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Zade's avatar

This comment is in the fwiw file. I had a four hour episode of atrial flutter that required a trip to ER and IV metoprolol to slow down. I was sent home with a script for Eliquis and metoprol. Turned out I can't tolerate beta or calcium channel blockers, so, failure of medication. That earned me an atrial ablation. I was 65 at the time.

What surprised me were the side effects of the Eliquis: shortness of breath, fatigue, and over the 3 months it took me to figure out the drug was causing this, a feeling of being slowly crushed to death. I quit the med without consulting my doctors. My electrophysiologist, for whom I have nothing but respect, said he'd never heard of those side effects. I'm not taking any anticoagulant now and have always wondered if I'm being reckless. Seeing this article has helped me feel less like I'm out on a limb. Thanks for this!

Another thought I have is, how many people are out there with a horrible quality of life because they believe these meds are absolutely necessary and they don't connect the side effects to the med?

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Stephanie Rankin's avatar

Thanks for a day of a proper study. As a former neuro/trauma icu nurse I think about patients with embolic stroke going to the cath lab and very often having full recovery after clot retrieval. Risk of bleeding is a complication, increased with age. I also think about people on anticoagulants who go on to develop head bleeds. It is my guess that every proper study will support conservative watching for a stroke that may never happen.

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