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Flomax causing AFib?

Posted , 8 users are following.

greg1206
greg1206

Has anyone had an AFib attack after starting Flomax to treat their BPH?  If you check the post marketing data from Bohreinger Englheim, the manufacturer, over 700 cases have been reported since 2004.

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • derek76
    derek76 greg1206

    Posted

    I took it only for about five days. My BP dropped and my heart rate went up. I was lying in bed  and it felt like the bed  was vibrating as my heart rate went up to 136 bpm. A young out of hours doctor came and was unsure of the cause until he looked up his copy of BNF. 

    About ten years later when I was having my aortic valve replaced they could not get a catheter in due to my BPH and a prostate infection/prostatitis and had to use a suprapubic catheter. 

    The operation caused me to go into AF and I was prescribed amiodarone and two beta blockers as well as Finasteride and Tamsulosin. I protested at Tamsulosin due to the Flomax effect that they said that was not a side effect of it! Three days after surgery a cardioversion failed to put me back into NSR.

    This time due to the drugs I was taking for AF stopped my heart rate from getting out of control. I stopped the Tamsulosin after a couple of months and the following month the next cardioversion worked.       

     

    • greg1206
      greg1206 derek76

      Posted

      very interesting.  these doctors are not at risk for Rxing these drugs and seem protected from retribution.  I am out over $10K because I listened to him about Flomax and his reassurance that it would not cause AFib.
    • derek76
      derek76 greg1206

      Posted

      The other AF factor is the vagus nerve. After the successful cardioversion I was back in NSR for 15 months until I had a colonoscopy that stimulated my vagus nerve. Another cardioversion and back into NSR for about 10 months until I had a DRE again stimulated my vagus nerve and I'm now in permanent AF.  

      I'm told that due to the size/shape of my right atrium that a cardioversion will not work. Though if I have an ablation it might change the shape  of the atrium and allow me to have another cardioversion. 

      Mostly I'm not aware of the AF and at the next appointment with my EP I'll probably need a lot of convincing that I want a cryoablation  

  • derek76
    derek76 greg1206

    Posted

    The other AF factor is the vagus nerve. After the successful cardioversion I was back in NSR for 15 months until I had a colonoscopy that stimulated my vagus nerve. Another cardioversion and back into NSR for about 10 months until I had a DRE again stimulated my vagus nerve and I'm now in permanent AF.  

    I'm told that due to the size/shape of my right atrium that a cardioversion will not work. Though if I have an ablation it might change the shape  of the atrium and allow me to have another cardioversion. 

    Mostly I'm not aware of the AF and at the next appointment with my EP at the end of the month I'll probably need a lot of convincing that I want a cryoablation  

  • Greebo64
    Greebo64 greg1206

    Posted

    Flomax / Tamsulosin Arrhythmia Side Effects - › TamsulosinCachedIs Arrhythmia a common side effect of Flomax / Tamsulosin? ... The most common type of Arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular and fast ... I insurance (Tricare) will only allow me to have Tamsulasin because Flomax cost too much

     

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  • patrick45945
    patrick45945 greg1206

    Posted

    Yes! Thanks to this post, I just discovered a connection between Flomax and  my arrhythmia! I was diagnosed with new onset AF in January 2018 and had a successful electro cardioversion 3 days later. On my 30 day followup with my primary care doctor, she prescribed Flomax as I had to stop taking saw palmetto due to the bleed risk with Pradaxa which I began after my cardioversion. I had been AF-free up until then.

    Two days after starting the Flomax, my arrhythmia returned. My EP recommended a 30 day heart monitor which I recently completed and had a followup with my EP and he recommended that I start taking the antiarrhythmic drug Tikosyn which requires a 3 day hospital stay to start, not to mention the negative side effects of this potent drug. 

    Although I had resigned myself to go ahead with the Tikosyn therapy, I am now considering delaying that option and stopping Flomax to see what effect that will have.

    So happy I saw this post and made the connection with my own experience! I am hopeful that eliminating Flomax will also eliminate my recent episodes of arrhythmia.

    Any further commemts in this regard are much appreciated.

    Regards, 

    Patrick

    • derek76
      derek76 patrick45945

      Posted

      I have not heard f a bleed risk with saw palmetto when on arrhythmia drugs. I took it for a year when taking warfarin, bisoprolol and also amiodarone for about six months.    
    • patrick45945
      patrick45945 derek76

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply, Derek. It was a Doctor of Pharmacy from my insurance company who suggested discussing saw palmetto with my EP due to the bleed risk while on blood thinners. My EP didn’t find a problem with it but said I could take her recommendation if I wanted to, which I did as a precaution.

      My primary care doctor prescribed FLOMAX to replace the saw palmetto, obviously unaware that it could cause aFib and arrhythmia. (I will be sure to update her!) Another good example of being an educated patient in a world where doctors can make mistakes!

      I will probably return to saw palmetto as I have found FLOMAX to be a no-go for me! How silly would it be to start Tikosyn, an antiarrhythmic, while taking FLOMAX which causes arrhythmia?

      Regards,

      Patrick

    • derek76
      derek76 patrick45945

      Posted

      When I had my aortic valve replaced in 2012 I went into AF for the first time after the procedure. I was prescribed Amiodarone and Bisoprolol as well as the blood pressure meds I was already taking. At the time of my operation my I had been taking saw palmetto and had prostatitis and they could not get a catheter in so had to had to use a suprapubic one. The hospital urologist then prescribed Flowmax (Tamsulosin ) and Finasteride.

      .  

    • patrick45945
      patrick45945 derek76

      Posted

      Just be advised Flomax can cause AFib and associated heart arrhythmia as it did me. Google “Flomax and AFib “ and you’ll see plenty of documentation of such. Perhaps your urologist is not aware of this as my primary care physician apparently was not.
    • derek76
      derek76 patrick45945

      Posted

      He was not actually my urologist as it was at a different hospital. The cardiac team had contacted him and he prescribed it sight unseen. I did not continue with it for long as one caused me to grow breasts and the other affected  my eyes causing deposits to form on them and floppy eyeball syndrome. When I later had cataract surgery the surgeon said 'Why do I get all the difficult cases'

    • patrick45945
      patrick45945 derek76

      Posted

       Aren’t these wonder drugs wonderful!? And these doctors, it seems like sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, all at your expense! 
    • derek76
      derek76 patrick45945

      Posted

      One cardiologist did not know that if she prescribed Amiodarone to a patient already taking Warfarin that the Warfarin dosage should initially be halved. As a result my INR reading practically doubled in a week. INR nurse and doctor also did not know. I had to find out for myself. When I asked the pharmacist why she had not warned me she said she thought all medical people knew that.

      After having had tendonitis in the past I should not have been prescribed Cipro or Fluoroquinolones for prostatitis or UTI’s and now have a form of neuropathy in my lower left leg that has changed my gait and given me a back problem leaving difficulty in walking unaided outside. 

       

       

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