Dose

Swallow the tablet with a drink of water. Eliquis can be taken with or without food.

Try to take the tablets at the same times every day to have the best treatment effect.

If you have difficulty swallowing the tablet whole, talk to your doctor about other ways to take Eliquis. The tablet may be crushed and mixed with water, or 5% glucose in water, or apple juice or apple puree, immediately before you take it.

Instructions for crushing:

• Crush the tablets with a pestle and mortar.
• Transfer all the powder carefully into a suitable container then mix the powder with a little e.g., 30 mL (2 tablespoons), water or one of the other liquids mentioned above to make a mixture.
• Swallow the mixture.
• Rinse the pestle and mortar you used for crushing the tablet and the container, with a little water or one of the other liquids (e.g., 30 mL), and swallow the rinse.

If necessary, your doctor may also give you the crushed Eliquis tablet mixed in 60 mL of water or 5% glucose in water, through a nasogastric tube.

Take Eliquis as recommended for the following:

To prevent a blood clot from forming in the heart in patients with an irregular heart beat and at least one additional risk factor.

The recommended dose is one tablet of Eliquis 5 mg twice a day.

The recommended dose is one tablet of Eliquis 2.5 mg twice a day if:

• you have severely reduced kidney function;
• two or more of the following apply to you:
  • your blood test results suggest poor kidney function (value of serum creatinine is 1.5 mg/dL (133 micromole/L) or greater);
  • you are 80 years old or older;
  • your weight is 60 kg or lower.

The recommended dose is one tablet twice a day, for example, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Your doctor will decide how long you must continue treatment for.

To treat blood clots in the veins of your legs and blood clots in the blood vessels of your lungs

The recommended dose is two tablets of Eliquis 5 mg twice a day for the first 7 days, for example, two in the morning and two in the evening.

After 7 days the recommended dose is one tablet of Eliquis 5 mg twice a day, for example, one in the morning and one in the evening.

For preventing blood clots from re-occurring following completion of 6 months of treatment

The recommended dose is one tablet of Eliquis 2.5 mg twice a day for example, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Your doctor will decide how long you must continue treatment for.

Your doctor might change your anticoagulant treatment as follows:

• Changing from Eliquis to anticoagulant medicines

Stop taking Eliquis. Start treatment with the anticoagulant medicines (for example heparin) at the time you would have taken the next tablet.

• Changing from anticoagulant medicines to Eliquis

Stop taking the anticoagulant medicines. Start treatment with Eliquis at the time you would have had the next dose of anticoagulant medicine, then continue as normal.

• Changing from treatment with anticoagulant containing vitamin K antagonist (e.g., warfarin) to Eliquis

Stop taking the medicine containing a vitamin K antagonist. Your doctor needs to do blood-measurements and instruct you when to start taking Eliquis.

• Changing from Eliquis to anticoagulant treatment containing vitamin K antagonist (e.g., warfarin).

If your doctor tells you that you have to start taking the medicine containing a vitamin K antagonist, continue to take Eliquis for at least 2 days after your first dose of the medicine containing a vitamin K antagonist. Your doctor needs to do blood-measurements and instruct you when to stop taking Eliquis.

Patients undergoing cardioversion

If your abnormal heartbeat needs to be restored to normal by a procedure called cardioversion, take this medicine at the times your doctor tells you, to prevent blood clots in blood vessels in your brain and other blood vessels in your body.

If you take more Eliquis than you should

Tell your doctor immediately if you have taken more than the prescribed dose of Eliquis. Take the medicine pack with you, even if there are no tablets left.

If you take more Eliquis than recommended, you may have an increased risk of bleeding. If bleeding occurs, surgery, blood transfusions, or other treatments that may reverse anti-factor Xa activity may be required.

If you forget to take Eliquis

• Take the dose as soon as you remember and:
  • take the next dose of Eliquis at the usual time;
  • then continue as normal.

If you are not sure what to do or have missed more than one dose, ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.

If you stop taking Eliquis

Do not stop taking this medicine without talking to your doctor first, because the risk of developing a blood clot could be higher if you stop treatment too early.