Flecainide

[Chris147]

I have just been prescribed Flecainide and been told to take it on an empty stomach. I have just stared warfarin and have to take that at 7 pm every day. Firstly, do other people take Flecainide and take it on an empty stomach. I have also researched that this means an hour before a meal or 2 hours after a meal. I am also on a low dose Bisoprolol . Would be good to hear from anyone as it appears to be difficult to time this all right. Thank you

[dedeottie]

I take flecanide at 7am and 6.30 pm I eat breakfast around 8 and evening meal around 7.30 I think they say this as it gets into your system quicker on an empty stomach but some people find it makes them a bit nauseous so they have it with food. I take my warfarin at 5 pm. X

[BobD Volunteer]

I take all my meds before dinner in the evening around 6 pm. Warfarin is OK any time so long as it is the same time(ish) every day. An hour either way really doesn't matter. I think they tell you a specific time just to get you used to taking it regularly. They treat us like kids! lol

Bob

[jennydog]

I take the a.m. Flecainide just before breakfast and the p.m.dose with my final cuppa at about 9. The warfarin was taken after my evening meal at about 6.30. The new anticoagulant, Pradaxa, has to be taken twice per day.

I think that the most important thing is that you establish a rigid routine for yourself so that you are unlikely to forget.

Warfarin and Flecainide have much in common. Both are tiny uncoated tablets and both taste absolutely atrocious. They stick to the roof of your mouth if you are not careful. I have been advised to preceed the tablets with a mouthful of icey water and to swallow them with a further mouthful. It is better if you keep your head down, if you put it back the tablets can float upwards in your mouth ( according to my chemist )

[Loo53]

Stopped taking my Flecanide last week and although I'm not counting my chickens my heart has been great this past week another week to go then I can forget about them. I took my tablet at around 6pm in the evening sometimes around 8pm for overnight protection even though they have a short life. I take the anticoagulant around the same time morning and evening.

It feels wonderful to have a normal functioning heart in my chest but how long that will last is anyones guess time will tell.

[Jason1971]

I always took my morning Flec an hour before breakfast and evening dose about an hour before I ate. I wasn't instructed to do this, but as Flec didn't work for me I researched the best times to take. I found different information, but taking it on an empty stomach to get into your system quicker sounded like the best option. Still didn't work for me

[Rellim296]

Conflicting advice. I never found 'on an empty stomach or an hour before food' very enlightening. Is it one or the other? I usually didn't eat between 3 and 7 and took flecainide at 6pm with warfarin and first thing in the morning and then waited a hour before breakfast.

To fit in with a family wedding, with the wedding breakfast mid afternoon, I switched to 11 am/pm. Supper was at 9, so I missed out on that. I didn't get value from the hotel breakfasts either. Most of the family were tucking into bacon and eggs at 9.30, but I had been down for a quick something first thing. If it hadn't felt really important to keep AF at bay, I wouldn't have been half as fussy.

I kept up the 11 am/pm regime for a while but found 6 and 6 more socially convenient. In fact I had a second stab at 11/11 a few months later as I thought it might give me better cover at 4 am - a good time to wake and then find the heart setting off into mayhem.

One morning I awoke at 6 with the heart being silly and took 200 flecainde (rather than the normal dose of 150) and then remembered I wasn't on the 6/6 regime and I had had 150mgs at 11 - only 7 hours before. Anyway, it did the trick. I could only take 50mgs at 6 in that evening as it's no more than 400mgs in 24 hours. No problem! I was fine overnight. No sign of AF. It made me wonder how much I needed to take 150 mgs twice a day.

I have to say, now that I no longer take flecainide, I do notice the pleasure of being able to nibble something any time of the day and not keep an eye on the clock.

[LeeLee76 in reply to Rellim296]

Hello I’m new here. Are you still taking Flecainide?

[Loo53]

No I throw it down with food.

[Rellim296]

I believe it was the consultant in the Ambulatory Care Unit who told me I should not go over 400mg in 24 hours.

My regular dose was 300mgs i.e.150 x 2

[Rellim296 in reply to Rellim296]

I have read through the leaflet which accompanied the medications and it says the max regular dose of flecainide should be 300mg.

However when I looked online, I found that 400 mg per day is permitted.

I regret taking 300mg per day for 8 months and feel if I am prescribed flecainide again I would prefer to have a low dose and top up with more as a pill in the pocket medication when needed.

[Rellim296]

Typical! I have sometimes woken with AF and taken my normal dose and then another 50mgs an hour later and within a few minutes the AF ceases. Did the extra just tip the balance or did I not need to have taken it?

[Jenbo6]

If you read the product info, flecanaide can be taken before or after food -your choice and should be taken every 12 hours. This spreads the dose out so your body always has some there! I take mine at 10.30am(late breakfast)and10.30pm-bedtime.