Please could anyone advise

[Prosecco1997]

I have not had afib episode for around 13 yrs after having 2 ablations , I’ve been on flecinide and bisoprlol , to treat a bit they couldn’t ablate at the time , but now since august my heart can pound , flutter jump about now and then , the tablets are giving me awful side effects and seem less effective now , I can’t get in to see a cardiologist until end of February, think my flecinide needs to be upped but , only cardiologist can do that , but then what do I do as side effects , never had none in all these yrs , loved a drop of wine with no af episode, but heart dosnt like it no more any advice welcome Thankyou 🙂

[Desanthony]

It may be you need either a change of medication or dosage or both. I have no expereince so hope someone will be along soon who has an can help you. Hope you can get something sorted. Do you have a Kardia device or anything like that which could give you an idea of exactly what your heart is doing? Can you call your cardio or Arrhythmia Nurses you can call?

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Desanthony]

No I have a blood pressure machine that shows a flashing heart if I’m af but it’s catching it , I was referred back to cardiology in September, so I have to wait , as they discharged me couple of yrs ago as everything was ok , I’ve had a 24 hr tape last week . All quiet , soon as I took it off few hours later blipping and bloppping typical

[Desanthony in reply to Prosecco1997]

Oh isn't that just so typical! I rang my cardio nurses last month and didn't realise it was just over 2 years since I had seen them or spoken to them so they had discharged me back to GP - so have to wait to be referred if I want to see them or the cardio and EP who belong to the same team. I could have kicked myself as I could have easily called them a couple of weeks earlier and got back in to see them - that's how close to the 2 year mark I was! Take care of yourself.

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Desanthony]

I hope everything goes well for you , Thankyou for you messages 🙂

[secondtry]

Suggest earlier private appointment with cardio. Also ratchet up the lifestyle precautions.

[mjames1]

First of all, are you sure you're in afib or could it be another type of arrhythmia?

If you're not positive, the first step would be to identify exactly what is going on because treatment is not the same for all arrhythmias and in fact, Flecainide can make some arrhythmias like atrial flutter worse.

If you can't get to the doctors for an EKG, there are home devices like the Kardia and Apple Watch that can be helpful by generating an ekg.

Jim

[Prosecco1997 in reply to mjames1]

I’m not sure what it’s doing , I had a day where it was 96 bpm for 4 hours , then a day where I had lots of etopic beats then flipped and thudded back in my chest ? Think I need to get a kardia , and it’s very tricky trying to catch any symptoms , my anxiety is realy bad , I have been prescribed buspirone , but don’t want to take them incase I make my heart symptoms worse

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Prosecco1997]

Also my pulse can be very visible in my neck when this happens?

[Singwell]

Why do you think you're getting side effects from the medication? If you've been taking them continuously surely that must be hard to judge as they stay in the body for around 12 hours and then 12 hours half life. Not saying you don't have new and worrying symptoms though. So definitely you should be seen. February isn't too long to wait. Can you afford a Kardiamobile device in the meantime and track what's going on with your heart? Amazon sell them and they're not too expensive and also easy to use.

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Singwell]

I’ve been keeping a diary since august, after taking my medication about an hour after I feel Ill may not be but don’t no what else it could be , I was told after 13 yrs that flecinide and bisoprlol used together there is a caution can make you feel weak and I’ll ? But I have always been ok with it no problems

[Singwell in reply to Prosecco1997]

Very sensible. Yes, you might be responding now to the Flecainide as it's not unheard of. Or the Bisoprolol. The bummer is, which one? Or something has changed in your physiology that means you need a different regime. I too suffer from anxiety. When I'm in a situation like this I write it down e.g. what's actually going on? ( what you feel and notice), what can you do right now (go on this forum, check things out maybe buy a device), what might be questions to ask at the appointment? This process helps me control my anxiety to more manageable levels.

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Singwell]

I did try splitting my bisoprlol but taking it without flecinide in the afternoon gave me etopics ? So won’t be doing that again , Thankyou for all your advice it does help

[Suet3942 in reply to Prosecco1997]

I’ve been on Biosprolol for 6 weeks and I feel ill most of the time. Headaches, bloating, wind and just feeling yuk. I’m hoping it passes.

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Suet3942]

hello I’ve been on them for 13 yrs , and I have been fine on them up until now , well it’s bisoprlol or flecinide, but I’m sure it’s combining the two together, but never gave me problems in all these yrs , do you take yours in morning?

[Suet3942 in reply to Prosecco1997]

Yes after breakfast

[HGates]

Have you tried a magnesium supplement? Many people these days are deficient & alcohol & certain medications like PPIs can exacerbate the problem. I remember one time in A&E when I was having a particularly bad AF episode they gave me a magnesium drip & my brother (who takes the dreaded PPIs) was told to take magnesium by a cardiologist after he developed episodes of palpitations. Any type fine apart from magnesium oxide.

[Ppiman]

The desire to link alcohol to AF seems to be one people want to make against the evidence that there is no link with triggering or causing AF. I would dearly miss my relaxing glass of wine or G&T!

February is around the corner so it's not too long to wait. It might be worth pressing for an ECG and echo-cardiogram, perhaps even if privately done, to give the cardiologist solid evidence of things?

Steve

[kkatz]

You do need to take readings other than with the little heart.I use a Kardia substitute called emay .About same price so you takes your pick.

I also use an app called Fibricheck on my phone.

Looks nothing like an ECG but it will tell you if in AFib.

They give you 3 days free trial with reports then you can choose to pay monthly.

And sorry maybe no wine .I was a big drinker but it affects me.

[Vonnegut]

I know we are all different but 100mg twice daily has virtually put an end to episodes of AF for me ( just one around the time I must have caught covid, ended soon with an extra PIP). When I was first diagnosed, seeing that alcohol was not a good idea, I stopped having the small glass of wine I used to have with my evening meal etc. Better to be alcohol and AF free!