How do you decide when it's safe to stop taking Eliquis

I am 75 years old with a lifelong history of panic disorder and ocd. A few years ago, I had what doctors later decided may have been a VERY brief TIA when for two or three minutes I was mixing up syllables in my speech. My cardiologist had me wear a monitor for 3 weeks and the EP said I had one episode of paroxysmal A-Fib and a couple of episodes of paroxysmal SVTs during that time. He put me on 5mg Eliquis twice a day and 50mg Flecainide once a day. Fast forward to now.... and I have changed cardiologists.... and never had any follow up with the EP. In October, my cardiologist implanted a loop recorder to check for A-Fib episodes as I never felt anything out of the ordinary. I saw the cardio last week and in the past six months I have had 0 A-Fib episodes. So he said he might take me off the Eliquis if I wanted, but leave me on the Flecainide, as he thought the Flecainide may be why I have experienced no further A-Fib episodes. Due to my obsessive worrying, I wasn't ready to come off the Eliquis as such fear has been instilled me about a possible stroke. So the doctor left me on the same dosage of both meds. My biggest problem with the Eliquis is that I have a lot of arthritis and bone and joint pain, but I can't take any anti-inflammatories, only Tylenol which does nothing for the chronic pain. I do also take turmeric (Bullet Proof brand, I consume one gummy per day) but I don't notice that it helps much with my pain. When I see the cardio in six months, I am thinking of asking to reduce my Eliquis to 2.5mg twice a day if I still have had no A-Fib episodes. But how does one decide it's okay to come off the Eliquis altogether? Would an EP know better than a cardiologist whether or not coming off the Eliquis is a safe idea at this point? I've noticed people mentioning muscle weakness from Eliquis. With my joint pain, I don't get a lot of exercise, and I can't say that is not the reason my muscles seem to have weakened a bit. Obviously, no one wants to have a stroke. But I also don't want to continue taking a medication that may not really be necessary because of fear and worry. Anyone else here who took blood thinner for A-Fib and then got off of it? Anyone else worry too much about consequences of stopping a med like Eliquis? How does one decide? Obviously, life has no guarantees, and I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and this would all be moot. Thoughts or comments?? I thank you in advance. Best wishes to all! Mike