Eliquis and Bleeding: What Users Say

• Dau...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 22, 2019

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "My 88-year-old father was prescribed the lowest dosage of Eliquis, which he took for 2 days before experiencing a catastrophic spontaneous brain bleed resulting in a coma. He died 4 days later. The death certificate listed the cause of death as Acute Hemorrhagic Stroke as a consequence of anticoagulation with Apixaban (Eliquis). He was in excellent health. This should not have happened."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 10, 2020

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "Mother had good health for a 94-year-old, able to care for herself, socialize, and enjoy life with zest. She was put on this drug because of irregular heart rhythm. She went down in the bathroom, was taken to the ED, CT scanned with a brain bleed. Came home, perked up to her old self, but 10 days later, lost speech and self-care - a new CT scan reveals more bleeding, now she's on hospice. Crazy. We believe the drug has all to do with this because of her health status and NO chronic conditions, none. This lady could stay up all day, drove her own car until 6 weeks ago, ate 3 meals a day, went to church every Sunday. Carried a just-in-case cane, for balance."

• Kas...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 6, 2019

For Deep Vein Thrombosis "I was put on Eliquis by my MD just because he liked it better than Warfarin. I was previously on Warfarin with no problems. On Eliquis, I have experienced severe muscle spasms and weakness. I am also very tired, eyes are blurry, nose bleeds, weight gain, itching, and just general malaise. I asked my doctor several times to take me off Eliquis and put me back on Warfarin. He refused. I changed doctors, got off the Eliquis, and back on Warfarin. I now feel so much better, and my muscles are getting stronger, and I have my energy back. This Eliquis is poison to me. I also will note I had no A-Fib. I never did. Listen to your body. It knows best."

• Lol...
• July 30, 2020

For Pulmonary Embolism "Was placed on Eliquis after a small PE. The clot was dissolved within three weeks, so while I’m grateful the Eliquis did its job, I begged my doctor to take me off it and got switched to Warfarin. Eliquis just made me feel lifeless. I had all day fatigue and weakness, feeling spacey and zoned out to the degree that it was very challenging to work at times, dizziness, heart palpitations, spells where I felt on the verge of passing out, difficulty swallowing, random weird pains in my eyes, ears, and extremities, back spasms and constant back pain, water weight gain and uncomfortable bloating and swelling, swollen feet and ankles, nausea, GI distress, stomach pains, and diarrhea, and rectal bleeding. Also had liver tests come back with abnormalities while on the med. These symptoms caused my doctor to refer me to several trips to the ER."

• Cin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 9, 2020

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "My mom had triple coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with occasional afib which happened a little over three months ago. So, she was put on Eliquis. She has been hospitalized twice since then and was not progressing in her recovery. She had rectal bleeding and bright red to pink urine along with water retention and problems breathing. Her heart was checking out completely fine, but doctors were at a loss. Finally, my daughter and I got a hold of the lab results to discover she was anemic. The doctors missed the lab results!! She stopped the Eliquis on January 24th, and the hospital gave her 2 units of blood, and now she’s like a whole new person. Feeling better, the rectal bleeding stopped after 2 days off Eliquis, and she lost 25 lbs in water! She’ll be going on Coumadin. Sorry, we’ll take the extra blood work and watching what foods she eats over this rubbish any day! Nightmare"

• wor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 10, 2017

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "This is a terrible medication that shouldn't be on the market. My brother-in-law is fighting for his life right now. My sister (his wife) just had a hip replacement and has to deal with him having a brain bleed due to this terrible medication. Pray for Robert."

• Sep...
• September 28, 2017

For Deep Vein Thrombosis, Prophylaxis "Anyone who takes this drug should have their head examined. I plan to file a lawsuit for what this medicine did to me. Nausea, headache, bruising, stiff, painful joints, bleeding, and fatigue. You name it, this drug will do it to you. I quit this drug, and any doctor who suggests taking it again will get dismissed by me."

