...now. It started in the early hours of Friday morning and I managed to bring my heart rate down lots with the valsalva maneuver. However, with the help of medication I've now brought it down to around 105. I can do light jobs around the house but can't walk very far without making myself feel ill.
I've been put on (as from the last 24hrs) Flecainide and also a small dose of Metoprolol. Has anyone else on here been on that combination? I did read online that it wasn't very good to combine those two drugs. I go on Thursday to my GP's surgery to have an ECG to check how the drugs are affecting my heart.
I'm hoping and praying that this episode wont go on for months as it has in the past. Am really fed up with it all. Any advice would be greatly received.
Jean
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jeanjeannie50
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So sorry to hear you are having a bad time Jean. I don't take Metoprolol but do take Atenolol in conjunction with Flecainide and have not had any bad reaction/interaction between the two drugs. I have been taking Atenolol for nearly 8 years and Flecainide for the past 18 months.
I do hope the combination works for you and that you are getting good support from your GP who I remember you have a great deal of faith in. Here's hoping things settle down for you very soon.
Hi Dee, thanks for your reply. Can you remember if the Flecainide made you feel a bit odd when you first started taking it? I feel a bit sick and heady and ache a bit in my kidney area since I starting taking it.
I felt so ill overall when they had to convert me to nsr with intravenous flecainide and then put me on it in tablet form ongoing that I cant say exactly what was making me feel so ill but that happens to me after every episode.
One thing I know clearly was flecainide driven and that was flashing lights rather like with a migraine when I went from dark to light. It happened ongoing but seems to have settled recently.
I know some people have side effects you mention. Have you looked at the side effects on the leaflet with your tablets. It may well just be your body getting used to it. It is quite a powerful drug. Are you having blood tests soon. I had them at end of week one, month one, month three then six monthly thereafter. That is just to keep me under review now not for Flecainide in particular.
I would speak with the GP you trust could you call him/her.
Big hugs
Dee
Does Flecainide work on you, do you know? I ask because it gave me palpitations and I had to be taken off it quickly. Not sure this happens very often but it does with some. I've had it twice, 10 years apart, with the same result. Had to change to another rhythm control drug.
Hi Koll - I really don't know a lot about Flecainide and it's effect on me. I took it briefly for a week or so after having my second ablation and you always feel a bit off colour after that procedure. I can't remember now why I stopped taking it. Amiodarone used to suit me, but suddenly started giving me a sore stomach and aching spine. Just hate taking any tablets!
I am on flecanide and bisoprolol and this combination is effective in that they keep me A.F free for around 80% of the time. I do have some side effects as I am on a high dose of flecanide but it is worth it not to have A.F.
That's interesting. I did take Bisoprolol briefly recently but it did nothing to bring down my heart rate. Are you on a small dose of that? Can I please ask what side effects you are having from your tablets. I promise I wont have them too if you tell me! I'm already getting a few.
Hi Jo - I understand what you mean when you say about Metoprolol taking your BP down too low because it does that to me too if I go back into normal rhythm. I will remember to ask about Propafenone if Flecainide doesn't suit me. I'm not 100% sure yet but think that the Flecainide may be taking my BP higher than usual. What dose of Metoprolol are you on?
I am on 2.5 of bisoprolol. On its own that did not bring my heart rate down but together they seem to work. I had no side effects on flecanide 100 mg x2 but on 150 x2 I had visual problems. I had trouble focussing when going from dark to bright light and under same circumstances I see double and treble out of my peripheral vision. If I drop the dose to 100 am and 150 pm I am fine. I hope this is helpful. X
Yes I was on both of those together for awhile but as neither one stopped the a-fib which, like you, eventually became 100 percent of the time, I elected catheter ablation. Have been in sinus rhythm ever since and now taking only Lisinopril for blood pressure. My docs (cardiologists) all said a-fib only gets worse with age, so I highly recommend the procedure to get off meds ASAP! Good luck and best wishes.
Thanks for answering. I've had two ablations, with the last one lasting 6hrs. My EP has told me that because of the extensive scarring in my heart, he can't do any more. Who was your cardiologist?
I was the same as you with 110-130 bpm AF for about a month until my Cardioversion 2 months ago. On a daily dose of Lisinopril, Pradaxa, Diltizem and the vitamin Magnesium now keep me regulated... Metoprolol was weighing me down too much to continue with... I felt as if I were 80 years old instead of 40. Never thought I would be so happy for *just a steady heart beat....
Thank you for your response. I can understand exactly how you felt with your heart at that rate, that's what mine usually drops too, but this time for some reason it's lower. Are Lisinopril and Diltizem both to slow your heart rate ? Not two drugs you hear a lot about, unless I'm just unobservant. Are you in the UK?
Diltizem (Cardizem ER) is to slow the heart and lisinopril is a BP controlling med. I am in the Western US. Nothing I have ever experienced quite compares with the effects of AF... Best wishes
Hi Jean, I am so sorry to hear.... can't you get in to see someone?
What worked for me for sometimes, was exactly the combination of Metoprolol and Flecainide. The question to ask your Dr is how much? In the beginning I was only PIP, and only needed
25mg metoprolol and 100mg flecainide in combination and at the same time. If it didn't slow the rate down within 1 hour I could take a second 25mg of metoprolol. If in three hours no effect in rhythm I would take 50-100mg of flecainide again. My doctor advised me as to what I could try and gave me guidelines and trusted me to use my instincts within those guidelines.
Now I've read others who take 150mg 2x per day... so clearly we all different and need a Dr's input. I have normal blood pressure, and Rapid AF, with no valvular problems.
I hope this helps and you find some well deserved relief soon Jean.
I wrote this at 6:30 this am and it didn't go through-sorry. Take care,
I hope you don't mind but I've copied your medication doses to talk to my GP about. It sounds like yours is very understanding and listens to you, my does too.
Of course! I always indicate what I do is particular to me, but it could offer options to pose as questions to doctors, as in why not that for me?.... As mentioned we could all have underlying conditions of which would make us candidates for different dosages, methods...
For example, a betablocker has never caused me to drop to a too low heart rate, hence it is ok for me.... etc. Hope you get some relief soon!
Hi Annie - Thank you so much for your response, it's interesting that you only took those tablets as a pill in the pocket as that's what I hope to do. I felt quite ill taking the Flecainide, slightly sick, heady, sore in kidney area and unable to move around much. I've just left a message for my GP to call me as I was booked into the surgery for an ECG this afternoon to see if the Flecainide was doing any damage.
Do you still take that combination of pills if you go into AF? Mine was AF with Tachycardia.
Yes. AF for me is ALWAYS rapid AF. 150 - 250bpm, lasting from 5-17 hours! It doesn't always work for me anymore which is why I am having to investigate new options.
Let us know what your results are! WE'll be thinking about you Jean!
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