Side effects of flecainide and coming off it .

[123hi]

Hi all been on flecainide 100mg a day for couple of months , but it has not helped my AF episodes ( twice a week lasting 24 hours ) but has given me side effects of insomnia, constipation , feeling in a fog , and now recently my whole mood has changed and depression has set in , I have decided to come off them (24 hours ago ) and hopefully will feel better as the time goes on , going to see my cardiologist two weeks time to see next step , anyone else had issues with depression. Also has anyone anyone had good reports of taking magnesium as a supplement to treat the possible reason my AF triggers Thanks for your help

[Paulbounce]

Hello 123.

I was fine on flec - I should still be on IMO with a small amount of beta blocker but the powers above decided otherwise. They have now put me on Sotalol - maybe talk to your cardio about this as another option ?

Good luck.

Paul

Edit - the 'powers above' also said I don't need an anticoagulant. What - I'm in afib all the time and really insisited on that one. Make sure you research and be armed and ready to fire when you see your cardio ! The search box on this site is a good place to start. Make a note of questions to ask as it's easy to forget stuff.

[123hi in reply to Paulbounce]

Thanks Paul , I will make notes before my visit next week , the cardiologist mentioned ablation last time I spoke , so that seems to be next possible option

[Paulbounce in reply to 123hi]

Ok 123. Maybe ablation could be your next route. Many here have found it succussful and I'm in two minds myself.

Have a chat with your cardio and see what options might be best for you.

Paul

[123hi in reply to Paulbounce]

Cheers Paul

[secondtry]

I had very similar experience when diagnosed with Lone AF at 60yo. Just a note of caution before blaming Flecainide rather than anxiety for your issues.

I would ask your cardiologist about increasing the Flecainide to a medium level dose of 200mgs. I would then add nutriadvanced.co.uk/megamag... and 200 CoQ10 after checking with the cardio. Then give it 3 months minimum with some additional lifestyle changes to reduce anxiety and make another re-evaluation of your position.

Now at 68yo, the above has worked very well for me with effectively no more AF. However we are all different. As your journey progresses I would be guided by your gut feel and what is likely to produce best quality of life.

[123hi in reply to secondtry]

Thanks for that info , yes definitely anxiety seems to be a trigger , but will discuss with cardiologist.

[KMRobbo]

Try the magnesium before coming off the flecainide , it did not affect my AF but it did help me sleep better, so I carried on with it for a year or so!Magnesium will not help your AFib unless you happen to short of magnesium in your cells.

I was on 2 x 50mg daily for 10 months and I just stopped over 2 days to one tab per day for 2 days then nothing. No problem.

Flec was a good drug for me, I only had afib once whilst taking it and that was the day after I missed taking an evening dose.

[123hi in reply to KMRobbo]

Thanks for your comments , think my magnesium will help , but I don’t think flecanaide is helping me , we are all different

[Thomas45]

I was on flecainide for 12 years, 10 of which were at 300mg a day. It reduced my AF to one or two twenty minutes episodes a year. I never had any side effects. Are you sure Flecainide is the cause, rather than other medications, such as a beta blocker.After 12 years of Flecainide I was found to be in asymptomatic persistent AF, now asymptomatic permanent AF. It was beta blockers which caused me problems. However we are all different. For AF I take only an AntiCoagulant, Warfarin being my choice.

[123hi in reply to Thomas45]

Thanks Thomas, glad the flecenide helped you , Will talk to my cardiologist next week

[captainKFF in reply to Thomas45]

Hi what is your heart rate while in persistent Afib?

[Thomas45 in reply to captainKFF]

Resting heart rate 70-110

[123hi in reply to captainKFF]

Hi Captain , thanks for your reply , my heart rate at rest goes up to between 85to100, normal is 60

[doodle68]

Hello 123hi I tried a daily dose of Flecainide for 2 months and also as a PIP and found it didn't help my P-AF at all instead it increasing the length of my episodes from 12 to 20 hours and the frequency of my episode from every 10 days to a couple of times a week. I was in despair at the sudden increase in my highly symptomatic P-AF.

It also caused unpleasant side effects which greatly reduced my quality of life including balance issues all thankfully went back to normal when I came off Flecainide which I did by reducing my dose over a number of days.

You really should check with your EP before reducing the dose or coming off meds but as no one was bothering to monitor me and so I made my own decision .

My help from the medical profession since developing frequent P-AF has been virtually none existent . I was supposed to be prescribed Flecainide in a clinic appointment in early 2020 but the appointment was cancelled due to Covid and I had to pay in the autumn of 2020 to see an EP and for an Echo and to be prescribed Flecanide all a waste of time and money, it works well for some but clearly not for me

[123hi]

Thanks for your reply , yes it has not helped me reduce my episodes either , the side effects have in my case been worse than the af , will chat to my cardiologist next week

[JuliaJa]

I have many side effects from Flecainide, but they have nothing more to offer me, so I’m stuck on Flecainide. The worst side effects are my memory, hair loss, GI problems, tremor in hand, plus others. I’m on 50/50 a day with 12.5 of Metoprolol.

[123hi]

Hi Julia , sorry you have been left with no option but flecainide, try looking at you tube videos by York cardiology Dr Sangh Gupta , he is brilliant, I have been on magnesium now for a week and I feel a lot better, good luck

[Whonnock]

I just started taking a low dose of flecanaide last week for bigemeny ( pvcs every other beat) Already I have noticed unwanted side effects much like yours. Constipation, fatigue, and I am feeling irritable and anxious. My ectopic beats are still there and my low heart rate hasn’t changed. I am waiting for an ablation so I think I’ll asked to go off the flecanaide. bisoloprol was just as bad but it took longer before I realized how bad it made me feel.

[123hi in reply to Whonnock]

Hi Whonnock , sorry to hear you are going through the same as me , must say been off the flecainide now for 6 days and on the magnesium and so far no AF episodes,🤞 hope you make the decision , you know your body the best , good luck for the future . Cheers