Rare serious side effect of Eliquis: Muscle weakness

@bobbelu Eliquis and I were not a good match. It was extremely bad and then my maybe once a year Afib was every week. Pharmacist said the standard and authorized dose was probably too much for me. And since it’s not monitored or check no one knows for sure. All the new drugs have the same chemical compounds.
I’m on the oldest drug around warfarin and I’m fine. There’s just a finger prick once a month to monitor blood thickness and they’ll adjust the dosage if needed. And no Afib for 3 months!! The Eliquis created stomach issues are now fading too.

yes. I was on Eliquis for six months for blood clots, the main ones in my lungs were removed surgically, small clots remained, plus I had clots in arm and left leg. 5mg 2 x day. Ultra sounds show no clots remaining in leg, though still swollen, and arm and it is assumed lung clots are no longer there. On Eliquis I had immediate problems with nausea and indigestion, then one day the my upper left teeth all slid and moved (yes, weird). then muscles across the tops of my things were so sore I could not lift my left leg, then muscle weakness hit my arms and knees. I'm going to an Integrative PT which after 3 visits I helping lung expansion and gait (all of which were effected) but I get random huge pain in my arms, hips, knees. I had an extremely high pain threshold, could walk down 3 hills with a broken leg from skiing and had pain free childbirth. But now I know what #10 means. Appreciate input. Do you have pain with your muscle weakness? Bless!

I also developed upper leg weakness and pain in my buttocks and hips after taking Eliquis. It also made me very tired and aggravated my IBS. I've had two ablations and a Watchman to catch any clots, and they wanted me to stay on the Eliquis through November, six months after the Watchman. I decided to get off Eliquis on my own and take a baby aspirin instead. I did this on September 6. My fatigue has gone away, my exercise intolerance has also gone away. I still have some leg weakness but not as much. I think my IBS is aggravated by the aspirin, but will stay on it until I have my second Watchman checkup in November. Clearly, Eliquis caused many side effects for me and it's taking months for them to completely resolve. I think you have to do your own research and listen to your body. Then you can be your own advocate about this.

My husband was admitted to the Ochsner Emergency room, last year after experiencing the loss of his left eye. He had had diarrhea for 2 weeks after eating at a restaurant. (I was affected as well. But, only slightly)
During that time he played tennis once. He was 80. He was rarely sick. Had Type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's with few symptoms, He walked almost every day.
He was pretty happy with his health. No side effects to speak of.
The rheumatologist immediately took over and prescribed 1 gram of Prednisone. He felt bad immediately. Tests were run.
During the tests a part was lost for his Diabetic Pump. He did not realize this until Ketoacidosis occurred. Tests were run for 4 to 5 days. There was no indication anything wrong except for a high SED rate, a high CRP.
The rheumatologist did not know him, wrote symptoms that he did not have (Unconscious weight loss,.He contracted walking pneumonia a year ago and Jaw claudication . He had had, a lot of dental work , capping all of his teeth. ) after a superficial read of his medical record. The diagnosis was Giant Cell Arteritis. There were no symptoms except the loss of the eye.
Afib was detected.
The dose of prednisone was lowered because of "adverse affects".
Hallucinations and Afib.
At some point Eliquis was prescribed.
5 to 6 months later Prednisone tapered and was replaced by Actemra.
Severe leg swelling occurred during this time as a reaction to Prednisone.
Actemra gave a similar reaction. Not as severe. Eating and sleeping were not an issue. There was no illness, little walking, a very strong feeling of grogginess most of the time. The Actemra was stopped. But Eliquis continued. The legs required support hose because of venous insufficiency .
Almost a year later he has felt increasingly weak walking. He is visibly pale. He has low blood pressure. (Considered good !) His symptoms of Parkinsons were aggravated by these medications. (walking is very difficult) HE IS BECOMING CONFUSED OCCASIONALLY.
There is nothing different in his medication right now with the exception of ELIQUIS. His PCP says tests show nothing unusual wrong. His PCP says that there is nothing in Eliquis literature to indicate these problems, HOWEVER,
ELIQUIS WOULD SEEM TO BE THE PROBLEM.

I have been on 2.5 mg of Eliquis since 2020 when I had pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. My neighbor just gave me his 5mg Eliquis since he no longer takes them. Can I cut the 5mg in half to make my 2.5 mg and do it safely? If so, it would save me a bunch of $$$$

@kay091 I asked my cousin Vinny Google ( kidding) that very question, can 5 mg Eliquis tablets be cut in half to take a 2.5 mg dose?
From what I read, although the manufacturer doesn't recommend scoring 5 mg Eliquis tablets, practicality sometimes dictates that they could be scored, and sometimes patients' doctors even instruct their patients to do this. The caveat is that precautions should be taken to ensure that the pills are scored into equal halves, that some of the pill isn't lost to being partially crumbled when a pill is cut, and that the scored pills be taken the day they are cut, not stored for later use- in other words, don't cut all the pills in half and put them back in the bottle for ongoing use. Below are a couple good articles on scoring Eliquis.
https://hellopharmacist.com/questions/can-you-cut-eliquis-in-half
https://polarbearmeds.com/can-you-safely-cut-eliquis-in-half-dosage-guidelines-and-safety-precautions/

@marybird
Thank you! That answers my question!!

@lwools seems to work for me a lot less side effects. I’ve been doing to since October. Also saves money!❤️

@marybird

Also those pills are Film-Coated which could prevent a strict split. So I read.

From the time that I started on Eliquis in February, 2022, I've had insomnia. I took sleeping pills, went through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and tried cannabis to sleep. I talked to cardiologists about this and not one related the Eliquis to insomnia. About 3 months ago, AI revealed that 0-10% of Eliquis patients experience "sleep disturbances." I started to pair down the Eliquis and am awaiting a procedure for an ICM (insertable cardiac monitor). Since the pairing down, I have been able to sleep without taking anything. In case anyone is experiencing insomnia while on Eliquis, it's a rare side effect but definitely applied to me.