New Here

[ojidanowe]

just found this forum and so glad i did. I have afib, diabetes and asthma. i was searching for alternatives to Eliquis and was directed here so will be doing lots of reading here today. I look forward to learning from those here and hopefully contributing something worthwhile too!

[Rellim296]

A big welcome, ojidanowe. There is plenty of information and a range of opinions here about Warfarin, the old favourite, and the new anticoagulants, including Eliquis. People seem to have different reactions - good and bad - to all of them.

[ojidanowe in reply to Rellim296]

thanks for the welcome. I'm not happy with the Eliquis and from what i've seen on other forums my reactions to it are not uncommon. i began on Warfarin and i'm just not disciplined enough to comply with the blood tests and dietary concerns so i went on the Eliquis. The list of what i don't like about it is long and that is why i am looking for natural alternatives. soooo, i will be looking over all the info here and interested to see others experiences with paroxysmal af and their choices of treatment.

[Rellim296 in reply to ojidanowe]

Plenty to look at! I moved from Warfarin to Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and am about ten thousand times happier.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to ojidanowe]

There are no reliable natural anticoagulants. Many people confuse blood thinning with clot stopping.

I would urge you to go to AF Association main website and read all you can before embarking on a possibly dangerous path.

[ojidanowe in reply to BobD]

I've already been to the AF Association website and am just in info gathering mode right now. I also am an RN so i don't confuse the two actions as they apply to blood clotting. I also have severe chronic pain and thanks to the Eliquis i have few options for any relief. i also have had side effects that, over the last year that i have been on this med, i have watched my quality of life deteriorate at a rapid pace. I am at the point where i need to explore alternatives. So, just info gathering and thanks for the input, i appreciate it.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to ojidanowe]

For what it is worth at Heart Rhythm Conference in October we were told that there was little difference in tolerance between the NOACs and that apart from digestive problems with dabagatran side effects tended to be common across the range. I am sure that since we are all different others may disagree from experience so,good luck on your search.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Bob, back in the day when the NHS Choices web site gave information about medication, it mentioned that Rivaroxaban should not be taken by people with lung issues. I had spoken to a respiratory consultant about it - he wasn't aware of the text on the NHS site - but we never got to discuss it further. The NHS site no longer carries that useful information.

[afibtennis in reply to ojidanowe]

I have been on Pradexa and Flecainide for about 3 weeks now with no side effects and no a-fib relapses - so far!

[Meemaw14 in reply to ojidanowe]

My 91 year old mom put on eliquis recently for Afib says she is totally exhausted anybody else have this problem? I feel so sorry for her she was so active.

[ojidanowe in reply to Meemaw14]

absolutely. That is one of my main complaints. over the last year i have gone from walking 4 miles a day to not being able to walk two hundred feet to the mail room to get my mail. i drive up. i am exhausted all the time, have muscle weakness and muscle cramps and spasms at night. Before i retired i work for an internal medicine doctor and had alot of contact with Pharmaceutical representatives from the various companies and had the phone number for the one that represented Pfizer who markets Eliquis for Bristol-Myers Squibb so i gave him a call. He said each of those are, in fact, side effects of apixaban but fall under the rare side effects. Leave it to me to fall into that catagory. Story of my life.. LOL ... This is why i am researching alternatives. I have found several people doing well on a few different regimens, which looks hopeful so i am just doing more research to find more people who are having similar success and for how long. most people will improve as far as side effects go so I hope your mom is one of them. I just appear to be in the minority, and it is a minority. Best of luck to your mom.

[Meemaw14 in reply to ojidanowe]

Thank you so much for the reply. We are ready to tell her to stop taking ho back to her 325 aspirin and get her life quality of life she had back. She also takes placquenil for ra and this could also be a culprit but it's very sad she just wants to sit😥I hate our pharmaceuticals not enough research. I was diagnosed recently with osteoporosis and no way will take the biophosnates. Will try diet weight beating exercise. Good luck to you as well.

[Rellim296 in reply to Meemaw14]

Goodness, I'm more than 20 years younger than your mother and feel I've already reached the point where my short term health is more important to me than long term benefits!

[ojidanowe in reply to Rellim296]

that's exactly how i feel!

[ojidanowe in reply to Meemaw14]

Its terrible to go from being an active person to one who just sits due to lack of energy or muscle strength. I totally understand how she feels. The other thing i hate about this medication is the miriad of things you can't take. i have bone on bone arthritis in my knees, due to many years of ballet and horse activities and all i can take for the often excruciating pain is Tylenol. I may as well take nothing. and then no fish oil, vitamin E, green tea and the list goes on. So many things that we are told are good for our health are off limits with Anticoagulants. The doctor is not pleased with my looking into alternatives but he said if i must, to at least take the 325mg aspirin. well, the research says its not effective for stroke prevention so the search continues. I am looking into CBD Oil and Red Krill for the omega 3's... Fish oil actually has the same action, though not as strong, as Eliquis which is to make the platelets slippery so they don't stick together and form a clot. The CBD oil has that effect plus also a thinning effect so doing research into both of them. I wish your mom all the best and hope you can find a way to help her feel better. keep me posted on how she's doing..

[Hidden]

This might be interesting...

youtube.com/watch?v=GFPGZF2...(Not working as expected?)

[GraceD in reply to Hidden]

GREAT video and priceless information! Thanks for taking the time to make the video.

[GraceD]

Ojidanowe, I just saw your post today. Did you ever find an alternative to Eliquis? I'm taking 5 mg. twice a day, and am having similar issues - shortness of breath, unstable heart rate, racing heart at night, muscle cramps at night, and the list goes on. I had a relatively healthy heart pre-Eliquis... Thanks

[Hidden]

Warfarin and I didn't agree my INR very unstable. I take Pradaxa and don't have any side effects that I'm aware of. I take bisoprolol and flecainide just started taking Bisoprolol at night instead of morn and it's helping with tiredness.