Flecainide Forums

Been taking these together for a year and I'm starting to get muscle spasms at night. Has anyone else experienced this? ## The FDA doesn't list that as a typical side effect of taking Flecainide, they usually include symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, muscle weakness, constipation, and visual disturbances. Ref: Flecainide Information However, depending on how much alcohol you're indulging in, you may be dehydrated, and/or low in potassium, which may explain the muscle spasms. How much water, and other liquids do you drink each day? What does your normal diet consist of?

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I suffer from AFIB, get it once aprox every two weeks for 6 hours. My cardio wants me to take Flecainide and Verapamil. I am really afraid of the possible side effects of Flecainide which appears to be a dangerous drug, and why would he give me Verapamil when I have quite low blood pressure? ## I was afraid of Flecainide as well and terrified of taking both together. But what's the alternative? Like you I suffer constant bouts of AF and they can be debilitating to say the least. I have found Flecainide OK, but still get AF, am about to start on Verapamil as am sick of being sick. Fingers crossed...this is a rotten complaint and Drs have really no idea how to best treat it so you have to try along with them...dancing in the dark! ## Verapamil, as well as most other blood pressure med...

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Anyone suffer abdominal distention (bloating) from Flecainide? It's making me want to go off the drug...only been on it a week. Thanks ## Have you consulted your doctor? It has been known to cause dyspepsia in anywhere from 1 to 3% of people that use it, according to the clinical studies. If it is very severe, you should consult your doctor for a dosage adjustment or possible switch to a different medication. ## I am bloating up like crazy since being on this drug. I called my doctor about it and he said to excercise it couldn't be from the flecainide. After reading this forum I will challenge him on his answer. ## ME! I have been on Flechainide twice now for Afib. That is its worst side effect I have is bad stomach gas or indegestion which causes upper center chest pain. It als...

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I'm on flecainide 50mg 2 times daily and diltiazem 120mg once daily. I was put on this from a paroxysmal afib event I had in January of this year. I feel this regime is too big of a gun for the problem. I'm tired all the time and lost my get up and go. Dr did say in my last appointment that I could get off it. I would continue with the diltiazem.... Am I able to just stop? ## There is a chance that stopping abruptly may cause rebound effects, such as elevated heart rate, palpitations, and irregular heart beat, so it would be best to talk to your doctor, and follow their instructions, to stop it safely. Diltiazem may cause side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, increased urination, headache, dry mouth, and hypotension. Are these the only medications you are currently taking? ##...

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After having a catheter ablation the doctor prescribed Flecainide and now three weeks later I'm having the same issues I had before the ablation. I'm having dizzy spells, fainting spells (although they stop before I fall) and flashes of heat thru my body. I'm also on Metoprolol and Pradaxa. ## Hello, Janette! Sorry about the problems that you're having. Have you checked your blood pressure, when you're feeling dizzy and/or faint? There is a chance that it may be going too low and causing these types of symptoms. Is there any particular time that they happen more frequently, such as when you stand or sit up suddenly? ## My blood pressure is good, and the spells can come when I'm sitting or standing. I did stop taking the Flecainide. Had one spell since. The doctor...

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I take Flecainide twice daily and have just increased from 50 mg to 100 mg twice a day. I am experiencing blood in urine but have no kidney of bladder infection. Read that a side affect of Flecainide could result in blood in urine. Has anyone experienced this issue? ## Hello, DB! How are you? Is this still occurring? Anytime you have blood in your urine, you should consult your doctor. While it may be due to a medication, there is also a chance that it could be due to some other serious health condition and it does need to be checked out as soon as possible. Learn more Flecainide details here. Have you contacted your doctor, yet? ## Yes. I just increased from 50 to 100 as well. The next day I had dark red urine. This morning was concerned so I bit one in half making it 75. Still have da...

