Amiodarone

Amiodarone

by Loonylil - 2017-09-17 14:43:58

Hi there

my experience with amiodarone was very negative I'm afraid, but you did ask?

i experienced a prolonged episode of a fib and was prescribed amiodarone.

i didn't feel great when first taking it but tried to persevere and was ok then for a few weeks before I felt bad again, absolutely no energy, breathless, couldn't walk more than a few yards, pulsating vein in neck. Felt very ill.

referred back to hospital and blood tests found a badly damaged thyroid, it was suggested caused by amiodarone

i was taken off it, and gradually improved, as you say it takes time to leave the system

i am now taking beta blockers to slow heart rate and waiting for an ablation procedure as the a fib has returned.But however bad it is, I will not take amiodarone again!

i do wish you well with your decision, let us know what happens! ❤️

Thanks ...

by donr - 2017-09-17 21:14:31

...That's about what I expected.

Donr

Amiodarone

by Rhythmstorm - 2017-09-17 22:31:45

I was on Amiodarone for many years and had to go off of it slowly because, In my case, it was causing problems with my kidneys and lungs......

Don, Think Positively !

by IAN MC - 2017-09-18 03:56:41

You have an 80 per cent chance of not having a side effect.

For many people Amiodarone is the greatest anti-arrythmic drug around..I hope you are one of them

Ian

Ian: Would you.....

by donr - 2017-09-18 10:45:22

..... fly on an airplane w/ a 20% chance of crashing?

I recall that Frank had a lot of animosity toward procedures w/ only a 1% chance of failure - like lead extractions.  Today at 1000 I get my first data point - an echo to determine EF.  Last march I had an Echo reported EF of 65%, while a chemical stress test reported it as 40%.  One Cardio says the stress test is less accurate than the echo & the other says the reverse.  To make a decision to go to Amiodarone on such flaky data is insane.  I'm only crazy, NOT insane.

Don

I agree with Don on both counts

by Grateful Heart - 2017-09-18 16:43:58

His concern over the drug AND his craziness!

My Cardio says do not take NSAIDs, my Ortho keeps pushing them even though I keep telling him I'm not supposed to take them.  The arthritis wasn't happy taking over my hips and spine....now it wants more.  So the Ortho prescribed Voltaren 1% gel instead.  He said be careful with it, it gets into the bloodstream.  It has it's own little dosing card to measure it out.  The pharmacist STRESSED you must measure it out correctly and only use a certain amount for each joint affected, no more! 

So when I got home I looked it up......it's a NSAID!!   

I'm going to look into Nutritional Response Testing for some relief.

Grateful Heart    

Don. .... would you ?

by IAN MC - 2017-09-20 08:00:39

Buy a lottery ticket if you had an 80  per cent chance of winning  ?

Ian

Big difference

by donr - 2017-09-20 10:22:35

The lottery ticket has no downside other than losing the money you put into it.  Money can be replaced easily. 

Downside here is far more serious, unknown & in many cases irreversible.  Also, Were I down to my last resort, i'd go for it.  Here there are other options available & far more conservatine as far as safety goes. 

Further - I had an Echo yesterday. Result contradicted main reason EP wanted to switch me - potential septal infarct & potential dangers from Flecainide following such a defect.  Tech who did it made a special effort to look at movement of apical area of heart & saw nothing unusual.  Now that is not definitive by any means - but it raises a doubt about the Lexiscan test from last March.  I have a PET scan test on 3 October that is supposed to be more precise & gives finer resolution of this sort of problem. I've made it this far, two more weeks should be a safe risk to take before making a decision. 

Interestingly - I had a long discussion w/ the tech in our local hospital who does the Lexiscan tests.  He's been doing them for a bunch of years.  When I told him of the problem w/ the anomoly at the apex, he said - "Oh, that's simple.  When we see one of those, we just flip you over onto your stomach & re-do the scan.  Heart flops down toward chest & opens up the view of that point.  Apparently gets it out from behind a rib in the back."  Is that real - dunno.  The practice my new EP belongs to just happens to have the only PET scan device in the state.  The next closest one is in New Orleans- over 130 miles from here.  On this subject there are too many unknowns to analyze.  I'll let you know how this all plays out.

Don

Amiadarone

by Bebie - 2017-12-05 08:53:46

I am taking amiadarone for almost four years now.  So far I have not experienced any bad side effect of it so to speak.  However, I would like to know too if what happened to others and side effects if there are any.