Questions about Eliquis and Meds for Pain Relief

Thank you mayofeb2020. I have a leaking heart valve and my Dr. will do some testing in Feb. 2021 to see what is going on and then repair the leak. Because of Covid we are waiting till Feb. I live in S. California and the hospitals a full of Covid patients. I just don't understand why I have to feel so sick because of a medication and was hoping someone else may have experimented these symptoms. When the Dr. puts my new medication in the computer the program alerts him to an interaction. You take care also

@heding. I live in S. California too. I Iive in Irvine and Hoag, my closest hospital is not at capacity but we still have to be careful. What hospital will you be going for surgery?

Hello @heding and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I understand you were recently diagnosed with AFib and have been having quite a few health complications following starting Eliquis. It also sounds like you have a planned follow up with your doctor in February.

Can I ask if your doctor as given you any directions to follow or things to watch for between now and then?

Thank you for the question. I didn't relate this until I read it but I have never had hip issues until mid summer after I went on Eliquis in May. I went to PT for 2 months, had an x-ray & an MRI. I was diagnosed with bursitis, arthritis & tendonitis. My orthopedic put me on ibuprofen but my cardiologist wouldn't allow it because of Eliquis already thinning my blood so I was put on Tylenol (2 tablets every 6 hours) which seems to help after a few weeks. I have heard there is an ablation device that can be inserted & explores 64 nodes in your heart all at once & discovers the faulty one/s & ablates only those. I suggest you ask your EP about it. Good Luck & Merry Christmas.

@phillipdobrien. I have been on Xeralto since January and I started having hip problem but bc of the pandamic, I didn't see an orthopedic doctor until August (?) and I was diagnosed with hip bursitis and was given a shot of something . In October, I took an Xray, same diagnosis plus S I joint disfunction. I was given a cortisone shot. Had PT until now, worked for a while, now back to square one. Tylenol just doesn't do it for me. I'd never have thought there's a connection between hip issue and blood thinner!!! Anyone out there has the same problem?

hmmm... interesting question... Hip pain from burs and arthritus for years; pain only 2-3 out of 10 so lived with it. Then Atrial valve replacement, on Eliquis due to Afib after surgery. Switch to xarelto in a few months when Eliquis price went thru the roof. When xarelto price hike skyrocketed in its few months, Dr. agreed to let me off thinners as I had not had afib for some months & my lifestyle (got a baseball size lump on shin from small piece of wood bumped me while chainsawing firewood). By this time (about 1 year) my hip pain had grown to 9 out of 10 pain, couldn't walk further than about 100' at a time. PT said they could fix it: NOT. Found Dr. who showed me the X-rays: no padding left between the bones in the socket; he called it a flat tire and only fix was a replacement hip. Got it and THAT pain went away. NOW you guys are bringing up blood thinners and hip erosion... hmmm... sounds like I could be your poster boy!

Lot's of questions, and many answers, all good.
My thoughts: I have been on Eliquis for years, switched from Plavix when I developed AFIB.
I have a menu of problems, but I will try to separate them to some degree to give you my view:
I doubt if your hip problems are at all related to Eliquis. Side effects with that medications are generally bleeding, and bruising.
The hip issues can be from a myriad of causes, mine (a hip replacement is on the docket) is due to prednisone.
I have had major back surgery related to my spine ,as well as procedures for the discs. For pain I was prescribed Gabapentin(which like many pain killers have an negative impact on your kidneys, Tylenol doesn't.(especially if you have CKD), which worked depending on the dose. I take Metoporical (? Spelling) as well.
Sound like your PT therapist will help as long as he/she follow your doctor's directions, not their standard procedure.

Good luck

Mayofeb, couple comments from my experiences... When they give you a shot it is typically Cortisone: I try not to get those anymore as it is my belief that too many of them causes the muscles to get brittle and then can tear. One or maybe 2 in a joint over a lifetime is my uneducated limit.

Second, after my hip replacement I ended up with 8 out of 10 pain in my lower back. Research told me that is not uncommon after hip replacement as the Dr.s really have to contort you to get the new hip into the socket; sometimes causing SI joint issues. I vowed NEVER to go to a chiropractor as I have always felt they are too dangerous for the possible good they MIGHT do... But my pain was so bad for weeks I finally did. His electric zap treatments felt nice but as expected did nothing for my pain. He once twisted me like a pretzel and I felt better for a couple hours then it was right back. He gave me a secret that worked INSTANTLY and anytime the pain came back: stand, bend one leg straight up as high as comfortable, bending at the hip and let knee come high with shin and leg pointing down. Then do same with other leg, up then down. Repeat a few times. Going straight up verses an angle is not important. So after driving then getting out of the car was the worst time for my SI (back) pain, so I would get out, hold the door, do the leg lifts a few times on each leg and boom! no pain again. This aligns the SI joints that can get tilted out of wack causing the super pain. Doing it each time the time came back for about a month and it totally disappeared. Hope that can help you too!

Yorlik. No pain instantly!! Wow, I have to try that. I am a visual learner so I am trying to picture you doing that. I'm going to show this to my kids, maybe they can show me. Thank you again for the tip. Much appreciated.

I hope it helps you too! Yes, instant pain gone - it aligns the SI joint - at least it did for me - so the syatic (sp?) nerve stops getting pinched.

I googled "SI pain reliever motion"

And got: https://www.verywellhealth.com/sacroiliac-joint-pain-moves-296392

The very first pix is the leg position that worked instantly for me (chyro Dr said it would and he was right), but do it STANDING UP. So you just tand there, then lift a leg as shown - no need for hands holding it there, just lift it then let it drop again. I found I had to do both legs and 2-3 times each. did not seem to matter if alternate or not. After that 30 seconds the 8 out of 10 awful pain would be gone - until next time I sat in car or chair or something that caused it to go out of position again. For me, it took a couple weeks of doing this and my SI joint decided I won, they lost, and stopped hurting me.