bad stomach on Flecainide

[Football2023]

hi do many of you struggle with eating and then have a bad stomach whilst taking flecainide.

I have just eaten an Indian meal not spicy and normally no issues, yet within 10 mins I have diarrhoea and upset stomach I am sure it’s to do with my Flecainide.

Also the other day went for a meal at a pub and within a couple of hours bad stomach pains again very uncomfortable.

Is this happen to anyone else ? And does anyone have any suggestions please.

thank you in advance.

[CDreamer]

Flecainide should always be taken on an empty stomach and never within 2-3 hours of eating and only with water so my first question would be how do you take your Flecainide?

When on a daily dose I used to take morning dose 2 hours after breakfast and evening dose same - 2 hours after evening meal which worked out at about 9am/9pm. I was on 100mg x 2 daily.

I’m afraid I often find I have stomach upsets when eating out and I no longer take Flecainide so my second question - does this happen when you only eat home cooked from scratch meals made from fresh food?

Process of elimination to determine cause and effect. I took Flec for about 4 years and apart from one incident when taking as a PIP when I took large dose - 300mg - about an hour after eating I had no problems when sticking to the empty stomach and with water protocol - but oh boy was I ill for about 6 hours when taken too close to eating.

Hope that helps.

[Football2023 in reply to CDreamer]

hi I usually take before breakfast and then after dinner, when I have eaten out it’s before I have taken the evening dose of flec but still get stomach cramps, it’s really getting me down as been told not to drink alcohol and now can’t enjoy a meal out. Because of stomach pains followed sometimes by diahorrea

[CDreamer in reply to Football2023]

But how long do you leave between taking your pill and food? That’s the important bit.

[Football2023 in reply to CDreamer]

usually 1 hour or sometimes 2 would you recommend longer

[CDreamer in reply to Football2023]

Try leaving nearer 2 hours and see if that helps.

[Football2023 in reply to CDreamer]

yeah I will do from today

[Visitingcat]

Hi, do you take omeprazole by any chance?

[Football2023 in reply to Visitingcat]

I was takin lansoprozole but had finished taking them recently as I wasn’t sure they were helping

[CDreamer in reply to Football2023]

Could have rebound then - how long were you taking them for? Stopping PPI’s if you have taken for more than a few weeks can have rather detrimental affects if you stopped cold turkey.

[Football2023 in reply to CDreamer]

was taking the lansoprozole for several weeks but I have been off them a couple of weeks now.

[Visitingcat in reply to Football2023]

I take 50 mg of flecainade morn and eve, if I get an afib breakthrough I’ll take a an extra one then a further one after a couple of hours if the first one doesn’t work. ( As instructed by the EP who perscibed it ) That usually stops the afib. To be honest I think of it as my best friend, I’d be gutted if I had to stop it for any reason.

I try to avoid having it near food if at all possible but sometimes I have and it makes no difference to how I feel at all.

Just goes to show we are all different.

If you had still been on the lansoprazole I thought it may have been like what happened to me but it seems not.

I’d written it out so I’ll post it, it may be of some interest.

I was given omeprazole when getting very bad reflux with my afib. After a successful cardioversion I went on flecainade.

After a while I started getting really painful cramps and runs after my evening meal. It got to be every night and I was getting nervous about going out.

I blamed all sorts ( never flecainade though ) and stopped my magnesium and artificial sweeteners but nothing made any difference. I asked in boots and they suggested that I had IBS. I’ve never had anything like that before.

As I was getting desperate and it was a stomach med I stopped taking the omeprazole ( I would not have dreamed or dared to stop any of my other meds ) and over a fortnight or so the symptoms eased off and I gradually felt back to normal.

I had been on the omeprazole eighteen months by the time this started happening so that was one reason I didn’t blame it at first.

I did tell my GP next time I saw her.

I have since been given lansoprazole as I was getting a tight chest after my evening meal and “touch wood” I seemed ok with it and it helped a lot. But would have stopped it a the first sign of cramps.

[Crystal614]

Hi, I have been taking 200mg of Flecainide a day for the last 15 months. 5 months ago I started to develop abdominal pain and lots of belching! My GP thought it may be gastric reflux as I take a lot of other medication as well. Despite trying medication nothing has improved it. I am waiting for an endoscopy. As regards to Flecainide I have tried taking it on an empty stomach and with food it has made no difference to the symptoms.

[Football2023 in reply to Crystal614]

thanks Crystal it’s really difficult to put my finger on it and I feel like there might be an underlying condition but it’s really getting me down.

I get indigestion when I have a afib episode too I feel like I need my GP to get me a complete Fully body check of my internal organs etc, at least that would put my mind at rest that it’s just the tablets.

[Crystal614 in reply to Football2023]

I'm Puzzled as well why I have developed these problems. It could be caused by any of the tablets I am taking or may be none of them. Speak with your GP see what he comes up with.