after my stroke because of AFIB I am on flecanide but I still have missed beats and a jumping heart all the time.

[marg47]

Is there something I can take away with me when I go abroad on holiday to stop the periods of AF as I get very nervous and am getting afraid to go on holiday. does anyone have any answers.

[Rellim296]

How much flecainide do you take?

[marg47 in reply to Rellim296]

I have also talked to my Doctor who says it is something I will have to put up with but sometimes I fell awful and because I am missing a beat I am afraid I will have another stroke. I try and relax and take deep breaths when it happens but it is now everyday.

[marg47 in reply to Rellim296]

100 mf twice a day and warfarin

[Rellim296 in reply to marg47]

A bigger dose of Flecainide might control your AF better. I've been on 150mg x2, plus warfarin, (and Atenolol and Losartan for high blood pressure). i'd take an extra 50mg if I woke with AF in the morning but it wasn't every day, just occasional.

I think there's a lot of good advice here - agree with what CDreamer says about discussing it further. Only feel you must put up with it when all avenues have been explored.

[Hidden]

My AF always kicks in when I am abroad especially when I was in Austria. I racked my brains trying to find a solution. One thing that does happen is my INR shoots up to over 5 when normally its about 3 after taking Warfarin. The only thing I can think it is, is Peppermint Tea, I know it sounds odd but I have found others via google who have the same problem with peppermint tea. I drink it abroad by the shed load because ordinary tea is not nice. I am not abroad until next year so I can not be sure until then. I hope you find a solution soon x

[CDreamer]

If your AFib is persistent ?? I don't think that anything you can do on your own will stop the AFib, that is what the Flecainide is supposed to do. If you get nervous, that may very well make it worse though so my suggestion would be to go back to your Dr and discuss with him the medication and see if he can either change the dose ?? OR change the meds to one that is more effective for you.

If you are nervous travelling, my suggestion would be to look at relaxation practices, lots on the net, maybe try acupuncture or hypnotherapy, yoga, mindfulness, CBT etc. You could also talk to your GP about him prescribing a tranquilliser, just for when you are travelling, see what suggestions he/she can come up with.

I do sympathise because I don't drive the long distances on my own that I used to because I was too frightened about what might happen if I went into AFib. When I discussed this with my GP he said don't stop your life, pull over and call 999. It wasn't a winning argument for me! Sadly this means that I don't get to see my grandchildren very often, all live about 200 miles away.

At the moment I am in Spain recovering from an ablation and I am absolutely fine and driving locally here, but I am not a nervous traveller and have had many AFib episodes in various countries and nothing bad happened.

[Rellim296 in reply to CDreamer]

Pull over & dial 999 on the motorway? For AF? Doesn't appeal at all. I don't feel brave enough to drive long distances on my own. But I do take the train.

[CDreamer]

I forgot ask, are you concerned that you may have another stroke? If so I am assuming you are taking anticoagulants which will protect you.

[marg47 in reply to CDreamer]

yes I am concerned even though I am on warfarin.

[Hidden]

Yes, I was going to ask, are you on an anti-coagulant, because you should be I would think, not an expert, but if you've had a stroke... If you are really nervous about travelling try going somewhere where you are sure the medical facilities are good, and do a bit of research ahead of time to find out where the nearest medical facility is to your holiday location, that should set your mind at rest. Oh, and don't forget the holiday insurance! Take care,

Lis

[meadfoot]

I understand your concerns. As my AF always require hospital admission I am very careful now where I go on holiday abroad (much less so in UK for obvious reasons). I had my last bad episode on the day I was flying home and I managed to get back to our local airport before it kicked in so badly I needed to go straight to hospital (was kept in for 5 days) and put on Flecainide.

I think dehydration was a problem as it was so very hot in Spain and although I thought I was taking enough fluid I think I probably wasn't. So keep hydrated. Hope you are taking an anticoagulant. See if your meds can be amended before you go.

Dee.

[jeanjeannie50]

Hi Dee - I think you may well be right about dehydration and AF. The last time I went into hospital with PAF the doctor in charge told me I was dehydrated and put me on a drip. I asked how she could tell and she said the tongue should be shiny and mine wasn't. I also asked why I couldn't have just a few glasses of water to right my lack of fluids and she said the drip hydrated people faster. Now I always make sure I drink loads - water that is!!!

[Hidden]

Flecainide doesn't work on me, in fact it makes things worse, but know it works for many, we're all different. I had to try 4 drugs to get the one for me. Maybe you need a change???

Koll

[marg47 in reply to Hidden]

yes I will have to ask my Doctor about changing drugs but they dont seem to want to try anything else.

[Hidden in reply to marg47]

Is your doctor a GP or cardio?

[marg47]

Thank you all for your help

[rosyG in reply to marg47]

It might be best to take some tea bags on holiday if the peppermint tea raises your INR as 5 is rather high??