Coming off meds

[stoneyrosed]

Hi everyone, I posted a few days ago about not get a follow up appointment since my cryoablation. I mailed cardio nurse on advice given and received a reply, he said the hospital is so far behind and it will be in the pipeline contact him if any concerns, in the meantime come off the flecanaide see how I get on and then come off the beta blocker and then apixiban but to do it one at a time. I always thought you had to wean off the flecanaide and beta blockers? Also am very worried that AF will come back as soon as I begin to stop. Anyone else done this and have you been ok ? Many thanks!

[BobD Volunteer]

It may but how otherwise do you find out? The whole point of having ablation is to try to improve QOL by not having to take nasty drugs (apart from anticoagulation which many of us take for life).

I agree it best to wean off flecainide and beta blockers to prevent rebound arrhythmias so try reducing dose over a few weeks a little at a time which many of us have done.

Good luck

[stoneyrosed in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob I will do that

[Hidden]

Not medically trained stoney, but when this question has been raised at support group meetings, we are told that it is important to wean off beta blockers and calcium channel blockers but not so necessary with Flecainide. It was also what I was told by my EP. Apart from anything else, Flecainide is very difficult to split!

If Anticoagulants are prescribed to be taken as a precaution either side of a procedure rather than because of your CHADS2VASC then that’s something you need to check with your doctor. If your CHADs score is 1 or more, most people opt to continue because the underlying risk remains after an ablation.

[stoneyrosed in reply to Hidden]

Thanks flapjack, I am on 100 mg of flec so I will take 50 mg a day instead.

[pottypete1 in reply to Hidden]

Although my dose of Flecainide is 100mg x 2 each day the tablets are 50mg.

Might be worth stoneyrosed asking for a prescription for 50mg to facilitate weaning off the drug.

As BobD suggested I am not sure about stopping Apixiban as anticoagulants are an important part of stroke prevention.

For me weaning off never worked and I still take Flecainide despite having numerous ablations.

Mind you my QOL is significantly better these days and therefore I don’t mind still taking Warfarin and Flecainide.

Pete

[stoneyrosed in reply to pottypete1]

My Chad score is 0 so ideally I would like to come off all of the drugs Pete. I think my main problem is my anxiety at actually coming off them. But I will never find out unless I dip my toe in so here goes. 😊

[Hidden in reply to pottypete1]

Agree Pete, Apixaban is my best mate! Hope all is well 👍

[Nick1957]

What we're your med dosages? When your weaning off is that a gradual wean off on each dosage?

[stoneyrosed in reply to Nick1957]

100mg flec 2x a day so will drop it to one a day for a few week and then stop and then start reducing beta blockers and so on.

[zak123]

I was told to come off the lot just as you have been told !!! Sat down with my gp and we decided to do it gradually warfrin being the last . Must admit the drugs were a comfort blanket thing but up to now everything was fine that was about 5 years ago !!! I do get get the odd iregular heartbeat but nothing like it was so onwards and upwards 👍

[stoneyrosed in reply to zak123]

Good to hear Zak, def a comfort blanket for me too but if all goes well life I’m sure will be much better without all the drugs, the constant tiredness is terrible so fingers crossed .

[zak123 in reply to stoneyrosed]

You will be fine 👍

[Sfhmgusa]

I came off beta blockers and flec in one hit after my second ablation, it was fine, but, despite that , I don’t think it was the right thing to do , as a biologist but not a doctor I think it is sensible practice to titration/ go up in steps up to a dose for long term medicines and weaning off something you have taken for a long time always seems sensible.Re apixoban I don’t really understand how you can have a zero Chads score if you have af I understood that ablation is about symptom not cure.

The devastating consequence of stroke would make me ask for a second even third expert opinion before stoping the anticoagulant

Steve

[stoneyrosed in reply to Sfhmgusa]

Yes he told me to wean off the apixiban last but I will def double check on this. Coming off all the meds would make me feel back to some normality and it would be fantastic if I could achieve this but your right def needs a second opinion. Cheers

[Hidden]

I agree with others, I would be very sure before coming of the anticoagulant…

[bassets]

Hi. Glad you are well enough to wean yourself off the drugs. Let us know how you get on? Best of luck 🙂

[stoneyrosed in reply to bassets]

Thanks Bassetts, this is the test to see if the ablation has worked really so I’m a bit nervous. Thank you 👍

[Lucymoo]

I had my ablation in May and was advised to stop my flecainide after one month which I did. Still getting fairly frequent ectopic and occasional AF. Had no problems stopping flecainide then last week stopped my beta blocker (on 2.5 daily) also with no problems but continuing with my apixaban long term. I’m due a 5 day holter ecg next week.

[Ronnieboy]

To be honest I've come off of bisolprolol ramipril alvorstatins since covid started as I can't see a doctor it seems. and to be honest , I feel a whole lot better,with normal blood pressure and no abnormal AF episodes,i now just take a blood thinner every day .

[Jajarunner]

I was told to reduce flecainide from twice to once per day for a week, then alternate days for a week, then stop. Then get an ECG at local GP. Then if all is well stop the anticoagulants.Good luck

[stoneyrosed in reply to Jajarunner]

Thanks Jajarunner 👍

[Achant1]

Coming off of meds is very hard, you need to follow your intuition and if you feel ready do it, but do it at your pace and with advice from either your EP or your GP. Good luck I will be coming off my meds again in the next couple of months as I had my second ablation in June, all the best and good luck.

[stoneyrosed in reply to Achant1]

Yes very nervy but now or never I think. Thank you and good luck to you too 👍

[Achant1 in reply to stoneyrosed]

It took me 7 months the first time round to come off the meds, so if you have bumps and runs don’t panic. It took over a year until they really died down so be patient 👌🏻

[stoneyrosed in reply to Achant1]

Thanks for the heads up. When you say bumps and runs do you mean short episodes of AF or was it ectopics and palps? Cheers 👍

[Achant1 in reply to stoneyrosed]

Bit of everything 🤣

[Palpman]

My EP instructed me to stop Flecainide completely 5 days before my ablation. No problem and never re started them.

[stoneyrosed in reply to Palpman]

Thanks palpman 👍

[easygoer13]

I got an RF ablation about a year-and-a-half ago in April and I was on multaq and I went straight off of it with no issues I was exceptionally fortunate and that I woke up with zero issues and I've had really nothing since a couple times I think I might have went into AFib but my cardio said no one time it wasn't sure but other than that everything's been great not sure this helps you

[stoneyrosed in reply to easygoer13]

Positive messages always mean a lot, and I thank you for taking the time out and sharing it with me ! 👍