persistant a fib

i have been in afib with a heartrate of 120 -136 for 2 wks now. meds do not convert me. my dr however keeps telling me to go back to taking the meds i was on before and maybe they will help. i had some very bad side effects from these meds and i would hope that he would remember thi s. The med he told me to go back on was tikosyn which made me have heart rhythms that i didnt know exsisted. yet he told me yesterday on the phone to go back on this med. i was on it for 6 weeks and all it did was make me worse. meds do not convert me and he knows this, hes tried them all. i suggested cardioversion and he said no just take the med and see me next week. i am dizzy and nauseated and have almost passed out a few times. i dont know what to do other than change drs. i have a pacer and have had one pulmonary vein ablation which helped for awhile. my dr says theres no need for another one " it won't help" any suggestions?

4 Comments

Getting Help

by scadnama - 2009-10-06 04:10:37

If your doctor is not willing to listen to you, or try and help you, then it may be time for a second opinion. It is obvious that he is not listening to your concerns about the medication. I have never been converted, but from what I understand, it's not all that bad...it seems it would be worth a shot. Maybe give the meds. one more try, see him next week, and if things haven't gotten better, and he has nothing else to offer, then I would seek another opinion.

Hope things work out for you!

Take care,
Amanda

Amanda said it

by Tracey_E - 2009-10-06 04:10:51

Sounds like it's time for another opinion. I hate it when they are so set on what they're telling us that they don't listen to what we are telling them!

Have you looked up how long you have to be on this newest med before it works? I forget which one it was, but my mom was on one that took 6 weeks to take effect, and she was on it almost a year before they got the dosage right. That was 10 yrs ago and she's been fine since, but it took a while to get her there.

Know the feeling

by mike thurston - 2009-10-06 04:10:57

Pattycake,
I know how terrible permanent a-fib is and I am sorry you are having to deal with it. I had my AV Node ablated and am 100% PM dependent. I am still in a-fib but no longer feel it - that part I like :) Anyway cardioversions were not bad and I went thru several. How often they work and for how long I don't know they did not really work for me. Have you contacted the folks at the Cleveland Clinic they are suppose to be the big guns in this field. If I had it to do over I would have at least talked to a Doctor there. Seems like a cardioversion would be worth a shot unless there is a good reason not to do one.

Mike

TAKE NOTE

by pete - 2009-10-07 03:10:20

I had Afib that was causing the symptoms you have. I have had medication making me ill. I very much suspect you have not received the best medical treatment. I do think you should be given a AV node ablation and a biventricular cardiac resynchronisation pacemaker. Your ventricular heart rate will then be under 100% control of the pacemaker and there would be no more VT and you can put all this trouble behind you. Often doctors dont realise they have done the wrong thing until they see the results. I do think there intentions were good ones though. The AV node ablation is straightforward and relatively quick compared to the PVA ablation, and should be done 6 weeks after pacemaker implantation. If you have some spare money you could try another PVA but I would go to the hospital in Bordeaux France where they get the best results on the planet. Cheers Peter

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