First question from me today is what sort of timescales did people have when they went from 100 flec upwards to eventual ablation as we know your stopped at 300 mg ...
So I started on 100 initially and this was good although a few blips occurred so ideally I should have started on 150 flec .
This was last April 2020 ( by end April I was on 150 ).
During the summer I lost a lot of fitness due to picking up a parasite that gives you diarrhoea ( and lots of it !!!- for months )..in this time I accidentally missed doses and then purposely dropped down to 50-100 flec a day and this was fine for a few months.
( during the loss of fitness / Gardia lamblia bug - my RHR was elevated from 39/40 - 44/45 ...and this is what I think reduced my chances of an episode )...
However , once the bug was finally defeated and my fitness started to come back , so did the episodes ( so I was back on 150 flec , and have been for the last 4 months or so )...
Since September my fitness has now almost completely returned , yet in the last few days I noticed that barstard Afib trying to break through ( early morning 5-6 am - some 9-10 hours after the 100mg dose before bed —- obviously this seems to be when the flec is wearing off )...
I managed to clear these mini / weak episodes by sitting on my exercise bike for a few mins at a slow pace .
I know I now need to up my dose to 200.
As we know with this condition Afib gets you when you think you have it under the thumb .
It doesn’t let you beat it.
Personally I think I am on an inevitable path to ablation ...
So my question is , what sort of timescales did people experience when increasing their dose to the 300 limit ?
Also I have booked a consultation appointment with Arythma specialist Dr Peter O Callaghan in Cardiff spire ( so anyone else who has experience of Peter - comments would be appreciated ).
And finally , I guess this will be much longer because of covid , but what is the approx waiting time for ablation from being out forward for it ?
Thanks in advance .
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Davidv45runner
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Yes i have discussed this ( though the drop in overall daily intake when ill was purely experimental on my behalf and obviously no one else should copy this ).
But generally when I needed to go from 100-150 my cardio agreed and sent a supporting email to my GP.
I take my 150 from 3pm 50 and 9pm 100.... this isn’t exactly as it says ( 1 morning 2 night ).
I am meeting an EP at the end of this month so will be discussing my experiment , timescales , etc etc and I shall update my posts with his advice .
When I say 100-150 I am talking about my whole daily dose ( not 2x50 am / pm up to 3x50 am / pm ).
I'm interested in why you think ablation a last resort?
Many EPs feel that early intervention has the best chance of a good outcome so why not discuss it with your cardiologist now rather than wait till is is likely to be too late. Remember AF begets AF.
Thanks BobD.I have read that before re early intervention being better , yet with the tablets previously and still working ( all be it I will need 200 total now ) I fell into the trap of thinking “I can live with this for now “.... the thing that concerns me most is that as I work for myself , it’s a major issue to be off work for a long time ( the few months of lost income doesn’t matter , it’s the responsibilities I have with the clients ... would mean a major long term loss )..
Yet I will just have to employ someone to help me
But I will discuss this when I meet the EP at the end of the month .
You are not alone David, the ablation route for many is a big step to take and certainly needs to be considered carefully. Unfortunately, the benefits from some medication sometimes don’t last for ever and as time marches on, ablation success rates can reduce and, of course, patients get older. It is a dilemma and who is to say which is right. In my case, I took the plunge and have had 2 ablations since 2014 and if necessary, would certainly have a third. Hope your appointment goes well........
When I get an episode it just reminds me how bloody annoying this condition is .
Usually I find a way to resolve things in life and in my work , that’s just what I do ... but I’m stumped by this one ..
In my case I do think I’m going to run out of options in the next year or so , so I think it’s inevitable ....
I must add that although I cut my training back since last year I have been building back up in the last few months ......not over exerting like I used to do in the past when I didn’t know how to train properly , but still putting a reasonable effort in.
FWIW I will update my posts following my Ep Visit on 28 jan .
Don’t forget, even if you get put on the list now, in the current climate it’s likely to take at least a year and if things change, you can always change your mind. Even when there was no Covid, waiting times were often in excess of 6 months so just suggesting you bear that in mind in your planning.......
I take 100 morning and evening and it held from March 6th until Boxing Day! Last time I saw EP he explained I still had further wiggle room. At 77 not an athlete my any means, but latest step is to stop Nebivolol as HR goes from 40-60 normally.
Dr Peter O Callaghan is the most experienced Arrhythmia Specialist in Wales.You are fortunate to see him.He is also a very nice man.If I was having an ablation in Wales,their is no one more experienced.
I started on 50 mg am and pm, that lasted about 2 years before I started getting more attacks, so I was upped to 100 am and 50 pm and so far so good, odd episodes but tend to last maybe 20 mins, I can take another 50 mg if needed but rarely do. Promised myself i would have an ablation if i need more as my heart is more or less normal size so a decent chance of success. I also try hard to remove all other triggers, booze, keeping weight down and a clean whole food diet.
Usually when stressed to be honest or over worked ! other then then it rarely bothers me, although i know it can strike without warning but there is usually something i can link it to. I used to do alot of high intensity exercise, extreme classes that pushed me to max heart rate, i've dropped that now to more sensible levels but still do stuff every day, some aerobic (30 mins or so) and yoga. Not sure extreme stuff in your 50s is a good idea, as i think that had something to do with me getting AF, though i'll never know for sure, there is a family history of heart issues CAD and high BP (but not AF) but alot of athletes have LVH and enlarged atria, both linked to AF and extreme exercise. i think with exercise and AF you have to find some middle ground, enough to stay fit but never max out.Andy
A resting heart rate of 45 is still pretty low and frankly anybody not extremely fit or taking large amounts of a beta blocker might be concerned that this was too low. The fact that your episodes were kept in check when you " lost fitness" but came sneaking back when your "fitness" came back is maybe your heart trying to tell you something. That your brain's idea of what "fitness" is is seriously out of whack with your heart's . Afib can be a problem for athletes. Maybe a more moderate lifestyle as far as exercise is concerned might help.
Hi I was on 50 mg twice daily flecanide then I started having AF episodes.So it was upped to 150mg twice daily which worked for about 2 year last year had more AF episodes so had an ablation 4 weeks ago. Unfortunately I have been in AF since my consultant took me off flecanide saying it was dangerous for me to be on due to altering QRS complexes. He doubled my Bisoperol dose to 7 5mg a day and I am now booked in for a cardioversion hopefully to put my heart back into normal sinus rhythm .
I’m up to 150 in the. Morning and 150 in the evening of flecadine and Bystolic at night 5mg.This has kept it live able for a few years but I still get irregular beats and skips...
Cryoablation was 4 years ago with little success for me.
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