• Sur...
• April 12, 2017

For Deep Vein Thrombosis "This drug is dangerous. After a DVT, I was placed on the drug 5mg twice a day. After a week, my colon started to feel funny. A couple of days later, I developed significant rectal bleeding. I went to the ER where they diagnosed it was due to the Eliquis. I stopped the drug and the bleeding stopped within two days. I am now on 10mg Xarelto once a day. No bleeding after seven days. I have a friend who is now in intensive care with a brain bleed. He was also on Eliquis for atrial fibrillation. He had been on the drug for four months. His symptoms started with minor headaches. The FDA has it listed as a Black Box, which means it could be fatal. None of this was told to me at the ER for my DVT."

• Whi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 16, 2018

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "Mom (88) was on this for 4 months. Had to take her to the hospital as she was exhausted and felt very ill. Found that the Eliquis gave her bleeding ulcers, and she had to be given blood transfusions because of severe blood loss, as well as drugs to help heal the ulcers. She always ate a healthy diet. Never had stomach issues before. After she went off this, her stomach healed up and she had no further problems with it. Stomach ulcers are not listed in the warnings for Eliquis."

• Whi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 16, 2018

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "Mom (88) was on this for 4 months. Had to take her to the hospital as she was exhausted and felt very ill. Found that the Eliquis gave her bleeding ulcers, and she had to be given blood transfusions because of severe blood loss, as well as drugs to help heal the ulcers. She always ate a healthy diet. Never had stomach issues before. After she went off this, her stomach healed up and she had no further problems with it. Stomach ulcers are not listed in the warnings for Eliquis."

• Ber...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 2, 2020

For Pulmonary Embolism "About 2 years ago, a large DVT was discovered and was immediately started on Eliquis. Started with a double dose for a short while, then 5 mg 2/day for almost a year, then dropped to 2.5 mg for about 6 months. No side effects that I can identify. At about 18 months, the hematologist decided that the DVT was 'incident related' and unlikely to recur. Off Eliquis, but continued 81 aspirin. Six months later, another clot found its way into my lungs, pulmonary embolism everywhere. The doctors declared me 'a clotter' and put me back on Eliquis at 5 mg 2/day -- this time for life. Well, they did suggest that I might cut back to 2.5 mg after a year if tests prove I'm stable. After reading other posts here, I'm thankful that all those terrible side effects have stepped aside in my case. The only effect I see is when I bash my knuckles when working on my truck, there's a little bit of extra bleeding -- probably good in the long run as it washes the wound."

• Jam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2021

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "I had a TIA in October 2020 and was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. I was prescribed clopidogrel and 60 mg Lixiana, an anticoagulant. Ended up in A&E with severe vaginal bleeding. Am now on 5 mg of Eliquis twice per day (no clopidogrel) and again after 2 weeks experienced heavy bleeding and ended up in the hospital for 3 days having a saline drip to 'irrigate' my bladder until my urine ran clear. Have not been fortunate to see a cardiologist (he has a waiting list of 38 weeks) but was under the care of a urologist in the hospital. My GP insists taking Eliquis is preventing me from having a stroke or heart attack. But I am frightened of these severe side effects and fear a cranial bleed. Feel tired and listless and as a formerly fit 74-year-old, now have no energy and trouble walking far. Am between a rock and a hard place and think this drug is lethal and not fully understood by the medics. There must be an alternative as life is not worth living like this."

• Rad...
• May 12, 2017

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "I have Afib and have had multiple cardioversions, ablation, and antiarrhythmic drugs and cannot stay in sinus rhythm. I was on Coumadin for a while but had large swings in INR despite frequent monitoring and no change in diet. I have been on Eliquis for 3 years and have had no bleeding or side effects. Other than the fact that it is expensive and must be dosed twice daily, I have no complaints whatsoever."

• wel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 30, 2023

For Venous Thromboembolism "My wife was prescribed Eliquis. It's very expensive, $526 for a month's prescription in our case. We don't have prescription coverage, so we had to pay full price. Called Eliquis to see if they could help, but since we don't have a prescription policy, they said no help and we had to pay full price. After she took three tablets, the bleeding started from her rectum, and the doctor advised us to stop the Eliquis. What a waste of money when it is taking everything we have to keep up with her cancer care for her remaining few weeks."

