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My EP took me off eliquis. But I’m petrified. I’ll have a stroke now.
I’m a 53-year-old female and I heard my first afib episode in October which lasted about eight hours of my converted with mediation. I haven’t had any episode since and I was given to echocardiograms and a two week Holter monitor and the doctor said because my chads score is 1 due to being female that I don’t need the blood thinners anymore. He said if I have another episode that we can further discuss what to do then but I’m definitely afraid right now that I’ll have a stroke. Does anyone that have had one episode of a fib not on a blood thinner?
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I was getting, on occasion, middle of the night leg muscle cramps. A friend recommended putting on muscle cramp foam when having these cramps. I works! The active ingredient is Magnesium Sulfate. I now take 100 mg Magnesium with my other pills in the evening. My muscle cramps are gone! I can see Magnesium helping the heart which is a large muscle.
I had one episode quite a few years ago which was only 2 + minutes in length. Cardiologist put me on Eliqus almost as soon as I entered his office. Have never had a documented episode in approximately 6 years I think. I had to start the conversation about going off and he reluctantly accepted my choice. I used the thinking that if you're not having active bouts of AFib then you shouldn't be throwing clots at least not because of AFib.
If you have the ability to track and see if you are having newer bouts of AFib you should be able to sleep better with the new knowledge of the stability or progression of your AFib. I may be wrong but my thinking is no Afib, no clots, no Eliqus.
Good luck.
@jc76 It sounds as though you've gotten excellent care from your cardiologists at Mayo over the years.
I like your points about considering the ICD/pacemaker your own personal portable EMS team- for sure they can get you out of V-tach, dangerous cardiac pauses or arrests sooner than a real EMS team could be notified and the time it takes for them to get to you. Having those devices allows you to live a normal life, do what you want to do, at least for the most part.
@sandw40 I know a lot of cardiologists put patients on a blood thinner at the first presentation of A-fib, regardless if it's short-lived, paroxysmal or prolonged. I figure much of that is CYA on their parts, as they have no way of knowing when, or if, the A-fib will recur. In your shoes I would also have had that conversation about stopping the Eliquis if it had been 6 years since I had a documented episode, especially if my risk for A-fib related risks were low to begin with. I know some docs for the same reason (CYA)are also reluctant to ok a patient stopping a blood thinner, especially if there's no monitoring to if it's occurring or not.
I was lucky, I guess, when the cardiologist I was referred to after my first episode of A-flutter chose to wait and see if I had another documented episode of either A-flutter or A-fib before he started me on a blood thinner. It took another 7 years ( with a number of monitored events, then pacemaker monitor reports) for A-fib to show up, and that's when he first prescribed the Eliquis. I'll always be grateful for that 7 years I didn't have to take the Eliquis.
I was diagnosed with Afib in January 2022 and was put on Eliquis and Metaprolol. I've had insomnia ever since and I've tried numerous things to get to sleep. I had a heart ablation in January of 2024 and have been great as I've not had one Afib episode of which I'm aware (I wear an Apple watch and track my heart rate and if needed, a blood pressure cuff at home to keep track). I'm off the Metaprolol, but still on the Eliquis. I'm trying to take it every other day, just to see if my sleep quality improves. While AI isn't 100% reliable, I found that 1-10% of the population experiences "sleep disturbances" from Eliquis.
Anyone else experience sleep problems with Eliquis??
@marybird Yes we have to be our own advocate dealing with healthcare now a days. I remember as a child going to the doctor and you never questioned a word out of their mouth. Times have changed thankfully and we have plenty of sources to verify our positions. The newer problem is choosing the accurate source for our decision making.
Take care.
@ndye35 I have had disturbed sleep, but I attribute it to being more alert to my body now that I have AF. I can't say apixaban has altered my sleep....perhaps it has.
Most EPS, not all, will agree to stop a DOAC if you have a low CHA2DS2-VASc score (calculators by that name on line), or if you have been free of AF and significant ectopy for a full year and have no other risks of thromboembolic stroke, or if your ablation included the installation of a Watchman device that subsequently shows no leaking at the year mark. (Note that the Watchman device CAN leak years later, and that is why annual monitoring is required to keep one's risk of stroke to a minimum). So, if you are relatively young, under 60, say, and otherwise healthy, and you go a full year free of ectopy, you might be able to stay on the good side of your EP if you tell him/her you're going to stop taking the DOAC. Maybe you can substitute a 'baby' aspirin, 81 mg, every day and everyone can be happy...and safe. That last word, though...it's a kicker.