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After an ablation I had a monitor on for 30 days. The doctor said I had Afib and put me on 100 mg of flecainide twice a day plus 5 mg of eliquis twice a day. I seem to be having constipation problems. Plus blood in rectal area which could be from something else as I have had that problem before. ## Hi Nancy, Sorry to hear about your situation. From what I could gather, "red or black, tarry stools" are listed as a side effect of Eliquis (Apixaban) on medlineplus.gov. "Black, tarry stools" + "constipation" + "blood in the urine or stools" are all listed as side effects of Flecainide on nih.gov. It sounds to me like either medication could potentially be the culprit, but I would encourage you to contact your doctor about this just to be on the safe side. Hop...

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I've been on Flecainide for around 8 years and so far no issues. My last major breakthrough was March 2011. I have the occasional PVC but nothing major. I got a new set of prescriptions and one of them was 150mg tablets from AvKare. I started with these and about a week later I started having issues. Numerous PVCs, episiodes of afib that lasted anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. I had some leftover tablets from the prior prescription and stared taking those (while taking the new prescriptions for the rest of my meds) I'm feeling better and episodes are only occurring when I'm sleeping and I'm hoping by the end of the week I'll be back to normal. I'm thinking I got a bad batch of pills but I don't know how to confirm it. Any suggestions? ## How are you doing, now? Ha...

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Have been on 50 mg Flecainide twice daily and 125 mcg Digoxin once daily for one year due to sporadic episodes of tachycardia and one incident of Afib that landed me in the hospital. My rhythm adjusted itself after 12 hours. I noticed an increase in hair loss a month or two after I started taking it. I thought it was due to stress levels several months previously because I had experienced hair loss in the past due to stress. That subsided and the hair would grow back but not entirely. However, it has been continually falling out an alarmingly steady pace since. I have seen my dermatologist who said everything seemed normal and to try rogaine. I just had bloodwork for several issues to see if this mystery can be solved and have not gotten the results. It dawned on me that the time frame ...

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need to know what flecainide 50mg tab amn is , what does the amn mean ??? ## Hello, Dee! How are you? This just stands for the manufacturer, in this case Amneal Pharmaceuticals. Is there anything else I can help with? ## I had a refill and it has tab DRR on one and Am on another? Same medicine

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Hello everyone! I have been on Flecainide for 3 years for constant PVCs and now since my heart rate has been in the 40s and 50s the dr has told me to stop it the 16th of this month (June) and then on the 19th of this month I will have a heart ablation. I asked if I should wean myself off and he said not just stop taking it 3 days before but I am really scared to do this. Can anyone shed some light on their experiences with this procedure and stopping this medication? Thank you all so much, Margue Mack ## That is the normal procedure, and it is always best to follow your doctor's instructions. Have you had the ablation, yet? If so, how did it go? The FDA lists the typical effects of abruptly stopping Flecainide as possible including elevated heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and r...

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I have been on 50mg twice daily of flecainide for 14 years. My heart dr is concerned with my long term usage have had no issues at all since I've been on it should I be concerned? ## Hello, Lynne! How are you? Not all damage may be immediately noticeable, some medications tend to cause problems very slowly and no one notices, until it's too late. There have been some cases of people developing peripheral neuropathy from long-term use of it, anywhere from 2 to 10 years, which means that they also took it for a long time, without any issues. Thus, if your doctor thinks you should stop taking it and switch to something else, then it would be best to follow their advice. The FDA lists the other side effects of this medication as possibly including nausea, dizziness, headache, diarrh...

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I started taking flecainide in Aug after being diagnosed with a-fib. In September I noticed my jaw getting tight and popping while chewing. I had TMJ when I was younger, so I pulled out the mouth piece and wore it for a couple of weeks at night. This seems to help, but I've also noticed pain in my knee as if the muscles seem to not want to straighten out. Sometimes the pain radiates into my feet and toes. Icing helps some but it is very frustrating since I'm on my feet all the time. ## I was taking flecainide along with elequis and ached all over. I stopped the flecainide. However my jaws still ached and the top of my legs still ached including the knee pain. I have gone off the elequis (blood thinner) for short periods and problem goes away. I am looking for another blood thinn...

