How long does it take for Eliquis to leave the body

I'm happy to share that I am no longer taking Eliquis. How long does it take before it's completely out of your system?

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I'm happy to share that I am no longer taking Eliquis. How long does it take before it's completely out of your system?

"There is no established way to reverse the anticoagulant effect of apixaban, which can be
expected to persist for about 24 hours after the last dose, i.e., for about two half-lives."

"In healthy subjects, administration of activated charcoal 2 and 6 hours after ingestion of a 20-mg
dose of apixaban reduced mean apixaban AUC by 50% and 27%, respectively. Mean apparent
half-life of apixaban decreased from 13.4 hours when apixaban was administered alone to 5.3
hours and 4.9 hours, respectively, when activated charcoal was administered 2 and 6 hours after
apixaban, indicating that charcoal blocked the continued absorption of apixaban from the gut
[see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)]. Thus, administration of activated charcoal may be useful in
the management of apixaban overdose or accidental ingestion by leading to a more rapid fall in
apixaban blood levels. "

"Apixaban displays prolonged absorption. Thus, despite a short clearance half-life of about 6
hours, the apparent half-life during repeat dosing is about 12 hours, which allows twice-daily
dosing to provide effective anticoagulation, but it also means that when the drug is stopped for
surgery, anticoagulation persists for at least a day. "

"Following intravenous administration, apixaban is eliminated with a dominant half-life of ~ 5
hours. Following oral administration, the apparent half-life is ~12 hours because of prolonged
absorption. "



[www.accessdata.fda.gov]

Remembering that we are all different, with different metabolic rates and with different livers, the purported half-life of apixaban is approximately 18 hours. Doing some simple math, you can see that it would take at least three days for the residual effects left in your serum to dissipate to the point where you can safely assume it is innocuous.

Even so, you ought not to be concerned, or to get the willies when you feel safe at last. I routinely clot when I cut myself, and I have been on 5mg X 2 for years.

Many people greatly exaggerate the bleed risk of Eliquis and the other DOACs. I listened to a discussion by a trauma surgeon at NYU Medical Center recently. NYU is a level 1 trauma center that handles upwards of 20K trauma patients per year, and he said he has not once used a reversal agent with the DOACs or felt the need to. He said that in the vast majority of cases where the bleeding can't easily be accessed and controlled, simply supporting the patient and waiting for the DOAC to wear off suffices, and it usually only takes 12 hours or less. If the bleeding is more severe, they will infuse fresh frozen plasma, which contains clotting factors. I think people get the idea that bleeding out is a risk with DOACs because it was with warfarin. Warfarin has a very long half-life so you can't wait days for it to wear off. It can keep a bleed going for up to a week. Given the cost of the reversal agents (over $10K) and how rarely they're used, I'd be surprised if most hospital pharmacies even stock it.

Still Carey I got chewed out by two neurologists and a md today in the ER for waiting a day and a half after I hit my head and was nauseous dizzy and headache and not stopping my half dose Eliquis. They were very upset I resumed my Eliquis after I hit my head considering my symptoms didn’t begin until an hour after my Eliquis dose. Luckily I have a watchman so I can stop Eliquis now for 3 days. It’s a practical implant.

A head injury is a very different thing than the massive bleeding people tend to worry about. If you hit your head and then experience symptoms of head injury such as nausea and headache, you probably should stop Eliquis (if you can safely) until you've had it examined. I was addressing the worry that so many people have of "bleeding out."

Bleeding out naturally on their own like those on Warfarin who this has happened? Nasty drug. Plus you constantly need labs to determine your weekly dose. I always worried a caregiver would mess up from week to week.