Flecainide and Headaches: What Users Say

• Ash...
• September 24, 2014

For Atrial Fibrillation "My PACs started up about 10 years ago and 18 months ago I developed atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation. I had an ablation for flutter but still had atrial fibrillation. This medicine scared the heck out of me after reading about it online. I decided to trust my EP and give it a shot. It's been 3 months since I started and no atrial fibrillation. My PACs have nearly gone away as well. I used to get 500 skips in a day but now I only feel one or two total during the course of a week. I feel great and hope it keeps working. After I started taking flecainide, I did have about 10-14 days of mild side effects (tired, headache, indigestion, bloating) but feel completely normal now. I have much more energy and psychologically I am very upbeat. My heart beats normally now, it's awesome!"

• pat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 29, 2015

For Atrial Fibrillation "I don't ever like taking new medicines, especially those that can have severe side effects. I started taking Flecainide 50 mg 2 times a day on October 13th as my paroxysmal atrial fib was getting more and more common. Before this year, I would get afib once a month. Then it started happening a few times a week, sometimes more. My cardiologist prescribed Flecainide because the afib was affecting my quality of life. So far, it is definitely working to keep my heart in rhythm. No abnormalities that I know of. However, I do have a slight headache most of the time and feel fatigued a lot and sometimes feel a little like I am not taking a full breath. I am trying to see if these symptoms subside."

• Anonymous
• September 27, 2011

For Atrial Flutter "This medicine has been great for me. I was first prescribed a beta-blocker when diagnosed. However, it made me so sick and sluggish that my doctor switched me to flecainide. He warned me not to read about it on the internet because of all the warnings, but I knew I had to do something. I have been on this medicine for 8 years with no problems (50 mg 2x day). It has made a big positive difference for me. I had a headache for about 3 days when I first started, but not since. No other side effects at this dosage."

• Dav...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 17, 2018

For Ventricular Tachycardia "After many years of recurrent PVCs and ventricular tachycardia (and many different beta blockers), I was put on flecainide. It put all my symptoms to rest. I don't appear to have side effects but get more headaches than usual."

• A f...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 27, 2015

For Atrial Fibrillation "Had AFib for 6 months. Did the cardioversion once. Went on this drug 5 days later, tried cardioversion again, and it worked. Been on drug now for 10 days. Feeling tired, have shortness of breath with even light exercise, like walking around the block. Also, headaches, not happy about it."

• Sla...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 2, 2023

For Atrial Fibrillation "Discovered I was in A-Fib and A-Flutter in 2010 at age 55, by accident when a doctor caught my heart rate at 188. No symptoms, other than being extremely tired and dizzy. Multiple medicines over 3 months, including flecainide up to 100 mg twice a day. All failed. The cardiologist specifically said flecainide failed and was of no use to me. Had an ablation (7.5-hour surgery with 275 burn spots) which worked for years. My trigger seems to be pain. No alcohol. The last 3 months (early 2023) have been back in A-Fib daily. A new cardiologist wanted me to try flecainide again at 50 mg twice a day. No effect. Increased the flecainide to 100 mg twice a day. Symptoms worse. Feel horrible. Can’t do much of anything. Can’t concentrate. Bad headaches. Just want to sleep. Constant A-Fib. The cardiologist sent my records to an EP. Immediately scheduled ablation and stopped the flecainide. Flecainide may work for some people, but it is an absolute failure for me."

• Squ...
• February 25, 2021

For Atrial Fibrillation "I was given flecainide for 5 weeks for atrial fibrillation. I wish I never took it. It didn't work, I had two more fibrillations afterward, and it had many bad side effects: palpitations, skipped beats, way too fast heartbeat, high blood pressure, dizziness, feeling lightheaded (often to the point of almost fainting), nausea, a big lump in my throat, diarrhea, bad headaches, high-pitch ear ringing, involuntary muscle movements/flickering, heartburn, cold sweaty hands/feet, pins and needles in my fingers, chest squeezing, random chest pains, anxiety, insomnia. I often was on the verge of calling an ambulance. I felt terrible. The doctor first increased the amount from 50+50 mg to 100+100 mg, and things got even worse. After a few weeks, I started to decrease the dosage in reverse order. Finally, I decided to stop it altogether, and in 3 days, almost all side effects were gone. I hadn't had any episodes of fibrillation for more than a month now despite stopping the medication."

• Anonymous
• August 1, 2021

Flecainide for Ventricular Tachycardia "Started taking flecainide one week ago. I have experienced headaches, swelling of face, feeling as if I could not think, and legs swelling. I tried cutting the dose in half and still same results. This med is not for me."

• Tor...
• February 6, 2021

For Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia "Do not take this medicine. I am currently on flecainide for frequent PVCs, my burden was 16%. While it does calm them down, this medicine sucks the life out of you. This med is great for a couple of weeks, but then I started having a lot of side effects: constant headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, back spasms, loss of weight, anxious all the time. This medicine is not for everyone, but if you decide to take it, read up on it. It solves one problem, it creates a ton more! I wouldn’t wish this med upon my worst enemy! Awaiting an ablation for my left posterior fascicle PVCs."

• Jod...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 3, 2022

"I was placed on flecainide 50 mg twice a day for PVCs and bigeminy. It worked for a few months, then stopped. I was placed on 100 mg twice a day in February 2022, and my ventricular bigeminy went away, my heart rhythm was normal. The side effects that came after were horrendous. I have never been so unwell in all my life. I couldn’t walk in a straight line, I was always going to the left. The weakness I had was extreme. But the dizziness and chronic headache were the worst. I had constant black floaters and flashing lights, I couldn’t even string a sentence together sometimes. I couldn’t clean my house or do anything with my children. I was telling them for three months, and nobody would listen. Finally, after staying in A&E this weekend, the doctor agreed it’s the flecainide. I’ve stopped it now, I still feel unwell, but I feel so much better. Now the arrhythmia will come back, and I don’t know what will happen after that, but I will never, ever, ever take flecainide again. I literally thought I was dying."

• Doc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 27, 2022

For Atrial Flutter "Worst experience I've ever had with a drug: severe, constant nausea, headaches, diarrhea, cough, difficulty breathing, insomnia. All that, and it didn't help the arrhythmia at all!"