play Pickleball or walk golf. Within a few weeks my Cardiologist did an ablation and inserted a loop recorder. For the next 2-1/2 years the loop recorder saw MINIMAL Afib, under 0.5%; the ablation did its job.

By November 2017 I needed a walker. By December 2017 I needed to be wheelchair pushed through an Ice Sculpture display as there was no way I could walk the 25-30 minutes of the exhibit.

When I finally got to see a Neurologist at Shands (Univ of FL, Gainesville) in July 2018, he ran an extensive battery of blood work tests but could find nothing to explain the muscle weakness.

Has anyone else encountered similar muscle effects following being prescribed Eliquis?

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sally55 | @sally55 | May 16 1:39pm
In reply to @marybird "@sally55 It's reported as a rare side effect, and I believe it is. But when you're..." + (show)
Profile picture for marybird @marybird

@sally55 It's reported as a rare side effect, and I believe it is. But when you're reading through a public forum in which muscle/joint pain as a side effect of Eliquis is being discussed, you'll see a gathering of those folks who are experiencing those side effects from Eliquis ( or who are convinced their symptoms are caused by this drug). It may only be a few folks from the universe of everyone who actually takes the drug, but with the lively back and forth discussions of their symptoms, often in dramatic and graphic detail, it makes it sound as though the incidents of these side effects occur much more often than they actually do.

I've taken Eliquis for close to 5 years, and I know quite a few others who also take it, and I've yet to hear anyone complaining about any side effects. I have heard complaints about the cost, however.

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@marybird I certainly see your point, and I too know people who take Eliquis without the muscle/joint pain. I also know people who take Eliquis and are experiencing pain and going for pain management. As you stated, it is a rare side effect, however, doctors refuse to even talk about it. All they say is I never heard of that with Eliquis! I think they have to accept the fact that their wonder drug is not for everyone.

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rushhome | @rushhome | May 17 8:19am

If no one is taking it seriously and our physicians continue to disregard it, how do we know it is a rare side effect? It is obvious it is one, calling people discussing it dramatic is not beneficial towards moving us to the point of discovery. You are fortunate to not have side effects from it. As a person who never takes as much as an aspirin I know my body and know that the only change has been the introduction of the blood thinner. My masseuse of many years says she can feel a difference.

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gabriig | @gabriig | May 17 1:54pm

Given that it does affect some of us and not others, it would be great if it could be determined why. Age seems to be a factor. In one post hyperflexabilty was mentioned and I think several have noted working out. The one plus factor, other than having it remove clots, was that I had three large pieces of scar tissue in my breast after a partial mastectomy that are now gone, as well as reducing the size of tonsil remnants. It does a great job of removing clots. And the rest improves with time and not giving up.

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ladyrotterdam | @ladyrotterdam | May 20 3:33am

if you research on the Mayo Clinic website you will find that 1-10% of patients experience joint/muscle pain with Eliquis. That is not really rare.
Also, please know that Eliquis (I read the medical trials) was only tested on males around 60. If you are not a male, or if you in another age category, HOW can a doctor know whether this medication is really benign, or even helpful?

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chanemann1 | @chanemann1 | May 20 1:11pm
In reply to @labexperiment "@cmauncc1 If you're not having any fib of flutter why do you need any blood thinner..." + (show)
Profile picture for labexperiment @labexperiment

@cmauncc1 If you're not having any fib of flutter why do you need any blood thinner at all?

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@labexperiment
GOOD QUESTION.

There are various answers. First...if they detect AFIB once, even though they admit that the high dose cortisones administered during the 4 day hospital stay , triggered it.
Then , they say you could have had it all along just undetected. No 2 week Holter Monitor has ever found AFIB.
So, they ignore their own information.

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gabriig | @gabriig | May 21 1:16pm
In reply to @ladyrotterdam "if you research on the Mayo Clinic website you will find that 1-10% of patients experience..." + (show)
Profile picture for ladyrotterdam @ladyrotterdam

if you research on the Mayo Clinic website you will find that 1-10% of patients experience joint/muscle pain with Eliquis. That is not really rare.
Also, please know that Eliquis (I read the medical trials) was only tested on males around 60. If you are not a male, or if you in another age category, HOW can a doctor know whether this medication is really benign, or even helpful?

Jump to this post

@ladyrotterdam At some point there will be a great "discovery" At least this forum allows those affected to discuss and list side effects. And helps tremendously to find that one is not alone and side effects we almost didn't mention because they were so odd, are shared by others.

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