Multaq Anyone Else Take It (Page 39)
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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.
I started Multaq 400mg twice a day about 10 days ago. Seems the afib is fine so far but I've had a horrible headache, lightheadedness, and feel like my leg muscles are weak. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering if I cut it back to just once a day if I will still experience these same effects? My doctor said to give it a couple of weeks and then the side effects won't be so bad but I'm already missing work because of it.
I have been reading up on FLEMETON. Does anyone know if it will also work on a-flutter? Looks like an interesting product. Hope all are doing well here/
It took me two weeks in the hospital to settle out on Multaq. I had a liver abscess so I was lying around taking antibiotics anyway. My Multaq advantage is that it is easy on livers. I recommend having patience to let the residuals build up in your blood before giving up. I have been using Multaq for four and a half months. No side effects, and I rarely drift into a-fib longer than an hour.
Hello Suzanne, Good luck on your ablation. I must not be a good candidate for the procedure. FLEMETON is mostly herbs with some calcium. I've known of it but didn't think much of it. But it must be good if a cardiologist recommended it to you. I showed the ingredients of FLEMETON to my cardiologist today and he said that it would be OK for me to try it. About the Multaq, my cardiologist told me that it takes a week for it to work well and that my a-fib episodes right after taking the Multaq were likely coincidences. I'm going to try the FLEMETON. It that doesn't work, then I'll consider Multaq again. Thank you, Lon
Hi again, this is for my U.S. friends, my cardiologist offered to put me on FLEMETON, which has not been passed by Health Canada but is in use in U.S. The only way he could put me on it was to admit me to hospital for 3 days & then I could get it. I declined but I read up on it online and it sounds pretty good. I am on the list for ablation, likely in 6 months to a year. I'm not anxious for that although I've talked to some people who have been fairly thrilled with the outcome (I'm just a chicken). Good luck Lon, let us know what the outcome is re going back on Multaq.
Hello Suzanne, Thank you for the information. You may be right that I didn't give Multaq enough time to work well. That is what my cardiologist's nurse told me on 1-6-10 and she scolded me for stopping taking it. (I really didn't need that) I read that one of the potentially serious side effects of Multaq is a new or worsening arrhythmia. I know now that I should have went to the ER for expert advise. I made a poor decision. I told the nurse that I would like to quit taking all anti-arrhythmia drugs and just take coumadin for life, but she told me no because my CHAD2 score is 0. An echocardiogram is scheduled for 1-12-10 (2 previous echocardiograms reviled a very strong and normal heart). Also cardiologist appointment is scheduled that day. Maybe the cardiologist will suggest that I give Multaq another try. Stay healthy, Lon
Hi Lon, I started Multaq Dec. 1st and the first 2 weeks I was constantly in and out of AF. After that it settled down and I've only had one minor AF since then. Do you think you were on it long enough to level out in your body? I was very upset in the beginning but the doctor assured me it would settle down and it sure did.
Hello Stan, Yes the long term harsh side effects of amiodarone are very well known. A few of the most concerning are: fibrotic lungs, decreased thyroid function, eye cataracts, also damage to liver and nerves. I'm willing to pay later to have a normal life now. I don't tolerate a-fib well and so I'd rather add life into my years than to add years to my life. As far as the high cost of Multaq (dronedarone) it is a non-issue to me. I'm willing to pay far more than $200/month for normal sinus rhythm. Too bad Multaq doesn't work for me. Good luck and good health to you. Lon
I've been on Multaq for 4 days now and my afib/aflutter is not as noticeable now. I've had a glass of wine in gingerale each day and haven't had any problems. Hope after I finish my free samples, (21 days) my afib/aflutter disapears.
Lon im just curious my Dr seems to beleive there are harmful long term effects on amildarone so he switched me to multac. but it is costing me 200$ per month. In Uk they stopped the drug cause the benefits were less than the increased cost. I have no symptoms just an a flutter EKG. I have had no issues taking either drug. waiting for my first EKG on multac
FYI: My cardiologist told me to stop taking amiodarone for one week before taking Multaq (dronedaraone). I started taking Multaq on 1-1-10 and have tolerated it very well with no apparent side effects except for one thing. Multaq makes my a-fib worse. With in 30 minutes of my first 400mg dose of Multaq my heart went into what felt like a deep solid constant a-fib. A very disturbing feeling for sure. I'm so disappointed especially after all the positive things that I've read about this newly approved drug. I'll go back to my cardiologist on hands and knees on on Monday for help. Thankfully I've still got amiodarone which works adequately for me. Good health! Lon
I was able to get Multaq through Medicare. I needed a prior authorization by my doctor. He told me if I hit the donut hole, Sanofi Aventis will give me free Multaq until I get out of the donut hole. He'll need to fill out that form when the time comes. Overall, I am feeling great on Multaq after failing Rhythmol and Betapace.
I called my Doctor's nurse as suggested and they said, just switch immediately.
I ask the questions because it is a new drug and I wanted to get other opinions.
I'm swithing over from amiodarone to Multaq (dronedarone) next week and my cardiologist is well aware that I'm currently taking 200 mg of amiodarone per day. He told me that these two drugs are in the same chemical family. This is good as the half life of amiodarone is 58 days which means that it will take well over a year to eliminate the amiodarone from my body (down to an insignificant amount). If the Multaq works well for me, it may be due to the synergistic effects of these two drugs working together. Therefore I won't know how well the Multaq is working for me until the end of 2011. Good health! Lon
Yokena, phone your doctor's nurse.
My doctor just switched me from Amiodarone to Multaq but he did not tell me how to make the switch. Should I stop taking Amiodarone and wait for awhile before starting the Multaq? If so, how long?
i just started on multaq. was told that i would have diarrea for about 2 weeks with this drug. i have a-flutter but no symptoms. my heart rate is alwats 60-80 but my ekg shows flutter. anyone else like this? flutter but no symptoms??
Harry, that's good knews about your heart staying in normal rhythm durring the stress test with the dronedarone. Thanks for the information. To Suzanne, I've been on amiodarone (cordarone) various doses for 8 years with no harsh side effects. Amiodarone has worked well until the last 12 months where my heart has gone in and out of a-fib several times per day. Now I'm mostly in a-fib while exercising. My cardiologist has offered me dronedarone. I think that I'm going to give it a try. FYI the following dugs (various doses of each) have not been effective for my a-fib: rythmol (propafenone), betapace (sotalol) ans atenolol (tenormin). Good health! Lon
No Suzanne, I'm not a doctor, just a pleased patient. With regard to athletics, I passed a stress test yesterday without going into a-fib. I needed cardiac clearance for a colon operation on Jan. 6.
Hi Ed L & Eddie Y (Fritz), you are right, there do seem to be a lot of Eds with afib! And to LON, have you been on an afib medication before or is Multaq the first? Multaq is the first one I've been on, only for 6 days, so I've been curious to hear about others experiences with this drug, it's a great forum for information and once again I thank everyone for answers to my previous questions.
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