Multaq Anyone Else Take It (Page 26)

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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CarolAnn: did you try Tikosyn? It has been out a long time, pretty time-proven, and if you don't have startup problems it does not have any bad surprises. Go search the 'Pallas' study on Multaq which the FDA stpped early and see some of the problems that popped up that had not been noticed in earlier studies. Now the one thing I noticed about the Pallas study is they did include people with bad heart disease. I am not convinced they would have had some of those deaths if they had only looked at A-Fibbers with healthy hearts.

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Hi Ed, I had ablation 3 months ago, totally messed mr up, in afib and a flutter constantly, occasionally coming out of it on my own. I cannot have even 1 glass of wine since the ablation, or real coffee, very discouraging. I'm going for second ablation mid January, hoping it gives me some relief, really would like to enjoy a glass of wine again!

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Just curious, do you all take Magnesium supplements? I went off the Multaq completely and have had very minimal episodes. I take Magnesium and CoQ10 every day now.

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8 Months out from my Ablation and no symptoms and no drugs, completely back to normal lifestyle! I had one episode 2 months after the ablation but none since then. I stopped taking the Multac and Coumadin 1 month after that episode. So glad I had my ablation done by Dr. Natale. At the ripe old age of 25 I can now continue my active lifestyle and not worry about my heart. Dr. said if I can go a year without incident the chances of it ever happening again are less than 2% I wish everyone the best of luck and Merry CHRISTmas!

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Deborah,

Been on Multaq for about ten months. No Afib at all, no side effects.

I take Magnesium, CoQ10, Omega 3, Garlic, Hawthorn, Selenium and a high potency multivitamin.

I don't drink alcohol or soda, only juices and water.

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Wow, congrats Brian, this is what I'm hoping for! Merry Christmas and stay healthy!

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Gary, what's the Hawthorn for?

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Deborah,

PubMed.gov
US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health

"Hawthorn extract for treating chronic heart failure":

(Deborah, here's a shortened summary)

Thirteen trials met all inclusion criteria. In most of the studies, hawthorn was used as an adjunct to conventional treatment.

Eight trials including 632 patients with chronic heart failure (New York Heart Association classes I to III) provided data that were suitable for meta-analysis. For the physiologic outcome of maximal workload, treatment with hawthorn extract was more beneficial than placebo.

The pressure-heart rate product also showed a beneficial decrease with hawthorn treatment. Symptoms such as dyspnea and fatigue improved significantly with hawthorn treatment as compared with placebo.

In conclusion, these results suggest that there is a significant benefit from hawthorn extract as an adjunctive treatment for chronic heart failure.

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Trapper,
What was the outcome of you decreasing the amount of Multaq you were taking. You have not posted in some time and I was curious as to how it went. Also, do you drink alcohol?

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check out Dr. J. Marcus Wharton at MUSC Charleston South Carolina...read about him....was at Duke with Dr. Natale until 2005.. to a website a-fib.com...and google Dr. Wharton....John Marcus Wharton, MD

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Suzzane...

I can empathize with you. I miss that wine also.

Rip

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Yes I am having dry sensative skin irration on my face, but I am not taking Multag. I am presently in "only a controlled A-flutter (85avg BPM) not FIB. I was taking 150mg of Pradaxa but it made me bleed too much for my liking. I on now back on 325mg of Ecotrin to thin my blood to avoid a stroke or heart atack, & also taking 200MG of METOPROLOL SUCC ER,
20MG LISINOPRIL & 40MG FUROSEMIDE to help me lose excess water weight in ankles, etc. I have lost 15 lbs, gained 10% in my pHeart EF pumping action from 30% low to 40% now and I have changed my diet to cut sugars, excessive sodiums, and lowered my bad Cholesterol 46pts in only 3 months to 176. Heart Disease has alot of bearing on what you foods you do or do not eat.

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I just noticed a typo in my previous post. I meant to say I am OFF Multaq. Took it only for one month and it did nothing for my A-fib. Sorry about that. The rest is correct: I take CoQ10, magnesium, etc.

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There are two Deborahs here. Sorry for causing confusion. One is ON and one is OFF Multaq.

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I do take magnesium 250-300 extrqa per day in addition to my cal/mah/zinc tab. I am going to try the 300mg Hawthorn supplements along with my 250mg/day Tikosyn and see if there is any difference...

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Gayle, I am on 1/2 dose twice daily and am feeling better, and no afib. The problems I was having are still there, but less. I plan to drop to 1/4 dose next. I have been talking with my cardiologist while doing this, as well as dumping another bothersome med.

No, I have not had any drinks since my afib reared its ugly head. I'm not taking the risk that it might be related.

Green Tea is about as strong as it gets these days.

I'll keep you posted.

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I'll also add, that I might bump up the Multaq again once I've determined what side effects go away from the other med. Not sure how long it takes to get out of the system entirely.

I hate being a lab rat . . . .. . .

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I noticed that earlier I had posted that I was on a 1/4 dose, but afterwards, I did bump it back up to 1/2 dose so I could have a more steady baseline for comparison in the few weeks before my latest cardiology appointment.

There were too many variables going on and I realized I was trying to "shotgun" the situation, so I started trying one thing at a time.

Out of curiosity, how many afibbers here find that their afib is related to GI or other vagal issues?

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no GI or vagus nerve issues here that I have ever noticed. Mine seems structural with large pulmonary veins and it often is triggered rolling onto my left side at night. Unfortunately I am a side sleeper and that sometimes triggers it. Caffeine and decongestants and stress are the worst although I have had MSG triggers. Alcohol only triggers if way overdone. The problem with MSG is they sneak it into your food and don't tell...

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Trapper,

Most meds are safely out of your system in 1 week.

There are some that take about 2 weeks because of how they work in your system. Usually if you are going on a new med that may have negative side effects with the old one is when 2 weeks would be a safe period. But again, 1 week is the norm if this isn't an issue.

Obviously it's best to ask your MD or even better, your Pharmacist.

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