Taking Eliquis and Metoprolol for A-fib: Concerned about side effects

Hi, not being a pill taker (except vitamins), I try to reduce dosages. I was put on Eliquis about 4 years ago when I was in severe heart failure. I had two blood clots in my heart when I finally got diagnosed and hospitalized at Phoenix Mayo Clinic. Grace of God held those two clots in place and were dissolved with Eliquis over about 3 months. So, even though I had a lot of joint pain at that time which I thought was a side effect of Eliquis, it has lessened quiet a bit with time. You know, it's always that story, which is worse, the illness or the side effects. After a series of attempts to get my heart to stay in rhythm, I was put on Metoprolol. This has worked well lowering my heart rate. It's amazing how much better I feel. Also, I take magnesium and vit C and potassium daily. I took Omega3 for awhile though eating salmon and walnuts does the same. Drink green drinks of home juicing, kale, carrots, celery, ginger, apple and lemon. Like to do this every 2 -3 days. Also, prayer, enjoyable activity such as gardening, and massage therapy. Just keep feeding yourself fulfilling and life sustaining activities. I'm 73, and that's how I maintain my health. Though a bit crazy, I live with a family that loves me.

The question centered on the term CONSIDERED and then IF not Why not. Thru my personal experiences in conversations with cardiology patients I have come to the realization that considerations often are determined more by by the ability of the practices involved than the procedures currently available. Referral are not always resorted to or suggested, unfortunately. Furthermore it has become necessary for the patient to be very pro active. Read and gain as much knowledge as one can regarding the medical issue being addressed. Ask questions. Be informed as much as possible. Yes, RESPONSIBILITY pertains to the patient as well! It is of help to the Cardiologist as well as the patient.

@ltssjs, I might have asked you the same question about your question. Who do you think has the responsibility for considering ablation and Watchman -- and for whom? In my experience, cardiology practices consider every option before homing in on those that should be helpful to a patient whose diagnosis is well advanced. Against that background, I answered your question in what I think of as the real world. If you wanted Connect members to "consider" ablation and Watchman, many of us do -- including me, but in partnership with my medical team, we have set those options aside. Members and mentors on Connect -- even our Moderators -- are not here to recommend treatments for medical problems. That responsibility lies with the patient and the medical team that has been given the role of diagnosing and treating an illness. Martin

Martin: Do you really believe that is a response to the ? proffered?

Ablation is a surgical procedure that is considered in therapy decisions of people with arrhythmic pulse and their medical team. Watchman is a medical device that also gets wide consideration at the level of physician-patient, taking into account the cost of the device and the willingness of health insurance companies to foot the bill. Journalism encounters resistance of patients and their medical teams to detailed questions that form the basis of publications; personal privacy is protected in these cases by medical professionals as well as by public laws prohibiting disclosure of personal health information.

Has ABLATION and a watchman device been considered? If not, why not?

It is important for Connect members to know a lot more about the reversing agent suggested by @darbybauer for serious bleeding when it is related to the anticoagulants Eliquis and Xarelto. The reversing agent is Andexxa, and it was indeed approved by the FDA in 2018. But Andexxa is not a pill to take with lunch. In the FDA news release announcing approval of Andexxa, you may find the following expert statement: "Andexxa's rapid reversal of the anticoagulating effects of rivaroxaban and apixaban will help clinicians treat life-threatening bleeds, where every minute counts."

Note the reference to the use by "clinicians treat(ing) life-threatening bleeds, where every minute counts." The crucial implications of that statement are 1) Andexxa is for intravenous application not an at-home antidote; 2) it is recommended for use by "clinicians" in a highly specialized treatment environment; 3) its use is recommended when a bleed is life-threatening. Be careful and be sure of the presence of a qualified medical professional when an antidote is needed for a bleed while taking Eliquis or Xarelto. Martin

There are approved and available reversing agents for Eliquis and Xarelto since 2018.

For me I found it slowed my heart down so when I biked or briskly walked I was out of breath and it took a while to get it caught up after sitting down.