Multaq Anyone Else Take It (Page 7)

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'm 74 and have been on Multaq 400mg X2 for six months. I stay in normal sinus rhythm almost all the time. I do not feel fatigued or foggy. I also take a Digoxin 0.125 and two Metoprolol tartrate 50mg. My only side effect is occasional eczema patches. I'm very pleased with Multaq and it's easy on my liver.

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My husband's doctor did not seem at all surprised that he was feeling terrible on Multaq. He took him off it and took him off all of his heart meds and told him to take a week to get them out of his system and then wear a monitor to see if his heart was better or worse without the meds. My husband is back in A-fib anyway, after 2 CV and the doctor said the meds are not helping, so why feel terrible AND have no results. Back to the drawing board.

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The results from seeing the doc yesterday are that I am off Multaq, at
least for the time being. So I won't be
contributing here, and I wish those who have been having issues the very best, you and your husband in particular, Roberta.

In my case, there was a defib box
changeout done in early December and for several reasons I was pretty sedentary. One night, my
ankles suddenly slowed up, the following day I was put on a strong diuretic, have since lost 15 pounds, am feeling much much better--read normal--with far less atrial issues, sleep problems gone.

Ankle swelling may come from a variety of sources, and it could come from all of them at once. One of them is evidence of heart failure, a term that requires careful
definition, sounds more alarming than it is except in advanced cases. Another is just simple age.
A third, and one to watch out for
lest it be confused with heart failure is the vulnerability of any limb from which veins have been harvested for a bypass to occasional swelling. I had a quint
bypass in 1994, when I was 54, because the docs thought that I could take it, so they went whole hog.

What has this got to do with Multaq? All of this causes synergistic cross currents, and especially for those of you with Multaq fatigue problems: if you have
swelling, and this can accumulate
gradually, using a diuretic to return
to normal also may reduce the instances of irregular heart beat.

If you are lucky, then, as it seems I
have been, you may not even need
Multaq.

Good luck to all. Mortality is the damnedest thing, aint it.

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SWOLLEN UP, NOT SLOWED UP,
ALTHOUGH THEY MAY BE THAT TOO, THOSE ANKLES...

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I'll be starting my Multaq tonight. I went from an avid runner/biker/etc. to someone who can't jog for minute. I have exercise induced Atrial Flutter. I feel HORRIBLE even walking up stairs. (Ran a 10K last year in 8:20's.) I'm hoping, hoping, hoping to get back to exercising. Any one out there feel good exercising while on Multaq?

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I am on multag and in AF but spin 6 days a week, pending another oblation.

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Hello 58xrunner, I really feel your pain. I'm 59 and have jogged Boston and NY marathons while in constant AF. Also 3 sprint triathlons last Summer while in AF. I recently tried Multaq but it actually made my AF worse. Amiodarone 100mg/day works best for me. Four Echocardiograms indicate a normal strong and healthy heart so my cardiologist wants me to run as fast and as long as I can even while in AF. He said that my heart is so strong that it laughs at AF. HA! Amiodarone is my miracle drug. I've been on it for 9 years with no problem. My theory is that regular strenuous exercise lowers the destructive and toxic aspects of amiodarone. I'm now in training for Boston 2011 (I'll be 60). Good luck with the Multaq. I hope that it works well for you. Good health and fitness to you! Try to think positive and never give up! Lon

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I want to thank you all for all of your comments on Multaq. I went on it last night and am a little scared of side effects. I have had afib for a long time, but have only had to be cardioverted 8 times in the last 12 years. I was on Rythmol for the last 2 years and had episodes every 7-8 months. Only cardioversion worked for me. I'm hoping this new Multaq will work. I had also considered an ablation but don't feel ready yet. I am 64.

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Good luck, Kathy. We are going to Cleveland Clinic in Ft. Lauderdale to talk to a doctor there about the Mini Maze procedure. If it works, my husband will be CURED of A-fib. His doctor told him he has chronic permanent A-fib, cannot have an ablation, cannot stay in NSR with cardioversion, cannot tolerate the medications.....I think he is the perfect candidate for Mini Maze, but we shall see. His appt. is for April 1.

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I have been on Multaq since last November. I was very afraid to take it, and was surprised at how good it made me feel. However, I am still in A-Fib. I was getting an Exzema like rash around my neck and shoulders. It bothered me a bit. I lowered the dosage from 800 mg to 600 mg and the rash disappeared. I missed a cardioversion due to a cold and do not have another rescheduled yet. I do hope that I will pop back into rythem with the cardioversion. I drink alcohol with it. Have any of your docs mentioned alcohol to you? Anyway, I love Multaq! I have more energy but I do love to take a 20 min nap in the afternoon if I have time. How often do any of you visit your cardiologist? I don't see mine often, usually it is a physicians asst, and I am going to a very good university clinic.

