Multaq Anyone Else Take It (Page 15)
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Okay I will start off by saying this drug scares me because it has not been out for very long. I have Afrial Fib which is not behaving I can be 70 beats one min and regular and the next I will be at 190 and in atrial fib and flutter. this is my last chance at a med I have tried all the others I usually end up in the ER two or three times a week. I have had one ablation so far. If anyone else takes it please let me know what it is like. I am starting it on Tuesday.

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All drugs have side effects. I was just released from cardiac ICU a few days ago where I was given a variety of different drugs orally, IM and IV, but nothing they gave me worked until, at last, they gave me Amiodarone IV. That was after three waves of painful and scary tightening in my chest and throat. My b/p was the problem; it was staying too low. I was discharged with the "pill in the pocket" approach: Flecanide (3 pills, 2 times 30 minutes apart), and a Metoprol to take with the first three. I am relieved I don't have to take pills every day. Clearly, afib is a serious condition and if I am unable to control my next "attack" with the meds, I will strongly consider ablation or some other procedure.

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Michael,

One more thing - my mom had it but got it late in life and she has passed away many years ago.

My brother came down with A-fib at a later age and his seems to be different from mine - he is on meds - he feels so good that he can play tennis. So you might say it is genetic somehow - but I believe that has nothing to do whether one can have an ablation or not. At least two electrophysiologists that I have seen when they heard it ran in the family they did not say it cannot be done. My brother lives in Northern Europe as did my mom and me (abt 100 yrs ago) and their meds are somewhat different from ours.

That's it for today. Have a nice evening.

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Michael,

You are a very young man. Has any of the doctors ever suggested an ablation for you?? At your age it probably would be worthwhile checking into.

There are many places and doctors who do ablations - one such place is Cornell University Hospital New York, NY. I visited this hospital a year ago as I had an appointment with electrophysiologist about an ablation, this doctor performs 4 ablations a week so he has experience. But he said to me that until my hyperactive thyroid is fixed he would not consider an ablation for me because it would not "stick". Normal TSH levels are between 1 and 3 - my TSH levels are slowly creeping up there. Is your thyroid functioning normally?? Have you ever had the TSH blood test?? The lower the number it is called hyperactive and vice versa. My A-Fib probably started when my TSH level was low in 1999, 0.15 but those days doctors did not seem to have paid attention as mine were always low and sometime they reahed the lower level of "range level" but I guess that level is not good enough for ablations. I am obviously seeing an endocrinologist also.

As I am reading this blog and see lots of people on Multaq which after research and my own experience with it I would not touch that drug with a ten foot pole.

And I just read that someone has started on Amiodarone which I would not touch either - I did my own research on it - and it is quite deadly drug and the ill effects might not happen until a few years later. What I have heard and read that it is the last drug doctors would prescribe for an A-fib patient if other drugs have failed. Consequently Multaq if a cousin of Amiodarone.

Good Luck Michael.

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Hey snappycappy,

I think you meant "@Gary", lol! No biggy, addressing the wrong person on here happens a lot, must be the meds, lol, :)

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@ Eddie
What a fabulous detailed response!! I could not have said it better. We are out own advocate! I tried Multaq but it did not work for me. Have since been on Sotolol, no succeess, and am now on Amiodarone (Multaq's older cousin). I am told to give it three full weeks to kick in.

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Eddie,

That's been known since the beginning trial tests and what I was addressing in my comment below this one.

I've been taking an antidepressant (Nardil, look it up) for over 25 years now and it's more dangerous and has worse side effects when you first start taking it than Multaq. It also has the same warnings about liver damage and your supposed to get the same liver blood tests done as you do with Multaq. Compared to Nardil, taking Multaq is like taking Flintstone vitamins. I have had absolutely no liver or any other problems in the almost three decades of taking Nardil.

Now I am taking Multaq and Nardil which you would think would be a double whammy against my liver, well my liver is just fine even taking both.

You're supposed to get a liver blood test a few times a year with Multaq so you know there are no problems.

There weren't that many liver damage cases when they tested Multaq but even if only one problem were to occur then by law they must put out a warning. Every drug on the market has warnings, many much more dangerous than Multaq. You take a chance every time you take any medication (as explained in my message below).

