Drug called Magexium ?

[EricS0902]

Hello all, I wasn't sure if this is the right place, so please excuse me if this is wrong.

My father had been put on Ammiodirine (400mg /day) about 6 months ago, and has had a very bad side effect on him, so they took him off just 2 wks ago.  I understand the drug can take 2 months or so to wear off, so he is still weak and is still not recovered from the side effects.

The Doctors at the Naval Hospital are recommending he be put on another antirythmic drug called "Magnexium" -- is what I was told.  I looked around the internet, and could not find anything similar to this name (not sure if its exactly spelled right, but couldnt find anything close).  

Is this a common drug that anyone knows of?  I just want to do more research.

Thank you.

Eric

[EricS1219]

Thank you so much for your reply.  I had a few other questions:

1.  It has been 2 wks since my father has stopped Amiodarone, and is still so weak, he hardly eats, and can only walk around for so far / so long....I understand it can take a very long time for Amio to clear from the body...is this probably the case that he is not eating much and is really weak?  (that the Amio is still strong in his body?)

2.  Is it safe, or common to immediately start on another drug such as Mexiletine, even though he has not recovered from the Amio effects?  I know each case is different.  We are just hoping he can just stay off any new meds, until he recovers from this Amio effects......we are worried that he is so weak, and if the Mexiletine has side effects also, and if it continues to make him lose appetite, or gets weaker, other things may go wrong?

3.  Since my father has a Pacemaker, couldn't this take care of any tachycardias if some occur, until he has recovered from the side effects of Amio?

4.  How strong is Mexiletine compared to Amio?  Does it stay in the body as long as Amio?

5.  My father is 72...he had a mild heart attack over 10 yrs ago, and I think the bottom portion of his heart is dead or weak......I know you mentioned Mexilitine is not normally used for patients over 50, and I realize it's the Doctors suggestion....but in your explanation above, I wasn't clear....are you saying it may have higher risk for Stroke for someone like my fathers case?

Any insight is much appreciated from anyone.  Thank you again so much for your time.

[Cleveland Clinic]

The drug your father was on is called amiodarone and is known to be a class 3 antiarrhythmic and is used both for ventricular and atrial tachycardias.  This medication is fairly safe from a cardiac standpoint, but its side effects in the noncardiac organs make the medication difficult to tolerate that a lot of patients. you should know that this medication is the only anti-arrhythmic that is not shown any worsening in mortality in patients with advanced cardiovascular disease.
The second to your talking about is probably mexiletine which is a class one B drug.  It is a sodium channel blocker, whereas amiodarone as the potassium channel blocker.  More importantly mexiletine bones to a class of drugs that have shown to have deleterious effects in patients with structural heart disease.  For this reason the stroke is very infrequently used in patients over 50 years of age.  It may be safe in your father's case if the doctors are certain that he does not have structural or coronary artery disease.