Multaq Anyone Else Take It (Page 28)

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

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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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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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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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Multaq has been linked to serious liver damage.

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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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@ 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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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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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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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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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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Unfortunately many forget to give both sides of the story on medical procedure dangers which makes any "research" one sided and therefore flawed.


Facts From the Mayo Clinic:

Cardiac ablation does carry risks, which include:

-Bleeding at the site where your catheter was inserted.

-Damage to your blood vessels where the catheter may have scraped as it traveled to your heart.

-Puncture of the heart.

-Damage to your heart's electrical system, which could worsen your arrhythmia and require a pacemaker to correct.

-Blood clots, which could lead to a heart attack or stroke.

-Narrowing of the veins that carry blood between your lungs and heart (pulmonary vein stenosis).

-Damage to your kidneys from dye used during the procedure.

-Your risk of having these complications may increase if you have diabetes or kidney disease.


Multaq or Cardiac Ablation, they both have deadly risks. Choosing one over the other is not as simple or easy as some like to make it seem.

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If it works for you, Tikosyn might be a better choice because it is most effective for A-Fib, but without the nasty side effects. Having said that, Tikosyn is not for everyone. People with long QT syndrome must not take it - it can be fatal for those few. Only a fraction of cardiologists and EPs are registered to be able to prescribe it so your cardiologist may not suggest it or want to go there. It must be initiated by a trained and registered physician in a registered hospital facility (3 days and 2 nights) and the pharmacist must also be registered for it. It works well for most and is a Godsend for them.

I will not try Multaq because amiodarone made me go hyper-thyroid about 12 years ago and that can be near fatal is not caught. It is my opinion that amiodarone should not be prescribed for people who are relatively healthy. Amiodarone should only be prescribed for the worst 5-10% of people, with major heart damage, to keep them alive without going to an artificial heart pump - mostly for elderly people with a short time to live.

Multaq is amiodarone's little cousin and does have a number of advocates for whom it works well. My EP has decided not to recommend or prescribe it unless a patient knows the very severe but low probability risks and still insists.

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I know all of you have been waiting with held breath for me to reappear (LOL)!

I tapered off Multaq completely, and have been off of it for about 3 weeks now. I am sleeping much better. I wanted to see if it was the multaq that was making me so blessed cold all of the time, but darn if the weather didn't warm up so much that I cannot tell. I also do have more energy - probably from sleeping better. Still no afib, and an ekg this week looked quote: "Like a swiss watch".

Eddie, I don't know whether or not Multaq helped me keep in NSR after a cardioversion, or whether it is from other steps I've taken. It does indeed seem to work for some and not for others. The good thing about trying it before having any surgical procedure is that YOU CAN ALWAYS STOP TAKING IT if you keep a close eye on things, and a problem starts. I think Multaq is on of those drugs - some others might not be as easy to stop before damage occurs.

With an ablation, if something goes wrong, you might not be so lucky, and may end up with a permanent problem. The conservative approach is probably the best route to take unless it doesn't work. Start first with some simple lifestyle changes, like losing weight, exercising and avoiding large doses of caffeine and cutting out alcohol. Having said that, there are plenty of in shape athletes who develop AFIB, so we are in good company, and lifestyle is not the only answer for many, especially with a genetic predisposition.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

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I agree. But let's be honest. If you're a coffee drinker, going with caffeine is really tough. I miss my wine, too, but I'm doing better with giving that up than I am with caffeine. Still, I don't ever want to go through what I went through in the CICU ever again if I can help it.

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Going without coffee is a challenge. I did it gradually over time to avoid the headaches and withdrawal symptoms. I went 90, 80 ,70, 60% and so on over a period of 6-8 months and that works. Having said that I am now a coffee snob and I use a combo of 3 different decaf beans to get the taste I like and grind them a pot at a time.

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Like you, Steve, I've been grinding both decaf and regular and using two scoops each in the mornings. Still, I'm like a narcoleptic by mid afternoon. Nonetheless, I think we all need to be HONEST about what we imbibe and re-examine our over-attachment to food & beverages that for us are triggers. I'd rather go clean on those than imbibe pharmaceuticals every day.

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Hey Steve and Deborah. I hear you loud and clear. I'm not a huge caffeine drinker, but really need/like one cup of coffee in the morning, and some tea mid day to keep hopping around. Moderation is the key, I'm sure.

Decaf coffee - what's the point?
No alcohol beer - what's the point?
Fat free, sugar free ice cream - what's the point? (although I have found a brand that is both sugar free and either fat free or very low fat that I actually like)
Live on roots and twigs - what's the point?

I suspect the afib connected mechanism of too much alcohol or caffeine comes more from magnesium or potassium depletion than from a direct effect.

Caffeine doesn't seem to bother some afib patients - others it does. Multaq works for some, others it doesn't. Some people can drink like a fish and live to be 110. Some people smell rubbing alcohol and develop fatty liver. Some people derive all of their calories from prime rib and barbecue and have the lipid profiles of vegetarian athletes. Some athletes have total cholesterol levels higher than 300 pound sedentary goldfish.. Anticoagulants save some peoples lives - others are destroyed by them. Eggs are good for you. Eggs are bad for you. High carbs/low protein diet. Hi protein/low carbs diet. Good fats/Bad fats, except on Tuesdays. Eat more fish, but don't eat fish because of the mercury. Eat plenty of green veggies for your AMD, unless you are on warfarin, and it's winter in Peru. Go blind from your anticoagulant, but at least you won't get a stroke, unless you get a brain bleed. Take your Multaq, the greatest thing since green eggs and ham - but wait - new studies show it's useless and dangerous. Take your statins, until they make you so brain dead you can't remember where you left the bottle, and are too weak to walk to where you finally remember you left it (but they keep your NUMBERS good). Eat this - not that. Don't ever eat in a restaurant - they are part of the conspiracy to keep us fat. Exercise is good for you. Exercise can change your heart tissue making you prone to afib.

Use aspartame instead of sugar - wait - aspartame has been linked to every disease known to man.

Diet drinks make you fat

It's all a big mystery designed to show us we really know very little about anything . . . . . I'm 'bout to stop thinking about it all and spend most of my time watching M*A*S*H reruns and let what happens happen.

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