Hi Dave
I was just put on Flec 03/24/2015 .. 50MG 2 x daily .. I was in a fog and felt nervous and lethargic .. I was willing to accept those side- effects, but I started to have blurry vision .. I was also the 1 in 10,000 people that is photo sensitive to Flec .. spent a week in San Diego and ended up with my chest, lips and hands swollen and deep red .. I am just super sensitive to drugs .. for a lot of people Flec is a great drug .. only you will be able to decide if it is tolerable for you...

Good Luck,
Charlene

Hi Dave,

I started flecainide just over a month ago. So far I've not noticed any ill effects, and it keeps me in NSR (most of the time).

Been on Flec 50mg x 2 per day, no real issues. Sometimes, I think it may make me feel a bit more drowsy once in a while but then again it may simply be a function of how late I went to bed the previous night. It has kept me in NSR for just about all of the 9 months I've been on it. Not taking anything else other than the occasional 81mg aspirin.

Hi Dave...

I switched from Multaq to Flec about 6 weeks ago. I take 50 mg. twice a day. So far, I have not noticed any side effects and I've stayed in NSR. I'm actually feeling like I have a bit more energy now! I haven't noticed anything different mentally.....any worse than normal anyway! I'm 57 and do get a bit forgetful sometimes!

I am noticing that my eyes are a bit pink mostly in the mornings. I don't think is it major, just never noticed it before. Hope it's not the start of something. No blurriness or anything.

Chinamom22.....what do you mean by photo sensitive? Do you mean you reacted to the sun? We are going on a cruise soon, and I'm going to be in the sun a lot. It usually doesn't bother me. Just wondering if it was the sun that made your chest, lips, and hands swollen and red or just a regular allergy to the med. Did you change to a different drug?

Dave, 300 mg a day seems like a high dose to me. Did you start lower and have to take more because it didn't work? Please contact your doctor about your symptoms. He may want to make some changes.

Hope things improve for you!

I have been taking 100 mg 2x daily since end of March. I feel like my memory is a little off and maybe falling asleep a little sooner than normal but other than that been ok. This was given to me after my ablation. Been in NSR ever since.

1 in 10,0000 people are sun sensitive with the Flec .. If I had knowni would have used a stronger SPF .. you will most likely be fine on your cruise .. Mine was definitely the sun .. showed up the second day .. I went to urgent care .. it was gone in 3 days .. I'm no longer on the Flec .. so I can spend time on the lake this summer :)

Thanks for responding to my question! That is a side effect that I have not read about. It's nice to know and take precautions against. I am generally one that reacts to most meds. Thanks for your info.

Dear DBinIL, I was started at 100mg. twice a day. My Dr. said, "You'll know if this works within 5 doses." Well, the first 5 doses DID work, and then it mostly did not work. Weird. So, we went up to 300mg. a day (I'm a big guy @ 6'3", and 240 lbs.), and my Dr. said that even go as high as 400mg. I've had VERY good success at this dosage, with the only truly notable side effect being that my dream life is very vivid and kind of disturbing. I am MUCH more frequently in NSR, but my Dr. said, "If you've failed on one drug, you'll probably--at some point--fail on this one, too." So, I know an ablation is in my future; I'm just being gun-shy, and I'll stalling on going through with it. Many Thanks to all who responded!

Hi Dave,
I am on Flecainide 100mg 2x per day now. Increased last year. Yes definitely noticed more of a brain fog and and memory, not loss, but slowness and in fact a general slowing of my normal full on enthusiasm and quick brain. My hubby noticed too.
The way it was described to me is that the drug dampens down your electrics in your heart, therefor the other electrics in your body, ie your brain, are also dampened doe. Was like living in a fishbowl to begin with and a little dizziness, tho it has become normal to me rather than gone away.
I say you are not crazy! All the best in your AF journey, M

I am on carvedilol, started at 6.25 Mg x2 daily. Then he upped it to 12.5 Mg twice daily - didn't seem to do me much good. - b.p.and h.r still too high and have been in a- fib since early March. This is my 3rd attack in 2 years. So he added FLEC as PIP and this didn't do any good. Now I am on Carvedilol at the highest dosage of 25 Mg twice daily. I am either sensitive to medicines or immune. The first one I was on was Diltiazem for 6 months and kept my heart with a nice slow h.r. and b.p. After my second attack, they put me on Sotalol and it worked overnight. I stayed in NSR totally for 14 months until a bad
episidode, thus my cardiologist and e.p. decided on carvedilol, lisinopril, sertraline and I was on Warfarin but am now on Eliquis. I hate RYTHM control drugs - so will see what happens!
Best wishes to all of you as we deal with this "monster".
Christine

I am on 100mg twice a day for the last year. I have not had one night sleep without nightmares, bad dreams etc.
Have others had this side effect?

I took Flec post ablation for a few weeks as a preventative. While on it, I had brain fog, fatigue, and it was harder to remember things - While on it, I also felt like someone was squeezing my heart from the inside. I did don't remember having bad dreams on it but it was like a bad dream being on the stuff.

Hi Dave,
I cannot take Flecainide. I had a very bad reaction on 50mg (guess I am a light-weight with drugs). I experienced extreme fatigue and light-headedness, tachycardia, and shortness of breath. I really thought I was going to pass out, and could only lie down until it wore off. The EP could not believe it, and wanted me to take more to see what would happen! I politely declined.

Flec threw me for a loop! 200/100 bp, blurred vision, ringing ears and felt like a bus hit me after 10 days on the stuff.

Flec caused my tinnitus to go off the music charts. That was the least of my side effects tho. Completely disoriented some days, shortness of breath with more PVCs, nightmares, night sweats, Tachy, and the clincher was numbness in facial area. Cardio said I d get used to it. Why would I want to was my response.