Hey so need some advise if anyone has experienced the same. Had emergency surgery 4weeks ago. All is well as can be expected but of course my IV arm has developed a DVT and I’m on Eliquis.
I’m cleared to go back to riding from surgery this week but holding off due to the DVT… ER said fine but quite frankly they are idiots so don’t trust them… can’t get to my hematologist until next week or the vascular surgeon (which will be a waste of time probably cause they aren’t in a rush to see me and won’t do surgery… prob have my hematologist manage this) until next week.
Has anyone had a upper arm DVT and been on Eliquis and riding? (My Dads been on Eliquis for years and he does everything but a client says I shouldn’t ride for months that I will need to be on this stuff…) Any/all personal experiences appreciated.
I ride, and have been on Coumadin for 25 years (2 DVTs).
Did you ride right after finding the DVTs. To be honest I’m more worried about the DVT than the Eliquis … but
Once I was given the “go ahead” I did!
My PCP refused to clear me to ride in a hippotherapy program. She had paperwork to sign and I think that’s what did it, she refused in order to not be subjected to liability. My contact at the program had also suffered a DVT and continued to ride, different doctor.
So it just depends.
My Mom was on Coumadin after a leg DVT.
Years later she broke her wrist and needed surgery. They made her wait 24 hours until the Coumadin cleared her system then did the surgery.
I like that you can remove the effects of Comadin as needed. Makes me wary of Eliquis.
I rode while on eliquis for dvt in my leg, but didn’t jump. My doctor didn’t think riding was a problem, but i worried they didn’t know the head injury risk.
Something I just learned was that the older you are, the more your brain shrinks and that is one of the factors predisposing brain bleeds that are serious complications of head injuries. I have to guess that Eliquis would make this worse, but don’t know.
I got some nicks while I was on it and they clotted “normally”. After that, I was less worried about riding.
The bigger issue with riding, at least at first, was that my leg made me feel really unstable and like my reaction time had tanked, so i just felt very “off”. I didn’t worry about dislodging clots or anything, esp. after the first few days of treatment when the pain was gone.
My DH is on Eliquis for Afib - his cardiologist recommends he stop the Eliquis 48 hours prior to any surgery. He also raced cars while on Eliquis - again he stopped the Eliquis 48 hours prior to a race weekend.
Considering asking your doctor if there is a reversing agent for Eliquis in the event you do get injured. When I had my DVT last year, it was a very substantial DVT (in my leg) - they told me to limit risk, and if I did fall down/get substantial bruise, they could reverse the effects of the Zaralto if needed. I also wore a medical alert type bracelet that listed that I was on Zaralto.
They didn’t make me feel like I needed to be worried about the DVT itself as long as I was on the medication.
I had a DVT in my leg after a horse flipped over and landed on me, and was on Eliquis for about a year. The hematologist said that he advises patients taking Eliquis not to do risky activities like cycling or riding due to the risk of internal bleeding, including brain bleeds. I don’t think there is a reversing agent for Eliquis like there is for other anticoagulants, though I could be wrong. I wasn’t willing to take a year plus off riding so I did continue to ride and event on my reliable horse, while recognizing that things can happen even with the most reliable horse. I wore a RoadID with medical alert info. After about a year I stepped down to baby aspirin for another year or so.
FWIW, the clot itself didn’t concern me (with respect to riding) after the pain stopped. They did many repeat ultrasounds and it never completely went away, so it’s possible it’s still partially there 2.5 years later. The doctor said sometimes the vein never completely returns to normal. And I’m not going to not ride for the rest of my life, so…
None of this is medical advice - simply my experience with Eliquis
I had an saddle, bilateral PE about 4 years ago. I spent a week in the ICU and because it was so massive, life threatening, but unprovoked, I am now on blood thinners for life.
My hematologist went over the options with me and there are pros and cons to each medication available. I chose Eliquis for a variety of reasons. The pros were the convenience of no routine blood testing, no watching my diet for spikes in certain foods, and being a much more cutting edge medication than Coumadin. I can say, in my experience, my bruising is a non-issue. Having a farm, horses and other livestock, we beat ourselves up daily in ways that non-horse people can’t imagine. I’ve personally had no issues with bleeding from the cuts and slices I do to myself frequently in this lifestyle.
But, and this is a big but, there are currently no reversal agents for Eliquis, at least that I am aware of.
It’s a risk, but one that I am willing to take. I have really tried to mitigate the risks. I don’t ride babies, greenies or crazies any more. I invest in a quality helmet and replace it frequently. I wear an alert band.
I’m still riding my horses 5-6 days a week; low level eventing, fox hunting and trail riding. I made that decision for me, but only you and your doctor can decide if it’s worth the risk. I can pretty much guarantee you that your doctor will not approve. Since I’m a lifer, I wasn’t ready to walk away from riding forever. If I was short term, I’m still not sure that I would stop riding. I don’t know since that wasn’t an option for me.
Best of luck as you wade through these decisions. They aren’t easy.
I was diagnosed with Factor V Leiden way back when. Eliquis wasn’t a thing at the time, so I started on Coumadin. I actually did have a bad (horse) accident 3 years ago (horse flipped on me, lacerated my liver, broke ribs etc). I am incredibly thankful that the Coumadin could be reversed. The monthly blood tests have become routine, and the drugs cost about 1.25 at the pharmacy every few months.
Truth be told, I do bruise easily, but the dietary stuff isn’t difficult. Rather than abstain from the “green leafies” – I just try to include it daily. It has worked well for 25 years.
There are reversal agents for the DOAC’s like Eliquis. I retired in 2019 and usually saw KCentra used which is a pro-thrombin complex which doesn’t always work.
There are a couple specific ones. “Clinicians may need to achieve rapid reversal of anticoagulation effects of the DOACs in an emergency setting. Idarucizumab and andexanet alfa, which reverse the anticoagulant effects of dabigatran and FXa inhibitors (Eliquis, Xarelto, etc) respectively, are DOAC reversal agents available in the US.”
As you can imagine they are $$$$ but they are out there. Idarucizumab is about $3500/dose and andaxanet is … $10,000-15,000 / dose (weight based) 
.
Susan
Yikes! That’s a lot of $$$!
You mentioned that you have retired, but do you happen to know/think if those are available in most hospitals or are limited to major metropolitan hospitals and/or trauma centers?
I have no idea. We (Level 2 trauma center) had KCentra and we finally got the Idarucizumab. I am not sure the other one was on the market yet.
You are probably right to think that smaller and rural hospitals are not going to take the budget hit to keep those on the shelf.
Thank you so much for this information - I learn so much from this BB!
Thank you all for the information! I see my Drs on Tuesday and Wednesday next week and will be making the most informed decision I can, with lots of help with my questions from here!
All the advice and shared information given has been extremely helpful and the lack of judgement is so appreciated. Unfortunately, I do need to work and I make half my income from riding so this has been a hard time wading through, when so many people have been so negative about me resuming riding. Oh what you don’t know when your young and start your own horse business!!
