Edoxaban v Riaroxaban

[Suanna]

I am fairly new to all this, only being diagnosed with PAF less than a year ago, and have only ever had two episodes. I know that a fair amount has been written about these two drugs, but I am trying to find something that suits me, so would value any opinions.

I started with Apixaban, which seemed to cause unbearable side effects (although I can't be 100% sure of that because I was also on an antibiotic at the time). I have been on Rivaroxaban 20 mg for 10 weeks, but because of some people's comments about it on this site, I asked my doctor for Edoxaban. My dilemma is that I was given a 60 mg dose because I am 3 kg over the cut-off weight for this drug. My CHA2DS2-VASc score is 2, so I am concerned that the dose doubles from the lower dose of 30 mg, instead of going up in increments . Any comments will be appreciated.

[Hidden]

I have been on rivaroxaban for 18 months now after I had a blood clot that went to the lungs and I have had no problems with it and don't know I'm taking it.

[Suanna in reply to Hidden]

Ok, thanks.

[SpeedyH]

Rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban all work in the same way on the same bit of the clotting cycle. The drug that works in a different manner is Dabigatran but I’m not sure whether that is available for your condition. There are people who have had horrible side effects with all three drugs and others who can tolerate one but not the others. It is very much an individual thing and trial and error to see which suits you. If you are able to tolerate Rivaroxaban, the dosing is less complicated. Perhaps you could ask your gp to refer you to a haematologist who will be able to talk about your options and optimise your dosage.

[Suanna in reply to SpeedyH]

I'm waiting for an appointment with a cardiologist, so I'll see what comes from that. Thank you.