Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group

Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.

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Heart, Blood & Circulation
/ Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group

How do you get off Tikosyn?

heart2222
heart2222
After the 3 mos check up with the nurse practitioner who told me to stay on Tikosyn due to my atrial tachy, she emailed me and said she talked to the surgeon who said to stop the Tikosyn. No explanation. The nurse prac had told me that Tikosyn is not really effective against AT.

Does anyone have experience with stopping Tikosyn? Do you just stop it abruptly or do you have to taper it down?
tomorrowsdream
tomorrowsdream
I did. I just stopped taking it. It didn't work for me. No problems getting off of it at all. Are they putting you on something else?
heart2222
heart2222
I just quit the Tikosyn last night. No, not starting me on anything else just yet. One step at a time. Still on Pradaxa.

Thanks for your response, tomorrow!
yogacat
yogacat
How are u doing today w/o the Tykosyn? I hope you are OK with no ill effects!
heart2222
heart2222
So far so good, yoga!! Thanks for asking. Somehow my heart feels as if it stops for a couple seconds and then starts again. Anyone else have that feeling???

I'm kinda nervous about being off Tikosyn and how my heart will respond.
pamdidi
pamdidi
tikosyn has been wonderful for me but unfortuneately I forgot to put it in my pill boxes and realized today that I hadnt taken it for 5 days! Called Dr and I have to go back in the hospital to start it again. fell like an idiot!
daisy0808
daisy0808
I take Tikosyn and have forgotten a couple of times and had no ill effects. I took it at the next required time as it says to do per directions. My EP said you have about a 2 hour window and to not take it any closer than that. if you miss a whole day you would have to go back to hospital to be reloaded. It has a pretty short half life so if you are not having any ill effects than you are probably okay. Might want to call and ask the doc for more info, the NP should have offered more instructions .Unfortunately we always think of the question we should have asked after we hang up, don't be afraid to call them back and ask. I have the stop and starts normally and have never attributed it to the Tikosyn.
heart2222
heart2222
When I was on Tikosyn, I think I talked to the drug manufacturer and they said you couldn't put them into a pill box. It needs to be in the original container that it's dispensed in. Moisture protection? I don't recall exactly. But I remember I didn't put it into a pill box for some reason related to it's stability.
catduck
catduck
Yes I stopped 2 weeks ago, against my doctors advice. I feel better off but have occasional 2 hour a fib once a week. Tikyson was effective but the side effects overall dullness, throat constriction, occasional pain - price and the price in dollars and that you had to take it for the rest of your life and had to pay 3 days in hospital to get on it was a real turn off. I wrote Pfizer the manufacture and did not get a reply.
catduck
catduck
The 3 days in hospital is per Pfizer, it is for the 1 in 5000 case where serious up to death happens going on - not off tikosyn. Pfizer requires it to protect from a law suite for wrongful death caused by a medication. I suggested that a simple stay near a hospital and a service to check EKG every 4 hours does NOT require hospital and got a agreement form a no provider that that would make sense. Hospital is $1700 a day just for room in my area.