Multaq Anyone Else Take It (Page 35)

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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Well, after 2 months being back on Multaq, I've been turned back into an exhausted, brain dead toad. I'd forgotten how overwhelmingly tired and foggy this stuff made me feel last time.

Nice being in rhythm, but . . . . . . . .

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My mother got off a 2 week does of amiodarone and onto multaq. The tremendous weakness started within days. Doc insisted not possible. After being in bed for over 23hrs a day for a week is going back to cardizem and atenolol. Heart loved med, but her body was dying. I believe that 7% astenia side effect.

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hang in their Trapper.

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I haven't post anything in a while, but so far the Rheumatiod Arthritis, Involuntry Snorting, Sleep Apnea and Acid Reflux the Multaq had trigger have completely disappeared; since I stopped taking the drug.

But what have recently encounter is cluster headaches and associated symptoms. Sometimes these cluster can trigger brief but scary AFIB episodes. I had these cluster headaches when I was younger 12-14 and then between 17-22. They went into remission. I have been trying to figure out what caused them to come back after 20 years. I know this may sound crazy but I feel there have been some changes made to how they are manufacturing my blood pressure medications: 90 mg of Nefidipine ER, 50 mg of Metoprolol ER and 25 mg of Hydrochrolothizide. I have had the CAT scan it came back clean, went to the doctor and had blood work over three weeks ago. I'm gonna assume that was clean because I haven't received a call from the DR or the Lab.

The actual pain from the cluster headaches stopped about 4 weeks ago. However the symptoms: swollen left side of my face, sinus pressure in my head, pupil strinkage, eyelid swelling and random AFIB have continued. So, I started a process of elimination with my life style and I believe it is the medication. I have been on this medication successfully for over 8 years, but what I have noticed in my investigation is that if I take the medication at 9:00 am the symptom are present by 11:00am through to 1:00. If I take the medication at 4:00 the symptoms start up by 6:00 and last till 9:00. Yesterday, I took the medication at 12:30 by 2:30 the symptoms had start up. If I brake the mediation up the symptoms start within 2 hour of all three being introduced to my system.

I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I believe that these companies ( or at least one of these companies have making changes to the medication(s) without notifying the public. Has anyone else experience these symptoms.

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does multaq make you tired and weak have been on it 4 weeks seems to me i am weak and slower foggy sotalol did the sme thing now what

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cd, sorry to here about all the problems with the meds.

It seems I'm one of the few here that Multaq works perfectly for and in the two years I've been taking it have had no side effects at all my blood work comes up negative for any problems. But then as discussed here many times, we all have different systems and other variables are always involved and that applies to any drug one might be taking.

As for your other dilemmas, I don't take any of the drugs you are on, actually I'm only on two different drugs for different ailments.

The only real general advice I can give here is through my own experiences.

Never wait for doctors to call you or assume just because they haven't that nothing showed up in the tests. Never put that much faith into any physician. It's your life and in the end you are the only one responsible for taking care of yourself, not the doctor. I've already corrected too many mistakes on their part because they will always make wrong decisions or a poor a diagnosis many times no matter how good they are.

With most, you're only part of a long assembly line of patients and many will treat you without doing all the homework needed. My Afib only started two years ago because a doctor gave me the wrong drug injections right before I was to take an MRI scan, he didn't bother to check for interactions with another med I was on and almost immediately after the injections my heart started to act up. "I" had to check on what he gave me on my own later and found that he didn't check and that he only treated me with the same drug injections he gave everyone, just like on an assembly line. And within the past few years these doctors have created more problems than I had gone to see them for. I've diagnosed most of my problems more correctly and more times than they have. Do NOT leave any decisions completely in the hands of any doctor. Do your own research or have someone do it for you before they give or do anything to you. Then ask questions and tell them exactly what you think and what conclusions you've come up with. Discuss things, just don't assume they are right and blindly follow their every word. If they won't listen or discuss things with you in detail, find a doctor who will or you may end up much worse off than you started.

Drug companies always make changes to their product and most of the time it is not announced for one reason or another, usually because it's not a major change but unfortunately even small changes can effect different people. The two things that usually happen many times without notification are minor drug ingredient changes and pharmacologists (even a non-drug ingredient change to a med can have side effects on people) changing you over to a generic form of the same drug you've been taking, without telling you. This has happened to me on a few occasions with bad effects.

The way the medical field is today, you almost have to be your own physician and do your own research to get the correct answers.

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I was very tired the first two or three months I was on Multaq. In fact, I took and hour to and hour and a half nap every afternoon. Eventually my body got used to it and I do not have that problem now. Hopefully, this will happen to you. I have been on it three years now.

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Thanks Gary. You sound like me. I have had to resort to researching my health issues on numerous occasions. I have no faith in the medical community at this point. It is almost like they have become my second opinion. I now go into the doctors office and just give the symptons. I don't tell them about what I think or what I suspect. I see if they arrive at the same conclusion I have come up with. If they come up with something different then I research their diagnosis and go from there. What I have found is that most doctors just prescibe medication now.

This is what I experience yesterday. As you know I was moving my medication around to see if the cluster headache symptoms followed the medication and it did. Well thursday I didn't take the nifedipine and I did not have the cluster headache symptom. Friday I took half the nifedipine and had milder symptoms. Saturday, I didn't take the nifedipine and I had no symptoms. Yesterday, I took half the nifedipine and with in two hour had cluster headache symptoms and went into afib. When this occurred my daughter asked me when my afib originally began. When I thought about it I realized that the afib started 7 to 8 years ago after I was placed on the drug therapy I listed in the previous thread.

