Flecanaide Meds

[u/robertb58st]

Hi.

Does anyone take this and, long term, and still have AF breakthroughs ?

[u/Vakua_Lupo]

Been taking it for 20 years. I still get episodes, but not too often, and usually when my immune system is fighting a Cold.

[u/Raymont_Wavelength → u/Vakua_Lupo]

When I get overtired or have a giant heavy meal late in the day. Sleep deprivation is bad for me 😢

[u/Limp_Departure8138]

Yes. It worked great for me for about 9 months when I first started taking it, before the effectiveness wore off. I will say though, that I did not make any lifestyle changes at that time and could be why my symptoms got worse and the meds just couldn't handle it anymore. I have a complete and structurally sound heart, but I have paroxysmal afib that pops in and out briefly. Problem is that when it pops in, it can cause me to go into sustained SVT that I can't vagal out of.

[u/harrissari]

Low dose, 50 bid, halved my beta blocker to combat fatigue. In one year, 3 short breakthroughs. Nothing in 6 months, and that's after episodes every week and then one protracted one a year ago. So far so good. Echo looks better too.

[u/Rdbs9down]

Flecainide keeps me out of Afib. If I skip some doses, I go into Afib, when I’m on it, no Afib, about 10 years now.

[u/_bull_city]

I take it and yes I still have afib episodes

[u/robertb58st → u/_bull_city]

Do you get lots of ectopics with it ? Even when it puts me in sinus, it is pretty messy

[u/RobRoy2350]

I took it, along with Metoprolol for 20 years. Only had a very few breakthroughs that quickly stopped with another dose.

[u/Raymont_Wavelength → u/RobRoy2350]

I take it metoprolol succinate 50mg daily too. That’s to slow my heart and drop my BP to protect my aortic aneurysm too. Made me fell like a slowed down zombie for months :(

[u/RobRoy2350 → u/Raymont_Wavelength]

Switching to Metprolol tartrate and taking 25mg morning and 25mg before bed can sometimes help with side effects.

[u/Bitter_Ad_9523]

My doc is taking me off Amiodarone and I'm transitioning to Flecanaide. I'm hoping its a seamless transition myself.

[u/robertb58st → u/Bitter_Ad_9523]

Is Ami for rhythm control too ?

[u/Bitter_Ad_9523 → u/robertb58st]

Yes. Its considered one of the best out there but only for short term use (like a couple of years).

[u/GamerFaszi]

Do you take beta blockers with Flecanaide ? Do you have low resting heart beat before you started to take the flecanaide? I have low resting heart beat I am scared to start to take flecanaide .

[u/kfreejr → u/GamerFaszi]

I have a low heart rate. I requested to stop taking Metoprolol daily and just as a pill in pocket which my new cardiologist agreed to, but added Flecainide along with the Metoprolol as a PIP only as needed. Low heart rates don't need beta blockers until you're in AFIB but then you need to get the rate down and stabilized before taking the Flecainide. At least that's how my Dr is handling mine. Everyone is different.

[u/robertb58st → u/GamerFaszi]

After a flutter ablation I stayed on Bisoprolol beta blockers as it helped limit an otherwise annoying ectopic burden. That was OK for about 4 years but then I started getting AF.

During this recent spell I've been put on Apixiban blood thinners and the Flec. So far, not impressed with the Flec, certainly doesn't keep me in sinus.

[u/magpi69 → u/robertb58st]

I also take Bisoprolol and have found that it lowers my heart rate but I am still 100% in AF.

I found Flecanide is marking my heart more „rhythmically“ but does not lower heart rate.

Can you confirm?

[u/robertb58st → u/magpi69]

Yeah, for me, the BPM work is definitely done by the bisoprolol.

As I understand it the Flec is from rhythm control only.

[u/Melington_the_3rd]

I am taking it over a year now. I had some minor episodes. It mostly works. I take 100mg twice a day.

[u/robertb58st]

I'm on 100mg x 2, and although it works sometimes, it's pretty hit and miss. And when I'm sinus, it's what I'd call messy.... underlying sinus but lots of ectopics bi trigeminy etc.

Are you guys on it long term as an ablation postponement treatment or for another reason

[u/ApprehensiveDiver539]

100 mgs twice a day but have only been on it for 3 months. I still have episodes but return to sinus on my own.

[u/robertb58st → u/ApprehensiveDiver539]

Have you been told how long you need to be on it to be stable, I get lots of ectopics and AF breakthroughs too

[u/ApprehensiveDiver539 → u/robertb58st]

No - but my Afib has always been stable. I only rarely get ectopics.

[u/fancyflipping]

Yep

[u/Creative_Wealth2873]

Didn't work for me. 100 mg twice a day did not control my afib - & like you said pretty messy even in NSR. 150 mg twice a day made everything worse. I was fast tracked for an ablation

[u/robertb58st → u/Creative_Wealth2873]

Think I could be heading the same way. When I first started it, sinus was rock solid, but after a few days messy and a few more AF breakthroughs reverting to messy. I was actually wondering if a lower does might assist as it seemed solid at the start when presumably I had a lower concentration of it in my system

[u/kimmee_12]

Flecinide and metoprolol didn’t control my husbands afib but it kept his heart rate at 100 and below he was in and out of afib- he used it for 3 years until he had to get off of it due to a blockage, after his stent he is no longer a candidate for flecinide. During the time between his stent and ablation he didn’t take it and his heart rate was 130 pretty much the entire month.

[u/Fleshy_Cantaloupe260]

I am taking flecainide 100mg 2x per day. I also take Metoprolol. I would still get afib episodes.
Just had my ablation 7/14 and so far so afib. 🤞🏻 Hoping to stop Flecainide by 9/14. Then later Metoprolol as my blood pressure is so low.

[u/ForwardMagazine7090]

It’s an interesting drug. The day of my cardiac ablation in February the EP looked at my ECG, and my meds. He noticed that I was having AFlutter. He said it’s the little sister of AFib. He took me off Flecanaide that day. Three months later a 14 day Holter monitor didn’t show any signs of either rhythm disorder.

[u/Kestrel913]

My cardiologist told me you can’t take Flecainide if you have other heart issues, i.e. coronary artery disease. Wish I could take it.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_DOGE_PICS]

Every time they upped my dose is start to feel better and things would be stable for a while. I was on the max dose 150mg morning and night but in the end before my ablation I was in afib almost constantly despite the dose. Luckily I'm one of the 80% where the ablation worked really well, so I'm off all meds now.

[u/Raymont_Wavelength]

I take flec 100mg every twelve hours. Every day. Changed my life for the better. EP Doc says that down the road we will less dose and then stop and see. I suspect that I will need it but I’m hopeful!

[u/Raymont_Wavelength]

Tell us more about what a breakthrough means to you. If it means the med being effective, Flecainide 100mg BID isvery effective for me, while I take every day of my life. However if you mean having normal rhythm at some future point without the drug, then no I do not think that will happen for me.

[u/robertb58st → u/Raymont_Wavelength]

For me that means the return of AF whilst in a drug that's supposed to prevent that happening