flecainide

I take Flecainide

by Going Forward - 2018-08-30 18:29:48

And have no side effects that I notice--except no Afib since starting it! (2 1/2 years). It is considered the least problematic of the antiarrythmics. I take 50 mg twice a day which is considered the minimum therapeutic dose. The main "danger" (which is not common), is that in a few it can become pro-arrythmic. 

Many EPs protect against that (including mine who insists on it) by also giving a beta blocker. The beta blocker should prevent a high atrial rate from Afib or flutter, from being transmitted one to one to the ventricles. As I understand it, this is the crux of the danger as if you go into Afib or flutter the atrial rate can be very high and needs to be slowed down when transmitted to the ventricles. The beta blocker should do this. 

Some take Flecainide as a PIP (a higher dose just when Afib occurs). You might ask your EP about these questions. Some people report side effects at higher doses though--things like blurry vision, but that is only some. 

pro arrhythmic

by krista1 - 2018-08-30 18:48:20

hey going forward thanks for your response.

may i ask what does pro arrhythmic mean? i'm so new to thisans the more i read the more i scare myself if i'm honest x

i read the leaflet on this drug and it said not to take if you have a block or afib that slows the heart. 

mine is just irregular but in my letter from the cardiologist it stated that they wanted to make sure there was no other cause for my complete heart block before i had my pacemaker. so this means i had a block? therefore i'm worried about taking this medication i really hope i'm making sense 

just to also say i was prescribed this by my gp whilst i wait to be re referred back to my cardiologist 

krissy cxx

proarrhythmic

by AgentX86 - 2018-08-30 23:14:27

A proarrhythmic is an antiarrhythmic gone wrong.  It's a reaction to an antiarrhythmic that actually causes an arrhythmia or makes an existing arrhythmia more frequent.  Odd but these drugs are all nasty and not well understood.  You're wise to be wary but do talk with your EP.  They can help, at least for a while.  They tend to lose efficacy (if they don't totally screw you over first).  Just be careful with them.  Your EP should know enough to keep you safe but you have to tell him if there are any problems.  He should be checking your vitals too.

Flecainide

by donr - 2018-08-30 23:49:00

I took it for over 7 years - till it wore out its usefulness.

I'm surprised that a GP prescribed it - it is a messy, dangerous med in the wrong hands or under the wrong provider.  When I started it, in about 2010, here in ther US the info sheet that camer with it said that it should be started while in a hosp on 24/7 telemetry for constant monitoring.  My mother was also on it, I found out later, & she spent 3-5 days inthe hosp.  My EP just prescribed it for me w/ instructions to come back in 48 hrs for another ECG.  Note that he specified 48 hrs, NOT two days.  I asked his nurse about the strange period AND the hosp requirement.  her answer weas that he prescribed it all the time & knew what he was doing - come back in 48 hrs, I'll run the ECG & fax it to him, wherever he is..  48 hrs later  she ran the ECG & faxed it to him.  He was about to enter the OR to do a P; he broke scrub, read my ECG &told me it was OK & I was safe.  Turns out that he was looking for some anomaly in the QT interval that in his experience would show its ugly head in 48 hrs.  That is a nasty side effect of the med - stretchingout the QT interval.  That is alongh w/ all the other nasties that have been mentioned sdo far.  He had me come ein every 3 months for an ECG to check that interval.  Hekept me on 50 mg twice a day for years, & it worked like a charm.  Kept my PVC rate at about 2 every three minutes for years.   Then one day about ONE YEAR ago today, the bottom dropped out.  PVC rate went to Heck in a handbag.  Had them for hours every other beat.  Iincreasing the Flecainide did not help.   His fear changed from QT interval problems to "Proarrhythmia " concerns at higher doses than the 50 twice a day I was taking.  For me it was a friendly med - but you never know till you take it.  People's reacvtions to meds are so varied it is very difficult to predict what may happen w/ the more powerful meds needed for sdome cnditions.

the best to you.

Donr

From the little I know

by Theknotguy - 2018-08-31 00:59:02

Flecainde - really bad for me.  My wife's been on it for a couple of years with no problems.  

Was walking the dogs.  Turned the corner to go on the exit trail, everything went black.  Woke up six days later.  That's the bad news.  

The warning signs I got were two fainting spells.  Was walking down the trail and went down like a rock.  Out for a couple of seconds.  Next  time, was walking down the trail..  Went down like a rock.  Woke up with the dogs licking my face.  Told my cardiologist.  He thought I was having problems with mitral valve regurgitation.  So he missed the warning signs.  

The fainting spells were before I had the pacemaker so theoretically I could take it now without having to worry that it would stop my heart.  Even if it did, the pacemaker would step in and keep my heart going.  I pace 80-90% so the pacemaker is doing that anyway.  

From the little I've seen, women seem to get along better with it.  Like I said, my wife's gotten along fine with it for a couple of years.  

You can always discuss with your cardiologist/EP.  There are a lot more options out there than there used to be so that's a benefit.  

Hope everything else is going well for you.  

block

by Tracey_E - 2018-08-31 08:50:11

When they say don't take a med if you have heart block, that means UNTREATED. If you had heart block, you have a pacer so now it's treated. With a block our rate is already low so they don't want to put us on anything that will make it dangerously low. You're paced, so that's not an issue.

Have you read the detail sheets on most otc meds that are generally considered harmless? They're pretty scary too. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your concerns. 

Flecainide--hospital trial

by Going Forward - 2018-09-01 01:31:08

They used to have you start it in a hospital (as they still do with Tikosyn) but now the usual is "come back for and EKG in 48 hours." Mine was fine. And I send Kardia (AliveCor) EKG strips to my EP regularly too. Kardia is a device the size of a credit card that works with a cell phone to take an FDA approved EKG. Each time you take one you can either save it or email it to your EP. They also give a computer reading of it but the only one you can trust as fully accurates is the one that says "Normal--no Afib."

My EP likes to scroll through my saved EKGs when I have an appointment.