Have you seen the dozens and dozens of TV ads about meds for whatever ailment where they quickly tell you at the end of all the very dangerous side effects and "may cause death" warnings? Many even scare me because it may only be a med for a common allergy, yet it could also cause death if you have any other certain ailments or are taking another certain medication.

Your chances of dying or getting seriously injured are astronomically higher just driving your car than taking any kind of medication.

You cannot depend on doctors to worry about you when they prescribe a certain medication as many here will attest to. YOU have to do your own research and make your own decisions when taking any medication, that's YOUR responsibility. If you don't then you have no one to blame but yourself if something happens. Doctors are not the same anymore as the were many years ago, when they actually cared and talked to you in detail about your health. Most today will not even converse with you and treat patients as if it were an assembly line. They have far too many patients today to worry about all the details of every patient. They give out the same meds like candy to anyone giving the same complaints.

If anyone has a doctor that does this and barely talks to you and doesn't answer all your questions then you do not have a doctor. Go out and find one that does, there are still some out there and it's up to you to find them if you expect proper health care. It's sad but that's the way it is now.

I'm 57 and ride a Harley and work on and race cars among many other things so for me I need to feel good. I refuse to sit around the house whining about my problems and when it comes to my health, I will do whatever needs to be done. You're not living if you constantly worry about everything that may hurt you.

I never had Afib in my life until the minute a doctor injected me last year with three different drugs, a general anesthesia to put me under and two steroid shots for a problem I was having with my hip. My heart went nuts after as I was under after the injections and they had to inject another drug to bring my heart rate down.

A week later I asked them what they injected me with, they said it was the same drugs that was normal procedure for everyone. After I had the names of the drugs I researched them and found that they should never be given to anyone on an MAO Inhibitor, NARDIL! It can cause an erratic heartbeat and arrhythmia. The doctor had my records and knew what medication I was on but obviously never checked for the side effects of the drugs given with someone on Nardil. Being enraged at his stupidity is an understatement and I gave him both barrels of it.. But in reality it was really my own fault for trusting him and not asking what was being given and researching it myself which I normally do. They also never told me they were going to inject steroids into me, it was a decision after I was under

I have never had this happen in my entire life until that day and I have never had any kind of heart problems or disease, I was always told I had very strong and healthy heart from exercising and working out most of my life.

A lawyer told me I could have easily won a lawsuit but when you do that then other doctors may not take you as a patient.

This is what happens when you don't question everything and do your own research. So giving a simple general statement that Multaq causes liver problems without looking into the reasons why it happened or the details of the certain patients that died or had serious problems from Multaq helps no one. It only causes more unneeded fear and may cause someone to not try it and possibly having a normal life again.
Any drug can cause death or serious health problems if certain factors come into play with any particular individual.

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Multaq has been linked to serious liver damage.

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Michael,

I've been on Multaq for about a year now. Since day one I have had none of the side affects associated with Multaq. But then we're all different and meds will work differently on each individual.

If you did some research you'd find most drugs have dangers when taking them, some much more dangerous than others. It also depends on your physical makeup, any other ailments you may have and if your taking other medications. Any one of a combination of things can make a fairly safe medication possibly deadly.

It took about two weeks for Multaq to kick in for me. During those two weeks I noticed my Afib was lessening and then after the second week it just stopped, no more racing heart.

Don't be afraid to try different meds. Almost all drugs have some type of warnings about different dangers. If you are not taking one of those drugs then you would probably never know about it's dangers, but they are there.

Remember, fear is usually the absence of knowledge and understanding. :)

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Michael,

I am a 71 year old female and I have been on Multaq since Oct. of 2009. I just have a-fib, no other heart problems.
I just got checked by the doctor and I am in very strong sinus rhythm. Also, my blood work seems to come out fine everytime I go. The multaq did not put me back in rhythm by itself. In 2010 I had a cardioversion and I went back in and it has worked very well since then.
I was very tired when I first started multaq, but after a couple of months, I began to feel less tired and now I have more energy. Before the multaq, I was extremely tired after walking a half block. So the difference is remarkable.
I think multaq works differently on each individual and you would have to find out by taking it. However, I would have a cardioversion if it does not work on its own and then continue the multaq after.you are in rhythm. I wish you much luck as you are so young to have this happen to you.
This is a good group, I am sure you will get many responses pro and con. If you have questions for me, I will be glad to answer if I can.

