Multaq - Dronedarone

Hello,
I have had Lone Afib for about 3 years now, very fortunately I only have about 6 attacks per year and always convert on my own anywhere from 2 to 10 hours.

I was taking Rythmol Sr which seemed to work very well for me, no side effects at all.

My doctor just recently gave me a new prescription for Multaq - dronedarone. He said this drug was recently approved by the FDA for people suffering from Lone Afib and said it was very effective.

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this drug or knows anyone who has.

Thank you

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Thanks Jackie, Appreciate that

Been on Multaq for almost a month now with no side effects and in NSR most of the time. I went off my Tropol XL 25 mg about a week ago and my heart has calmed down quite a bit and HR has calmed down to below 60 BPM. Got diagnosed end of May with AFIB. Started Tropol at time of diagnosis and belive it made my AFIB worse. I also started supplements mentioned on this forum so who knows what is causing this calm heart but I like it.

Al, I started taking Multaq over two weeks ago, and am sorry to say, it hasn't done a thing for me. I'm in the process of going off it now. However, from what I've learned about it, it may work better for people who don't have episodes as frequently as I do (8 or 9 a month). Some people seem to find it very helpful. When I called the drug company, I was given the information that it should show results 8 to 10 days, and if not, it's probably not going to do so. (Incidentally, the half life of Multaq is 13 to 19 hours.) As to side-effects, it gave me some stomach discomfort, as well as an "uneasy" feeling, and I felt I was my episodes were closer together. It did help me get my HR a little lower during an episode. It's a good idea to try samples first since it's so expensive.

I was on Multaq for about 8 days and it really had no effect. I can see it helping a small percent of the population though. I think it outperformed a placebo by about 10%.

Multaq = it didn't work for me. The frequency of my AFIB episodes turned out to be the same and unfortunately for the same duration.

Hi Al,
IS that you... Michaels Dad?? :-) If so I just got your letter asking about Multaq but it seems Jackie has found you so your in good hands :-)!

Dronaderone is a good deal less effective in most reports than Amioderone but reserve Amioderone for emergency issues. It can be a brutal drug long term.

We will see what Dronedarone is really like over time with a larger data base now that it is formally approved.

Head the warning that you must not have had any congestive heart failure any time recently when starting Multaq.

I'm wary of anti-arrhythmics in general, though they can work for a good while for some folks, and have for me. Its a crap shoot though and Flecanide is what threw me into an intense 1 to 1 high speed flutter a year and a half ago here in Holland and converted me directly from proxysmal Afibber of 12 years into persistant AfIb/Flutter 24/7 and led to my ablation with Natale.

Maybe I should thank Felcanide :-) It forced the issue and I've been much better off for it!

Dr Bruce Lindsay, a well known EP who is now at CCF says the following about dronedarone:

"Despite some hype in the press, the reality is that the long term effectiveness of dronederone is probably in the range of 35%. It will be useful, but it is not a panacea."

[my.clevelandclinic.org]

-- Dick

Multaq hasn't worked for me.

I was developing daily afib episodes this past August, and Flecainide didn't seem to be helping so I was given Multaq to try. It did not stop afib completely, but seemed to quiet it down. With in about a week I began to have problems with my digestive tract, as well as some very irritating skin dryness.

So last Tuesday I stopped the Multaq since it wasn't helping with afib, and went back to my Flec. Since the 2nd day off Multaq, I have not had one afib episode, my digestion is 100% improved, and my skin is already back to normal. Not sure why Flec wasn't working in August, but now it seems to be keeping me in NSR once again!

Valerie