• Lou...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 30, 2022

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "After being on Eliquis 5 mg twice per day for a few weeks, I had severe bleeding from the nose, mouth, small abrasion on the arm, genital area, etc. Could not get an appointment with the doctor---nurse had me reduce it to 2.5 mg twice per day and told me I could cut the 5 mg tablets in half, which I later found should not be done apparently because cutting causes some loss of the tablet. Continue to have excessive bleeding with minor scrapes and cuts for long periods. Also, no appetite, no energy, difficulty keeping balance, and the sensation of the body 'swirling:' causing a fall off the commode with a huge bruise, increased loss of urine, and progressive decline in vision. Did not have these problems when on Coumadin some time ago."

• Lou...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 30, 2022

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "After being on Eliquis 5 mg twice per day for a few weeks, I had severe bleeding from the nose, mouth, small abrasion on the arm, genital area, etc. Could not get an appointment with the doctor---nurse had me reduce it to 2.5 mg twice per day and told me I could cut the 5 mg tablets in half, which I later found should not be done apparently because cutting causes some loss of the tablet. Continue to have excessive bleeding with minor scrapes and cuts for long periods. Also, no appetite, no energy, difficulty keeping balance, and the sensation of the body 'swirling:' causing a fall off the commode with a huge bruise, increased loss of urine, and progressive decline in vision. Did not have these problems when on Coumadin some time ago."

• Mar...
• December 16, 2020

For Thromboembolic Stroke Prophylaxis "My husband has Afib, hypertension, and high cholesterol. He had been on Coumadin for many years, never had any issues. He had a stroke on 12/3/20 and was in ICU, treated with heparin. On Dec 10, they started him on Eliquis. The evening of 12/11, he had a massive GI bleed. By 12/12, he was dead. Has anyone else out there had issues with treatment with this drug for stroke?"

• Mon...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 2, 2020

For Thromboembolic Stroke Prophylaxis "I am on Eliquis for stroke prevention, having had two separate strokes of unknown cause in my thirties. I've been on Eliquis for over three years and have had no issues with it! I bruise much more easily, yes, and I bleed more heavily when injured or during my period, but otherwise, there's been no negatives to it. I do find I can't tolerate alcohol or caffeine, their effects seem to be greatly magnified since being on the drug, but these are small concessions to make for myself!"

• Sam...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 11, 2021

For Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation "Eliquis gave me my mom back. Mom had a stroke years before Eliquis was available and was put on aspirin and Plavix. Over the years, she deteriorated mentally and physically from the stroke, and her dementia had almost completely incapacitated her mentally. She finally had another stroke, and the doc took her off the aspirin and Plavix and put her on Eliquis. In less than a week, Mom was almost back to her pre-first-stroke self, mentally. We had almost a whole good year with Mom mentally/dementia-wise. I really, really wish Eliquis had been around years earlier so Mom could have gotten it after Stroke 1 (or even before then) because it made such a difference after Stroke 2. The only thing was Mom had to be moved from 5 mg to 2.5 mg because she was very elderly and small and had some minor bleeding behind her eyes. This resolved itself almost immediately after the dosage change."

• Joe...
• March 5, 2018

For Deep Vein Thrombosis, Prophylaxis "I had been on Warfarin for 20 years and would occasionally get clots which came up from my legs, and while painful for a day or two, the Warfarin would eat them up. I was instructed not to inform the doctor if they were just small and painful because I was therapeutic and there was nothing they could do for me at the hospital. If they were large enough, off to the catheterization lab, of course. Eliquis does not eat them up. I have had a small clot for over two weeks now, and it's not going away. Not only that, but the circulation in my left leg has been set back a decade from switching to it; my blood is nice and thin, I bleed readily enough, but Eliquis is no match for Warfarin when it comes to old growth stuff. As a preventative, I bet it works great, but it is not for my rare case."