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CJ, I'm glad you mentioned the eczema and that reducing your dosage cured it. I'm going to ask my cardiologist about the possibility. My 400 mg Multaq keeps me in NSR, but I am annoyed periodically by eczema. Thanks.

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Multaq has settled my A fib down quite alot without any side effects that I know of in the short 3 months so far. I am a 18lb. 46 year old male with a very healthy heart and blood tests in the normal range. I think they call it Lone Atrial Fibrillation because that's the only thing wrong. Previously with the Flecainide pill in the pocket approach I went into A fib 3 times a week. Now I go into Afib once a week . My cardiologist suggested I take an extra Multaq pill when my A fib lasts longer than 5 hours. This temporarily doubles my dosage but has kept me out of the hospital for electro cardiovertion. I have had no ablation but I think I want to be put on the waiting list. This will take about a year in Canada but it is free. My Multaq prescription costs $2.50 per pill here.

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Multaq has settled my A fib down quite alot without any side effects that I know of in the short 3 months so far. I am a 180lb. 46 year old male with a very healthy heart and blood tests in the normal range. I think they call it Lone Atrial Fibrillation because that's the only thing wrong. Previously with the Flecainide pill in the pocket approach I went into A fib 3 times a week. Now I go into Afib once a week . My cardiologist suggested I take an extra Multaq pill when my A fib lasts longer than 5 hours. This temporarily doubles my dosage but has kept me out of the hospital for electro cardiovertion. I have had no ablation but I think I want to be put on the waiting list. This will take about a year in Canada but it is free. My Multaq prescription costs $2.50 per pill here.

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Interesting point about eczema. I'm 58, about 175 lb. and in good shape. I had it mildly on my hairline prior to Multaq and have found no change with Multaq. I take 400 mg. twice a day. I was on it for 6 weeks prior to my 2nd CV. The Multaq alone isn't supposed to correct Afib, but for me it was preparatory for the CV, then has helped sustain my NSR for 3 months now. I have a beer once in a while, my Dr. said light alcohol is no problem. I, too, have had a marked increase in energy and stamina since CV and Multaq. I work construction, ride my bike 2 or 3 times a week and walk also. Told my Dr. I was going to push this stuff hard; he said go for it. Gonna nail that stress test in June...hope this helps!

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For those of you who do not have the side effects of fatigue from Multaq, you are lucky! My husband is back to his old energetic self since he stopped taking it. There seems to be a portion of the population that cannot tolerate it and another portion that does well on it. I guess it's the same for lots of medications. I'm just so happy to have my husband back.

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It is my sense that my renewed energy is more from being back in NSR than from the Multaq itself; it is simply allowing the CV (and hence the NSR) to continue intact. I can imagine many different side effects, varying in intensity, also impacted by other Rx's, diet, age, condition, etc. So glad to have this forum to share and compare!

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I have been on Multaq twice a day since last August along with Metoprolol 50 twice a day. I had tried all other drugs with really bad side effects, 4 cardioversions and I was in A FIB all the time. I was so bad I could not walk 10 feet because of the lack of oxogen and my heart rate was around 100 to 150. I took Multaq and it was like a miracle drug to me for I could function again after having A FIB for 1 year. In Dec. I had my fifth cardioversion and I have been in SR since. I feel great and hope it lasts.I take Coumadin and will have to forever. I do feel tired sometimes and I have some brain fog but it is all worth feeling normal again. I also have some fluid retention and take Lasix twice a week and it works great. I have a healthy heart and I have exercised and worked hard all my life. I am 67 years old.

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I've posted here before but just providing an update. On Multaq for 8 weeks and it has been wonderfully effective. My doc has me also take magnesium oxide (400mg) with each dose of Multaq. Apparently the mag oxide also provides for NSR control in combo with Multaq. I was told that if A Fib occurs to take an extra mag oxide tablet immediately. So far, I have not needed to do that. So, bottom line is that I love Multaq. Great results and zero side effects. Good luck to all of you!!

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flecainidehas worked for 8 yrs(50 mg of atenolol was added in 2005)but im starting to have longer and more frequent breakthroughs.multaq will be next combined with coreg.im trying to put off ablation because ive never met anyone who had more than 2yrs relief with it.claims of 90% success are someones pipedream

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We just had a second opinion at Cleveland Clinic in FL with Dr. Pinsky. He said, and I quote Multaq is a fraud. He said he had never treated anyone who had any real improvement with that drug. He uses something else that you have to be hospitalized for 3 days to get started on and it converts 30% of people to NSR without CVR.

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