Woke up at 6.15 and took my first 100mg of Flec along with my 2.5mg of Bisoprolol. Within 5 minutes my hearts racing. done a check on my Kardia and its coming up unclassified with a BPM of 105. I took another reading a minute later and once again it came up unclassified and a BPM of 55 then a few minutes later unclassified again with a BPM of 101.
Things seemed to settle down quite quickly but i had another episode at 13.10 showing AF and 103 BPM then a minute later showing normal sinus and 51BPM.
Jump forward to 13.28 and im back in AF and a BPM of 129. All then went fine for a few hours then it came on again, back in AF and BPM of 126 then 25 minutes later in on 64BPM and normal sinus.
Is this really a case of letting the new dose settle in or does it look like these tablets/dose doesn't seem to be working ?
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Trout7
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I really am finding it hard to ignore when I'm feeling dizzy with it. I had to sit in the car for 20 minutes while an episode passed. I really did think the tablets would work better than this, i think its getting worse.
My arrhythmia specialist mentioned the you need to allow the meds to build up to a steady, constant dose, I’m guessing here but you might need to give it a few more days to get the benefit of the new meds regime.
You are in PAF. In your shoes I would ask for a cardioversion and continue with the Flex (please note I am not a doctor - discuss with a medic). The fact that you return to sinus by yourself might rule this out - I'm not sure. It sounds like you might be an ideal candidate for an ablation - the sooner the better as it is more likely to work the quicker the procedure is carried out. Talk to your medic.
Isn't cardioversion just for getting back into NSR. If so getting back to NSR doesn't appear to be the problem. It's staying there that's a problem. I'm not a medical professional either so maybe you're right????
I think you are correct. A cardioversion is for persistent Afib. Trout is in PAF which means an ablation might be a good choice. This of course needs to be discussed with an EP.
Hi Trout, I was started on 100mg flecanide twice a day after a stroke. I was expecting miracles but it took 2 weeks for my AF episodes to calm down and disappear. I remember posting on here, why isn't it working, and people wisely told me to give it time. I wonder if it will get easier for you too? I had to be patient with myself which isn't easy as AF can make you feel very low mood, but I would say give it time, it was well worth the wait to be AF free (almost- I've recently had a few odd episodes which are very different than pre - stroke) but that's nearly a year later, and it's been a great year!
My view is that 5 days is plenty of time to see if your body adjusts and if your med is not helping then why take it? You reactions need to be investigated so well done for charting on the kardia - make sure you take that trace with you to show your doctor as it may indicate what is happening.
Not every drug helps every person, we all react very differently to every medication, there is no one fit. Know also that ever substance that can cure a problem has the capacity to also cause a similar problem and especially so with Flecainide.
From all I have read, longer is needed to adjust - I would say a week or so, assuming you feel well enough (no bad dizziness / fainting). Five minutes seems mightily quick acting if that was the flecainide - but who knows?
There’s been some very useful advice given - this is such a helpful forum.
Up until two weeks ago i had only been getting an AF episode once every 5/6 weeks roughly. At that time i took two 100mg flec when it started and it would usually take it away after a few hours. Two weeks ago it started again and my flec was not taking it away or only taking it away for 6/8 hours and then starting up again but it was every day which was a massive panic for me. So for the last two weeks ive been in AF at some point in the day, sometimes it lasts 5 minutes and sometimes it lasts a few hours . Last week they changed my tablets to 100mg Flec morning and night and 2.5 Bisoprolol morning. I still randomly get quite a lot of episodes and its still happening every day. Today my Afib has been at 140 a few times which was recorded on my Kardia. Im not on any thinners as my score is very low. Dont drink, dont smoke, decent weight and no diabetes .
I’m convinced there’s more than one kind of AF. I first got AF in 1993 and self converted with short sprints or a cold shower. I’ve only had it 6 times up to 2022 and since then 3 times. I couldn’t self convert not even with Flecainide PIP and had cardioversion each time! Last AF was end of January.
Since January I’ve been on low dose 20mg Flecainide and low dose 10mg metoprolol twice a day. It took about 3 months to completely settle things so I guess it becomes more saturated in yr system. I’ve also been into fitness my whole life and believe this has also helped.
Additionally I checked my bloods and in particular vitd3 magnesium and coq10 and found on the scale I was very low in all. I’ve been supplementing all three for a year and recent bloods indicated an increase in all three but still below the middle on the scale. Have a Google on all three and their relationships with your heart. Please check bloods first and then make sure your cardiologist is ok with you taking them. It takes a while before your levels will go up.
Who knows it could be a combo of all things I’ve done that has put AF in the background for the time being?
Many thanks James, i will certainly bring it up to my cardio . I keep reading about the Pill in the pocket. Is this an extra tablet people take on top of their regular prescribed dose ?
Yes it is, I wasn’t on any drugs before January only PIP so if I went into AF I would go straight to Metoprolol 25mg and 100mg Flecainide then if not in sinus in an hour then another 100mg, never worked for me I would then stay on 100mg twice a day until Cardioversion. What it did do was bring me back into a HR of around 60 at rest with good rhythm control. Most importantly I would start on Apixiban an anticoagulant as my cardiologist says that once in AF more than a day the risk of clots starts. Once I was in Sinus I would stay on Apixiban for 30 days then off all drugs.
Hello Trout, I was given Flecainide as a pip to be taken at the start of an AF episode and it actually made it worse. I contacted my cardiologist who told me to stop it. Apparently it can do this to some people, so my advice is to speak to your cardiologist, EP, or nurse specialist for further advice. Hope you get it sorted soon.
Thank you Kubus and thanks to everyone who have responded , it really is peace of mind reading the replies . I think i will get in touch with my Cardiologist again in the week if this isnt improving.
I think you may need some time for the medications to build up a bit in your body. In my lengthy and complicated years with A Fib there is no easy or quick.
Thank you Ozette. I think the problem is i don't know what to expect from the tablets . I just expected the AF episodes to stop or subside a bit quicker, when in fact it has actually got worse.
Be sure to let your cardiologist know that you have gotten worse on the meds. There is more than one antiarhythmic a doctor can try or a different dose to see if that works. As I said AFib can be difficult to control.
I wish you well. I know it can be discouraging and disappointing as the doctors try to find the right med and or dose. Take good care of yourself along the way and know that you are not alone. I felt very isolated because unless one has experienced AFib they have no idea of how unpredictable and miserable the symptoms can be.
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