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My doctor told me to stop my flecainide a couple weeks ago because I was having a hard time breathing and wanted to see if that was the problem. I don't think it was because I'm still having a hard time breathing and I was wondering if I can go back on it without having to consult the doctor ## Hello, Joan! How are you? I'd advise you not to do so, until you see your doctor to have this checked out in more depth. If you have been taking this for high blood pressure, or edema, trouble breathing could be a sign of congestive heart failure, according to the NIH. It is best to be very careful and safe. I had such an issue years ago and I ended up passing out in the ER, waking up later full of tubes, due to congestive heart failure. Is there any particular time of day that it hap...

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I have been on flecainide 150mg twice daily since about 2008 and i have had an Ablation in 2010 which did not work. I have two questions first has any one had extreme almost abilatating fatique ? After complaining to my doctor he had me run on the treadmill and did other test but can not explain the source of the fatique. So I started researching it on my own. My other question has anyone had a second ablation and it did not work ? I have rhematiod arthritist but this suck so much worst than the pain. ## Hello, Phil! How are you doing? I'm very sorry about the problem that you're having. Yes, fatigue is a known side effect of this medication and it is known to be severe, almost debilitating in some people that take it. You may also experience abdominal pain, visual disturbances ...

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I have been on Flecainide for 15 years. I have read that there have been studies saying that it can cause peripheral neuorpathy, but does does anyone know if it can cause the more insidious infiltration into the autonomic nervous system (ex- nerves that communicate with the heart thus causing cardiovagal failure or nerves that communicate with the bladder causing urinary inconinence...)? I just got back from Mayo Clinic where my sweat test and autonomic tilt table test were severely abnormal. The doctor said that it is not just sudomotor failure/peripheral neuropathy, but that the nerves that communicate with the organs are also damaged. I also have developed orthostatic hypotension so that I seem dizzy all the time and especially when I change positions. The ringing in my ears is so ba...

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I have been put on verapamil 120 3 times a day plus flecaninde 50g twice a day. I have been on verapamil for a few months. My consultant has just added flecaninde for vt. Are these drugs safe together? ## Hello, Ang! How are you? Yes and they are often prescribed together to get better control of high blood pressure, congestive heart failure or edema. The U.S. FDA lists the typical side effects as possibly including nausea, dizziness, headache, increased urination and dehydration. Is there anything else I can help with?

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Hi everyone, I have lone PAF diagnosed 10&1/2 years ago. I was started on flecainide intravenously in hospital and as it worked well and I tolerated it I was discharged with tablet form. I also take lansoprazole (for acid) and last 9 months Apixaban (blood thinner). My Afib has been very well controlled and flecainide has worked wonders. I had the occasional Afib breakthrough every couple years but that is all. I don't drink but over ate big time at Christmas. It's my usual treat as I go to weight watchers. On 27th December I went into Afib lasting 18&1/2 hours. Hadn't had it like that since being diagnosed and have only had about 7 breakthroughs since and not lasting more than 8 hours at the longest. It stopped on its own and 7 days later I went into Afib again but ...

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I'm on 50 mg Flecanide 2x a day .i am experiencing constipation which I did not have before taking the medicine. Does Flecanide cause this? How? ## Yes, it has been known to cause constipation in some people that take it, as listed among the side effect profile provided by the FDA. You may also experience nausea, dizziness blurred vision and weight loss. I'm not a scientist, so I can't definitely explain why it does so, but in many cases it's due to the fact that many such medications remove fluid from the body, cause your stool to become more solid than usual. However, most side effects are transient and will improve after a few weeks, once your body gets used to the medication. If it continues past a month, or so, you should speak to your medical provider. Is there any...

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Had afib since 2006. Had a cardiac ablation 1 week ago. Dr put me 50mg of flecainide a day. 5 days later started severe lower back pain and severe lower a dominant pain. So bad today I had to be taken to ER in ambulance. Blood work and CT scan were normal. Heart rate was 160 in ambulance. Was released and told the pain is muscle skeletal issue. Still in lots of pain. Is this related to the flecainide? ## Hello, Traci! How are you? I'm sorry that you're so miserable. Yes, those symptoms could be due to the medication. It has been known to cause those side effects in some people that take it, as listed by the FDA. You may also experience nausea, headache, constipation, weakness and blurred vision. Have you consulted your doctor? You may need to try a different medication.

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