Eliquis is a new generation anticoagulant that was designed to sidestep serious warfarin side effects.

Unfortunately, the blood thinner medication may not be any safer, and in some ways, it might be worse.

What is Eliquis?

The latest blood thinner to enter the market, Eliquis (apixaban) was developed by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb and approved just recently by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the wake of other new blood thinning medications.

Eliquis is an anticoagulant, meaning it keeps the platelets in the blood from coagulating and causing  blood clot related injuries such as a pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis.

Many people are prescribed anticoagulants such as Eliquis to prevent these incidences from occuring and to treat atrial fibrillation.

However, blood thinners like Eliquis, have received major heat for their risk of serious internal bleeding symptoms, and individuals have been filing countless Eliquis lawsuits against the drug manufacturers.

How Does Eliquis Work?

Categorized as a direct thrombin inhibitor, Eliquis is much like Pradaxa and Xarelto. They’re all relatively new on the market, taking the place of the older blood thinner, Warfarin.

The active ingredient in Eliquis is called apixaban, and it blocks certain clotting proteins in the blood. While this is great for preventing strokes and serious blood clots, it can hinder blood clotting that’s necessary to prevent and stop potentially lethal internal bleeding from occuring.

Symptoms of Internal Bleeding

While Eliquis’ maker warns that people taking the medication should take care not to sustain an injury that would cause bleeding, caution may not be enough. Even taking common painkillers, such as aspirin, can cause serious internal bleeding when taken in conjunction with Eliquis.

Symptoms of internal bleeding associated with Eliquis to watch out for include:

• Bleeding on the brain
• Blood in the eyes
• Kidney bleeding
• Brain hemorrhage
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Blood in the urine
• Coughing up blood
• Bloody stools
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Nose bleeds
• Vomiting up blood

Eliquis Lawsuits

While Eliquis requires less doctor supervision after a patient begins taking it, Eliquis comes with one significant side effect that warfarin doesn’t: potential lethal internal bleeding that cannot be remedied.

Internal bleeding that resulted as a side effect of taking warfarin could be stopped through the administration of Vitamin K. No antidote has been found to stop symptoms of internal bleeding that result from Eliquis, however — meaning that once internal bleeding begins, it cannot be stopped.

As a result, thousands of people have filed Eliquis internal bleeding lawsuits against the drug makers. Many people were not warned about the serious internal bleeding risks associated with taking Eliquis.

A blood thinner similar to Eliquis called Pradaxa recently paid $650 million in internal bleeding settlements as a result of similar problems.