Stopped Dronedarone

[CDAJ]

I have Paroxysmal AF and only get episodes after being asleep for a few hours. The episodes use to happen one a month but have increased. I was on Soltalol not doing a great job so it was suggested that I try dronedarone. Have been on it for 6 days and just been having one episode after another! Advised by cardio nurse to stop but must wait 48 hours before starting Soltalol, problem is I feel like I am going to have another episode at any time. I feel that dronedarone has made my AF worse

[BobD Volunteer]

It hasn't "made it worse" it can't, it just hasn't controlled it as well as sotolol did. AF is almost always a progressive condition, the only unknown being how fast that happens. Yours is obviously quite rapid. Time to see your EP and discuss the next cocktail.

[Tommyboy21]

Yeah I'm not having much luck with it. But told to keep taking it at moment. Works well for some though. It seems it's not very great for a lot though and it's very expensive. Is it arythmia nurses you are under..

[CDAJ]

yes under Arythmia nurses. From tomorrow evening I will be able to go back on Sotolol. As I only have it during the night, (normally it wakes me at around 3am) I have been advised to take 40mg in the morning and 80 mg at night. Still on a waiting list to see a EP

[Karendeena in reply to CDAJ]

Hi there, I am in sotalol and was having a few very symptomatic breakthrough episodes. My EP increased my dose to 40mg 3 times daily and told me if I get another episode to take another one as a PIP. He also told me I could increase to 80mg twice daily but trying to avoid that one. Mine usually start in the early hours of the morning too which makes me afraid to go to sleep! One condition leads to symptoms of another 😥

[CDAJ]

Advised to try 40mg Soltalol in the morning and 120mg at night

[secondtry]

Can't advise on those drugs, but I would use the search facility to read up on sleep apnoea and the Vagus Nerve/vagally mediated AF.

[CDAJ]

Thanks my symptoms point towards vagal. Another question is there anyone out there that has been taking Soltalol long term for paroxysmal AF, with positive results?

[Karendeena in reply to CDAJ]

Yes, I have been taking it for over 2 years now, I have had episodes which last over 30 hours but have been only 3 times a year up till now. I have had dosage increased see my other email. Apparently 40mg twice daily is a low dose and I have been been advised to take another sotalol as PIP. I am taking 40mg three times daily at present. I couldn't take Flecainide, tried it on e and it caused more arrythmias

[CDAJ in reply to Karendeena]

Thanks. Sounds as if they are doing a good job for you at 3 times a year. Before I went on Dronedarone I was taking Soltalol and my episodes were once a month. I thought Dronedarone was going to be the one for me, how wrong I was! Haven’t got back to a normal rhythm since !even though I have stopped it. A couple of weeks before starting Dronedarone I didn’t take anything and had no episodes.

Have just started to take Soltalol again 40mg morning and advised 120mg in the evening because of episodes that wake me in the night. Fingers crossed they will settle things down.

[Karendeena in reply to CDAJ]

Let me know how you get on please. My episodes usually start in the night so my EP says I could take a double dose at night. My worry is I have low BP so a bit scared it will go lower. He doesn't want me to take more than 160mg a day which looks like what you are going on. I am currently on 120mg daily

[CDAJ in reply to Karendeena]

unfortunately not working for me. Very Strenuous fast paced walk with a very steep incline is the only thing that gets me back in NSR

[Karendeena in reply to CDAJ]

Must try that one! Are you sticking with the sotalol for now

[CDAJ in reply to Karendeena]

Yes will have to stick with it as I have tried everything else that has been offered.

[Sixtychick in reply to CDAJ]

I’ve been taking Sotalol for SVT for a lot of years now. I started getting SVT in 1974 and was on Atenolol, then they changed it to 40mg of Sotalol twice a day. Then I developed AFib in 2014 and was kept on Sotalol, although since then, I’ve had my dose increased to 60mg and now I’m on 80mg twice a day. I’ve had 6 episodes of AF since it started, but more SVT, although I can usually stop SVT by lying down and putting my feet against a wall, ( not in the middle of the high street though.!!) I ‘ve only been in hospital twice with SVT, when I couldn’t stop it and they give you Adenosine, works straight away, wish that drug would stop AFib as well.I have been told to go to A&E when I get AFib, as my blood pressure soars and my heartbeat is very fast and erratic and very scary. I keep a list of drug reactions with Sotalol, on my phone, that you can get off the NICE website. I always check with that, before taking any new drugs.Hope you get on ok with Sotalol.

[CDAJ in reply to Sixtychick]

Thank you.

[MalJam]

I have the same, no more meds, I wake up, sit cross legged on the bed lean forward as far as possible and shallow breath. Works in minutes to convert me.

[Nyhyttan123]

I have been on Dronedarone for more than three years now. In the beginning it worked wonders and PAF about every three months with a duration of three hours average. Since about a year ago the AF crops up every two or three weks and the duration is now six to eight hours. The HR is always about 130 and by taking Bisoprolol as a PIP I abort the attacks at home. I take Bsoprolol 2,5 - 3,75mg and this reduces my heart rate consderably. When down to 70 I generally convert. Funnily enough I find that after a few hours of rest my AF more easily converts back to a normal rate when I move around. . Obviously I am not receiving the initial benifits of Dronedarone but I will continue for the time being as sofar I have had no obvious side effects although I am now 81 years old and still quite active.

[fibnum]

You are probably already aware of the possibility of sleep apnea as a trigger for your afib. I found that to be a problem with mine. I have switched from sleeping on my back to sleeping on my right side with good results. My episodes, which usually began around 5:30 AM, have not occurred for several months, but I still have to fight off afib triggered by stomach gas assaults on the vagus nerve system. Maintaining good oxygen intake also seems helpful throughout the day.

[CDAJ]

The only thing that seems to work for me is doing a really strenuous uphill walk but at 3am in the morning that’s a bit difficult!

[CDAJ]

Still taking Soltalol but really not working episodes are every other night. Can’t lay down in bed otherwise it starts. Waiting to see a EP but not sure how long the waiting list is? I have been waiting 6 months to discuss ablation.