Rare serious side effect of Eliquis: Muscle weakness

I was prescribed Eliquis after a cardiac catheterization procedure to look at my R heart valve. It caused AFIb permanently and I was given a clean bill of health post cardiac catheter surgery only to discover that I was actually injured. I don’t blame the surgeon. I blame the Cardiologist. Turns out he’s a narcissist and he made the decision that was wrong. It not only cost me getting a new hip, it has now cost me the ability to walk! Eliquis struck again! It’s a horrible drug. How was I supposed to know? I just turned 62 and I am thinking (and very terrified), that I may have to go to live in Assisted Living. I’m scared! I am meeting with an Inventional Cardiologist to discuss whether or not I am a candidate for the Watchman I know and you know what if I’m taking a stroke that’s not normal caused by Eliquis. AND nobody believes that Eliquis caused my extreme pain. I have no life anymore. I simply needed a new hip. And now, it’s the least of my worries! I can barely walk.

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I started this one week ago and my muscles started in my legs, getting weaker and weaker now moving to my arms and hands. I thought it was just me but now when I read this, it’s got to be a side effect.

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I started a response to this but was cut off .. you may see a partial response. I have been taking Eliquis for about 2 years. I am traveling or I would look at the enclosed sheet that comes with the RX. From the beginning I either was told or read in that document that a side effect of Eliquis can be muscle weakness. I clearly recall that as a concern I had . I am on the same dose as you described. The effect I do have is with the AM dose. That can vary at times. When it affects me most often I feel very "loop-y") with the AM dose for about an hour. Never with the night dose. However per the above comment about muscle weakness, my neighbor had it prescribed and had severe muscle weakness from the start with the Rx discontinued as a result. I just looked on line (Google) on your behalf. I input "Eliquis side effects". The few items noted don't report muscle weakness. However I did this a second time and entered: "Eliquis muscle weakness" it was the third in the list that popped up. Hope this helps a bit.

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That’s exactly what I did too. Still, the Cardiologist and his PA say it doesn’t happen. Meanwhile, I have no quality of life. I did read that another woman in this thread has said she is now in a wheelchair. I live alone. I’m super frightened. I just turned 62. I am switching Cardiology practices. My PCP recommended a new Cardiologist and I am meeting with an Interventional Cardiologist to discuss the Watchman and determine if whether or not I am a candidate for it. At this time, I am in a highly dangerous situation because I am only taking aspirin and I took too many Liquid Advil trying to work after a botched hip revision surgery (obviously my first hip replacement surgery was botched too) but the second one was REALLY bad. In Henderson, NV. I should have listened to Mother and returned home to New York for that surgery. I started bleeding out, took a bunch of anti diarrheal meds and walked into the ER on my own while my Mom parked the car. They took me immediately. I have been fairly healthy other than my hip pain but now this. It’s just very depressing.

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@marilyn222

You need all options from your new cardiologist and perhaps a referral to a cardiac surgeon to get their insights if you are thinking of any surgery.

If you have the Watchman procedure, most take Eliquis for 2 /3 months before going off it as a protective measure.

Does Watchman address arrhythmias? I just think that it gets you off Eliquis.

Are there any options to Eliquis?

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I started this one week ago and my muscles started in my legs, getting weaker and weaker now moving to my arms and hands. I thought it was just me but now when I read this, it’s got to be a side effect.

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The Watchman is only to prevent a blood clot and stroke. I will have to take Warfarin during the recovery period because I just can’t tolerate Eliquis or Xarelto. So yes, it “just “ gets me off Eliquis and Xarelto. That may seem like a lot to go through but Eliquis is is very dangerous. They are working on a replacement for it. Hopefully, they will be honest about the clinical trials with the new medication. They weren’t with Eliquis and for those of us who can’t walk very well now after only taking it for two days, The Watchman is a true blessing. Right now, I’m in a very dangerous place. My heart rate has been very difficult to control and I am in AFib a LOT. I completely cut out my green tea. That alone leaves me feeling very tired. I am going to have to have that procedure to shock my heart back into normal sinus rhythm. Neither my PCP nor I can understand why it hasn’t been done yet. It’s why I’m switching Cardiologists and Practices. Apparently, the Cardiology practice that I am switching to was started by the Cardiologists who left the place I am currently going to. I have one final appointment with them this week and then I will contact them to get my records sent over to the new practice. My PCP said that even if I don’t get assigned to the doctor that I read about, I will very happy with any of the other Cardiologists. After what happened to me with my hip replacement surgeries in NV, I just can’t believe that I didn’t listen to my voice of reason and switch Cardiologists last year. He waited until I was days away from getting my new hip and then backed me into a corner and forced me to have cardiac catheterization surgery. I was given a clean bill of heart health but the orthopedic surgeon said that he was going to wait 8 weeks post surgery. Now, I have discovered that the unnecessary surgery in December has caused permanent AFIb and the medications he has been trying are making me very sick. The latest one is just to slow my heart rate down and it’s working better than the previous ones.

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