flecinide and bisoprolol help please 😊

[Prosecco1997]

hello sorry me again , been told I have to take bisoprolo with flecinide , but trying diff ways to get rid of awful side effects ? Do you have to take flec and bisop at same time or can you bisop in morning and flec in evening or vice versa , I have been taking both together am and pm for 13 yrs with no side effects but now can’t tolerate it , today I took bisop alone and seemed slightly better , but realy don’t want to come of and go to pill in pocket ,as I’m to worried 😟

[kitenski]

I took flec for a few years then it started making things worse, I had to stop it and just take bisoprolol. What side affects are you getting?

[Prosecco1997 in reply to kitenski]

Realy awful feeling like life draining from me , realy heavy and tight stomach feel like passing out

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Prosecco1997]

Have you any way of checking your blood pressure to know if it's dropping too low?

[Prosecco1997 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Hello yes I’ve got a machine , I will check , at the min it’s fine but I feel like I’m blowing up realy tight ?

[kitenski in reply to Prosecco1997]

My side affects were very different, high resting HR, high HR when doing walks etc, hope you get sorted. Perhaps ring 111 if you are concerned and not feeling any better?

Do you have any way of taking a home ECG? Apple Watch, Kardia, Wellue device etc?

[Pommerania78 in reply to kitenski]

In what why did it make things worse?

[kitenski in reply to Pommerania78]

All the info here assuming that question was aimed at me? healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

[mjames1]

I have been taking both together am and pm for 13 yrs with no side effects but now can’t tolerate it , today I took bisop alone and seemed slightly better , but realy don’t want to come of and go to pill in pocket ,as I’m to worried

If you haven't already, sounds like time to inform your ep what is going on.

While it could be the bisoprolol, it could also be that while you once tolerated Flecainide, you no longer can.

Flecainide requires monitoring, especially when symptoms present -- so at a minimum, I would think your ep would order a 12-lead ekg and look for any Flecainide induced changes.

If it does turn out that the problem is not the Flecainide, but the combination, the calcium channel blocker, Diltiazem, can be substituted for bisoprolol. Some tolerate one better than the other.

Jim

[Prosecco1997 in reply to mjames1]

Thankyou , I have spoke to arrhythmia nurse , she said she don’t think it’s the tablets ? I have tried diltiazem I didn’t get no awful side effects , but my heart pounded , so can’t take them

[mjames1 in reply to Prosecco1997]

If you haven't had an EKG after the symptoms presented, I would insist on one. At least in the US, this is the normal protocol when new symptoms arise while on Flecainide. There is no downside to this, but it might uncover something important.

Jim

[opal11uk]

Unless otherwise told, I would personally take one in the morning and then take the other either 2.3 hours later or at night. I take Bisoporal and Propanafol each morning and one Propanafol at night so the morning I take the Propanafol with breakfast because it advises taking it with food and then 2 hours later I take the Bisoporal as when I initially took them both together I felt really unwell, my problem is now resolved. Another thing I do is to drink the liquid Keffir, just a 'swig', this I find seems to line my stomach and all the feelings of bloat and indigestion is no longer thankfully. Good luck x

[Prosecco1997 in reply to opal11uk]

Just spoke to pharmacist, going to give this a try , what are your thoughts , take bisop at 9am 1.25 then flec 4hours later 50mg , then bisop again 1.25 at 5 then flec 50 mg again at 9 pm , lots of messing about , but hopefully works

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Prosecco1997]

He did say every 3 hours but flecinide has to be every 12 hours , so I timed it to every 4 hours

[opal11uk in reply to Prosecco1997]

It sounds like a plan and of course you have to remember to take them, if you have a pill organiser that should help or an alarm on your smart phone. I take the Proponafol first thing as needs to be taken with food, together with the water tablet and Pradaxa then 2 hours later the 10mg Bisoporal and that is working for me, in the evening I then take another Propanafol together with a . Statin and Pradaxa. Yes, sticking to the margin of time as stated on the dosage, You can but give it a try, I hope this works for you and it was wise to consult your pharmacist. Good luck x

[secondtry]

One to ask your cardiologist or EP.

[OzJames]

I was told to take my metoprolol first wait about 30 minutes and then take Flecainide it allows the metoprolol time to get into your system. Its something to do with protecting your lower part of your heart from reactions that can be caused by Flecainide

[Cavalierrubie]

Sorry to hear of your problems. You really shouldn’t feel like this so you need medical advice. Have you been to see your GP? I would first ring 111 for advice and if you are still ill go to A/E. I cannot tolerate any of the drugs and can only have PIP.

[Vonnegut]

The lowest dose of Bisoprolol was too much for me to take daily as it brought my heart rate down too low and when I was first prescribed flecainide I was just told to take it if my heart rate was over 140 twenty minutes after taking 100mg of the Flecainide which hardly ever happened. Since I have taken Flecainide regularly 100mg twice daily I have not had an episode for well over a year and that one must have arrived around the time I must have been infected with covid with no other symptoms but a positive test when an extra pill ended it in a few hours. I was prescribed the Flecainide at first by an EP I went to see privately after the lowest dose of Bisoprolol proved too much for me to take daily! But we are all different and I hope you find what works for you.

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Vonnegut]

I have been taking bisop 2.5 flec50 morning and flec 50 bisop 1.25 with no problems for 13 yrs , realy don’t want to stop doing this as have been ok , but I find now I can’t take bisop flec together , evening ok as I’m asleep

[Vonnegut]

Shows how different we all are.

[DiyChas]

Others have said it. You should discuss with whoever prescribed, b4 making changes. I was ok to reduce my bisoprolol and taking at night and was better.

[BeeBee79]

I had really awful almost life-changing side effects from Flecanide so it’s worth exploring this. Ask for an ECG with specific attention given to your Long QT Interval

[Pommerania78 in reply to BeeBee79]

What were your side effects from Flecainide?

[Prosecco1997 in reply to BeeBee79]

Hello what side effects did you get

[BeeBee79]

I don’t want to scare you tbh so don’t read on if you don’t want to although I was never on Flecanide for a long time. I took it after an ablation and it made my AF a million times worse so they quickly took me off it. After another ablation, they tried it again with me but once again, it made my AF unbearable. I took it for about 2 weeks and then I had a cardiac arrest - my heart just stopped. Not a heart attack, no blockages or anything. My EP thinks that Flecanide was a contributing factor as my LONG QT Interval was delayed and Flecanide is known to delay this. The same thing happened on Quinidine - it delayed my L QT interval to dangerous levels so I had to come off it but they were closely monitoring me. The heavy tight feeling in your stomach is (I think) caused by the Bisoprolol - I used to get it just slowly walking. It caused me so much fatigue that I switched to Nebivilol and that has relieved things for me.

Sorry I don’t mean to scare you but I think if it’s not agreeing with you, you need to speak to somebody. This all happened 2 years ago and I was only 43 at the time..

[Prosecco1997 in reply to BeeBee79]

I spoke to my arrhythmia nurse Had heart scan etc all ok , flecinide as always worked for me , not took none today just bisoprolol , 2.5 this morning, but feel like I need flecinide, can I take it now or does it have to be at the same time as taking bisoprlol ?

[BeeBee79 in reply to Prosecco1997]

I think you can take it anytime you feel you need it when it’s a PIP (Pill in po let) type of prescription. Sorry for late reply - was out yesterday for early Mothers Day celebrations 😅

[2learn]

Hi, don't know about Flecainide, but for Biso my GP advised taking when you go to bed to reduce side effects, I found that seemed to work.