Eliquis and leg weakness and fatigue

Posted by ace51 @ace51, Mar 3 12:42pm

I experienced bilateral PE from DVT after abdominal surgery 5/11/23. I was put on Eliquis 5mg twice daily after my initial anticoagulation. I have no history of cardiac problems or a-fib. I noticed immediately that I felt extremely tired and worn out but attributed it to the PE. I have remained on this med and had additional abdominal surgery 11/15/23. Since this last surgery I am experiencing incredible fatigue and worrisome weakness in my back and legs. I have an appointment with doctor tomorrow to discuss this. Hopefully he will discontinue this med since it was used as a precaution for further clots post November surgery. I was so relieved to find that many others have experienced the same thing and it’s not a figment of my imagination.

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Today’s appointment went well. Doctor cut dosage of eliquis in half (2.5 mg twice a day for next 4-6 weeks), ordered blood work and wants a repeat of sonogram for left leg. Plans to discontinue eliquis if sonography and blood work are normal. Meanwhile I’m hoping to see some boost of energy with the lower dosage.
Since fatigue isn’t stressed as a common side effect of this drug I will post my experience once I have discontinued this drug for a period of time. Drugs are so tricky and affect us all differently.

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I appreciate your willingness to report here and to follow up. It's a nice touch. I hope you won't mind my caution, but it will be hard to separate the healing process and gains in both function and mood that will surely come with those developments from real changes that will come with the cessation of the drug. That both will happen almost concurrently, or within days, means that it will be hard to pinpoint which of the two facts has led to any improvement, or deterioration, that might follow. Maybe if you experience an improvement, and then cease the apixaban, and notice even more improvement it might be something. Or, you may find that you cease apixaban when told to and notice no change at all.

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@gloaming

I appreciate your willingness to report here and to follow up. It's a nice touch. I hope you won't mind my caution, but it will be hard to separate the healing process and gains in both function and mood that will surely come with those developments from real changes that will come with the cessation of the drug. That both will happen almost concurrently, or within days, means that it will be hard to pinpoint which of the two facts has led to any improvement, or deterioration, that might follow. Maybe if you experience an improvement, and then cease the apixaban, and notice even more improvement it might be something. Or, you may find that you cease apixaban when told to and notice no change at all.

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My blood results arrived this a.m. and my doctor phoned to tell me to meet him in ER due to the face that values were ‘critically’ low. My hemoglobin was 4.2. With other equally alarming values in the CBC panel.
I have been admitted and have received 2 units of packed cells thus far. Morning consult with GI specialist, lab work and plan of treatment.
I have no outward signs of bleeding. Urine is clear, stools appear normal not dark or bloody, no abdominal pain or bloating. I will update as I progress. The eliquis was discontinued today.

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I believe that Eliquis does cause side effects. For me it was bone, muscle, and joint pain. None of these are listed as side effects but about a week after I stopped taking the Eliquis these pains decreased and now I only have the normal aches and pains of being 76. One doctor suggested that the pain went away because I expected it to do so. Always nice to be told it is all in your head! I don’t care why it went away; just glad it did.

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Our bodies tell us what they need if we only listen. Glad to hear you feel better being off the Eliquis.

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Has anybody mentioned testing for clotting disorders? After a couple of DVTs from surgeries and history of TIAs a neurologist suggested testing for clotting disorders for my father. Note his father died after clotting from an abdominal surgery. My father tested positive for Factor V Leiden (common among northern Europeans). Factor V by itself is not necessarily a problem but he also had Protein S deficiency which multiplied his possibility of clotting. That was before eliquis and drugs so he was put on Coumadin.

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@harveywj

Has anybody mentioned testing for clotting disorders? After a couple of DVTs from surgeries and history of TIAs a neurologist suggested testing for clotting disorders for my father. Note his father died after clotting from an abdominal surgery. My father tested positive for Factor V Leiden (common among northern Europeans). Factor V by itself is not necessarily a problem but he also had Protein S deficiency which multiplied his possibility of clotting. That was before eliquis and drugs so he was put on Coumadin.

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Yes, my pulmonologist tested me for this and I was negative.

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Was admitted to CC Vero on Tuesday p.m. and received 2 units packed cells. By morning labs show hemoglobin rose to 7.2 from 4.8. Still felt tired, somewhat weak but not as short of breath as yesterday. GI consult gave 3 options: upper scope, lower scope or capsule swallow. I refused each for now due to the fact I’m still in healing process from most recent surgery in November. I’ve had colostomy takedown robotically a year ago this month and ileostomy takedown in November. My reasoning is I’ve just had 2 holes recently closed and with the 5 finger signature of the DaVinci still visible I don’t want to run the risk of rupturing these or having a new perforation. And there’s always the possibility of the capsule getting stuck requiring more surgery to retrieve it.
Going to repeat labs for next 2 weeks with appointment with GI after results. Also have scheduled appointments with cardiologist and pulmonologist to follow. After this period of time being off the Eliquis I hope to see stabilization or improvement of blood work. Will give update as process reveals more answers.

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It has been one week since my lab work revealed hemoglobin of 4.8 and Eliquis was discontinued . I received 2 units packed cells which brought value to 7.2 and was discharged home with orders for iron supplement and to repeat labs next 2 weeks in a row. Monday labs show another increase in hemoglobin to 8.2. Will continue taking iron supplement and get lab test next week. Have upcoming appointments with cardiologist, pulmonologist and GI specialist within next few days. Will post results. Still no outward signs of bleeding. Urine is clear, stools are normal, no bloody nose nor gums. Feeling a bit more steady and much less short of breath. I am convinced Eliquis was the culprit until proven otherwise.

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@mjarkie

I believe that Eliquis does cause side effects. For me it was bone, muscle, and joint pain. None of these are listed as side effects but about a week after I stopped taking the Eliquis these pains decreased and now I only have the normal aches and pains of being 76. One doctor suggested that the pain went away because I expected it to do so. Always nice to be told it is all in your head! I don’t care why it went away; just glad it did.

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I had similar issues; went off and now better. Trying to determine which product to use in place of eliquis. Have you had any luck with a different product?

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