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Male - 39, first episode at 37

Turns out AFIB is a genetic problem in my family. My mom, uncle, and I all have it - all starting in our 30's. I was on the lowest doses of Propafenone and Diltiazem (aka Rythmol and Cardizem) for about a year. It took me that long to realize that they were making me extremely tired and weak.

My doctor recommended Multaq but I haven't been able to convince myself to take it. There's something about those warnings that are scaring me off. Am I just overthinking this?

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Gary, thanks for the heads up. I was definitely concerned there...

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Bobby,

I wouldn't worry too much about it after a 12 hour period. Multaq goes through your system extremely fast. That's why you take two a day, most of the first one is basically already through you by the time you take the second one.

I don't even take them at exactly 12 hour intervals, it could be anywhere from 8 to 12 hours between them. I've already missed the second one quite a few times with no effects.

If you've taken two by mistake within a very short time period and have had no problems within 12 hours just take your next dose at your regularly scheduled time.

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I accidentally took and extra dose of multaq, has anyone ever done this before? IF so should I be concerned. I spoke to the on call doctor at my office and he said to monitor my heartrate and if I have chest pains to go to the ER. Im worried...

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For your reading - couple of articles - one on Multaq half life and the other on Amiodarone,
Steve mentioned it is 19 hours or so on Multaq and he is correct - here is the full article - whereas Amiodarone IS A DIFFERENT STORY.
I would not touch either of these meds period.
Excellent articles to read and at the same time print them out.

multaq.com/HCP/dosing/dosing_and_administration.aspx

covertrationingblog.com/cardiology-topics/amiodarone-is-not-nice

I guess NICE stands for National Institute of Clinical Excellence amongst other things.

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Snappy, it takes 13-19 hours for a half life, so you can figure nearly 4 days to be considered cleared out of you body (5 half lives is considered to be clear for most drugs).

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I am trying to find out how long it takes Multaq to clear the system after discontinuance. Can not find answer anywhere. You stopped, any idea??

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Recently Deborah had asked me what the Hawthorn I was taking was for. I just found an article in the Health section of a Fox News that explains it better than I had.

The following is the article.
===========================

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in America – so it’s important to take care of your ticker.

The Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham, said there are natural ways to protect your heart, like taking hawthorn berry.

“There are probably a couple hundred different species of hawthorn trees,†Kilham said. “And it's the leaves and the flowers and the berries that are used to enhance heart health.â€

Kilham said there is a massive body of science on hawthorn, which looks like fat, red peppercorns.

“We know that it strengthens the heart; it makes the contractions of the heart more even,†he said. “It actually enhances the amount of blood that comes out of the aorta. And it also reduces the sort of skittishness of the heart. If you get a fright or a shock it will keep the heart beat more regular and steady. So this is real medicine.â€

Hawthorn is widely used in Europe and the U.S. for strengthening the heart muscle, improving nerve function to the heart, making heartbeat more regular and improving blood flow, Kilham said.

If you have a weak heart, are over the age of 45 or just want to maintain good cardiovascular health – then taking a hawthorn supplement or drinking tea with hawthorn berries and leaves is a good idea, Kilham said.

“This is real herbal medicine with real science behind it, and it's just plain good for the heart, which as you know, we all need," Kilham added.

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There is also the Pallas study that was halted by the FDA last July when they found the mortality rate doubled for the people taking dronedarone
fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm264059.htm
It seems to work for some people and seems to be less risky than amiodarone, but apparently still has its risks. It probably would not have worked for me, as amiodaraone blew up my thyroid some years ago. Mine is now morphed to left atrial tachycardia and I am back on propafenone combined diltiaz ER trying to get control of it. That is the only combo that has worked for me recently.

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Hi Dennis. By chance was this the article you were looking for? It is referenced in several places/

theheart.org/article/1146741.do

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No, only Multaq.

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