AMIODARONE, RAMIPRIL and CARVEDILOL

I am supposed to take AMIODARONE (400mg twice a day), RAMIPRIL (2.5mg twice a day, ALTACE Subs.) and CARVEDILOL (3.125mg twice a day, COREG Subs.). Every day I have been having very serious short ness of breath. Can move around 10 ft and have to stop and even talking on phone my breathing is heavy. I started taking once a day only and reduced AMIODARONE from 400mg to 200mg. In my last visit and during hospital stay I showed all these symptoms and once Cardiologist was called due to my condition. I was showing low BP also. I have read a bit about AMIODARONE and low dispersion in lungs but not sure how to analyse and communicate to my Cardiologist so he can help me. Please if you have gone through this then let me know how can improve my situation.
My sutures were removed (Have Pacemaker and Defibll) after two weeks of op. So far it looks good but I am scared like chicken.

4 Comments

Medicine Side Effects

by SMITTY - 2010-02-13 01:02:11

The three medicines you list are well know for causing the symptoms you report. The Altace and Croeg dang near killed me. After taking them for about 6 months I found that when walking from my car to the Dr. office (about 100 ft.) I had to sit down and rest. I told my Dr. (for about the 3rd time) the meds were making my illness much worse. He then gave me a schedule to follow in stopping them. He also put in my record that "quality of life was more important that quantity of life to the patient". I stopped those meds and while my problems did not go away totally, I at least felt some better. About 6 mo. later I had some major changes made in my pacemaker settings and I improved tremendously.

There is a limit to what can be done for an 80 year with heart disease that started at least 28 years ago. But after the PM settings changes, I can at least walk a few blocks without having to sit down and rest, when the spirit, or my wife, moves me.

I tell you this not to brag about what I did but to tell you that help can be had and sometimes the meds we have prescribed for us are not the help we need. Since stopping some meds without a Dr. instructions can be deadly, I recommend that you have a heart to heart talk with your doctor about your symptoms, before and after the meds. If you think the Dr. is not hearing you or just acts as if "I know what's best for you" then maybe it is time to look for another Dr.

Good luck,

Smitty

Look at the Coreg

by lenora - 2010-02-13 02:02:32

All the beta blockers cause shortness of breath which is many times worse if you have any prior breathing problems such as asthma or COPD. Don't stop it or reduce your dose without talking to your doctor first.

lung function test

by golden_snitch - 2010-02-13 12:02:53

Hey,

you should have your lung function tested as soon as possible. The serious adverse effects Amiodarone can have on the lungs is not something that only shows up after months and years, but has been reported after just a couple of weeks, too. I was told to call asap if I should develop shortness of breath, and that's what the info you get with the tablets says, too. It's something that should be taken very serious because the lung damage Amiodarone can cause is sometimes not fully reversible, and there are even patients who have died of it. Sorry, I don't want to scare you but that's just the truth.

I did not develop extreme shortness of breath but the diffusion capacity of my lungs came down from 86% to 48% within eight months with a low dosage - less than 100mg per day - of Amiodarone. My pulmonary specialist said it seems that we have detected this decrease just in time before I developed symptoms. When I started Amiodarone I was told that I needed to have my lung function checked every 3-6 months.
Well, now I'm off the Amiodarone, and will be put on Dronedarone on Wednesday.

Best wishes
Inga

medication side effects

by irisheyes317 - 2010-02-15 12:02:44

I hope it's OK to post this website but I've found it very helpful after experiencing some very serious side effects of Norvasc several years ago. I believe had I continue to take it, I would have died. With the help of this website, and armed with a print out, I was able to convince my Dr. that it actually was the med that was causing my problems. (Doctors usually dont believe us!) 2 days after discontinuing to Norvasc, I was totally fine and 100% me. Anyway, if it's not permissible to post the site, please delete this and accept my apology.
http://www.askapatient.com/

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