:(

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I hear ya, cd. I've been noticing through some recent researching that there are many meds, over the counter and prescribed (also herbs) where they tell you that you can get an Afib reaction if you have certain conditions or taking something else. One really has to look at and read the usually long list of warnings on everything they take nowadays (which many Dr.s don't tell you). It seems the longer time goes by, the list of warnings gets longer and longer.

Everyone, please be careful! Know exactly what you're taking and trust your own research and instincts first. You know your own bodies reactions better than anyone else and we're still a long way off from understanding all of the intricacies of our bodies and how it really works. Meds have come a long way but in say 10 years they will be calling many of today's drugs outdated and dangerous.

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Started Multaq Oct 2012. Pulse got so slow it was dangerous, less than 40 often. I increased synthroid (which may have triggerred my AF) and got it above 40 but still too slow. I had all the usual symptons, headaches, pain in kidneys, exhaustion, trouble breathing,etc. After a while the rate slowed and I started taking 1+1/2 capulets a day. It helped but not enough. I reduced to 1 capulet a day (1/2 morning and night). I can manage a full day without taking a nap. My only AF relapse in a month lasted only 2 hrs before i took full dose of Multaq and converted to "my normal". I can tolerate my present circumstances as long as i am careful about triggers. Is there a place where the triggers are indexed and summarized by someone not working for the drug maker?

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Hi Guiermo, Obviously there are lists of the so called "general" triggers but beyond that each of us has our own set that may or may not effect someone else. Something that might set off your Afib might not bother me or someone else at all. My own experience and research has told me that the only real way to find "your" triggers is through trial and error. Basically we have to experiment on ourselves to see what those triggers are. I would suggest keeping a kind of diary of events such as what you were doing or eating etc. before your Afib kicked in and list the time the events occurred. Unfortunately there hasn't been a a lot of research or studies done on our affliction until recently so I guess we're kind of like the lab experiments to the medical field.

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Gary,
I suspected as much. My doctor didn't read the literature or didn't consider St John's wort a problem worth mentioning. Until I get a handle on this everything is a problem. My problem didn't start until i started Synthroid. After synthroid each of the 3 times i had AF something different started it. I have 1 2hr event since starting Multaq. I will start a diary/log and thanks for the info

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Last year my husband started taking this medication to control his Afib, but when we change cardiologist, the new doctor check him for 3 weeks, and then change to Digoxin.
Currently he is taking a blood thyner -xarelto- that is safer than Pradexa.
His doctor mention that his blood pressure was going up because the steroids medication to clean the infection of his lungs. High blood pressure increase the chance to have Atrial fib.
No more stereoids, blood pressure is in good rate, Afib's stooped.
Tell your doctor to look the whole package of your medication.
Now,

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Gary is absolutely right. Before involving yourself in a medical experiment (A.K.A. treatment), become as educated as possible. If your doctor gets upset with you for seeking additional information, and asking questions, find another. Some doctors appreciate your being an involved patient - many others take it as an affront to their diploma.

There are things I know now that never, never should have been done with me that created problems down the road. I wish at the time I had listened to my inner voice and not blindly trusted. I research EVERYTHING now on my own.

Back to Multaq - the sleep problems and the exhaustion have abated somewhat - enough so that I think I can get back to my exercise routine. I still feel brain dead several hours after taking it, and I'm hungry all of the time. Guess my body wants food for energy to compensate for the Multaq fatigue. Good news is not a single burp in the afib dep't, and perfect NSR.

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but that could be from carrying around to much weight. On a diet now so we will see. 'but the multaq has been a blessing to me.

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I also take 50mg.of metoprolol and 400mg.of multaq twice a day. It has kept my A-fib under control. I was ready for a nervous breakdown before I started the multaq I was always in A-fib. No side effects from it. Have developed shortness of breath.

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this a fib is rough I find as soon as I have stress my pulse goes up to 80 I think stress will do it but we all have stress with me I think it is mostly stress good luck to all of you

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I have been on Multaq 400mg twice a day for 5 years. For me is a miracle drug. I tried everything nothing worked. At 7am I take coumadin 1mg., my multivitameni b and 20billion of probiotic(for my stomach). At 1:30PM I take multaq 400mg plus koreg.325mg and at 1:30AM I take again Multaq 400mg. The secret you have to take it every day the same time and as far away from the coumadin because both of them strongly interact with each other. I am 82 years old and I fill very good. No side efects.

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Gary: You are so right that we must research all our medications and advocate for ourselves. For four years, I was having pain in my hips. The doctors (all 5 that I have seen) kept telling me it was arthritis. It was a constant pain and never went away and it was getting so bad that I had trouble walking. Then I started getting night sweats. The final straw was that I couldn't eat. (that was partially good because I need to lose 60 pounds & I lost 30). Finally, I researched the side effects of one of my drugs--hydralazline--and these were all symptoms of a reaction to it. I have quit taking it (with the knowledge of the "doctors") and my pain is mostly gone. The night sweats are gone. Food tastes good again (that is too bad lol).

Just thought I would share since you are all discussing advocating for yourselves with the docs

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It's great to see some positive stories here!

Trapper, it's really great to hear at least the Afib is being controlled, I hope the the other problems eventually work themselves out.

Hey Debbie, I've heard heavier woman are much more caring and loving, not to mention being quite sexy. :)

I'm so glad to hear "you" found the problem and corrected it. Self reliance and common sense seems to be lacking in today's world.

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