Hi.
I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Tanya and have been in AF since last November. Had my first Cardioversion on Friday but it failed so I have been prescribed amiodarone hydrochloride to add to my daily cocktail. Has anyone else has experience of this drug as I am struggling big time with side effects?
If you type amiodarone in the box top right hand corner you should get some post on there
Welcome Tazzydee
Yep I've been there, failed CV and then another after 3 months on amiodarone, it's a tough drug and not for everyone, but make sure you are talking to your arrythmia nurse about your side effects, it's not for everyone, and if they are too bad you may need to try something else.
For me the bad news was that even on Amiodarone I only lasted 6 hours, and could not tell the difference, so it really depends how bad the symptoms are with regard to further treatment.
Be well
Ian
Welcome Tazzydee!
The journey begins. According to the law of averages you may experience many different types of medications to try and determine which will be right for you. As you stated you have now moved into the phase of procedures to try and bring your AF under control. I was on Amiodarone for a while until my AF gradually became too much for it to be effective. I had no side effects from that med.
I've had two RF Ablations, one Cardioversion and an AV Node Ablation.
I believe there is no cure as such yet for this condition. The AV Node ablation is the last cab off the rank as far as bringing some sort of control into the situation. This method ablates or burns off almost all of the AV Node (the hearts natural Pacemaker). This allows the ventricles to provide the steady blood flow around the body to keep everything operating properly. (That's when my energy returned). AF still happens in the Atria however it doesn't effect the blood flow. A Pacemaker is required when this procedure is done therefore one becomes Pacemaker dependent.
Thank goodness for Pacemakers!.
Cheers
Barry
Hi Tanya and welcome to our forum. You'll get loads of advice and sympathy on this site as we all totally understand the symptoms of AF. Never be afraid to ask any question, even if it may sound a bit daft to some people it won't to those of us who understand.
I've taken Amiodarone in the past (perhaps for about a year). I think it's one of those drugs that heart specialists like to put you on before or after attempting a cardioversion or ablation. I certainly wouldn't like to be on it for a long time as its one of the drugs most likely to have side effects if taken for too long. However, I knew someone who took it for 8 years with no side effects at all and it kept his heart in rhythm.
Jean
My daughter took Amioderone for 23 for HOCMyears no problems. She unfortunately went into AF 7 months ago. She has been taken off Amioderone now and put on a cocktail of other drugs as she now has heart failure .
Thank you. I have been diagnosed with HF too. Cocktails are supposed to be a little more fun I think.... x
Thanks Jean x
Hi Tazzy and welcome. Amiodarone and Dronedarone can be a mixed bag and for a very small number of people - that would be me then - they are problematic; post again if there are troublesome symptoms. Amiodarone is usually not a long-term medication.
Thanks - yes so problematic I have spent the night in A&E! HR coming down now and am finally going to talk to an arrhythmia consultant today!
Amiodarone and Dronedarone quite often cause a light non-productive cough that will clear in a couple of weeks. In around 6 people out of 100,000 it causes cryptogenenic organising pnuemonia (COP) / pulmonary toxicity. The problem is that COP secondary to Amiodarone or Dronedarone is incorrectly diagnosed as community aquired pnuemonia, antibiotics will not cure it and the patient continues to desaturate (your blood oxygen known as SpO2 falls). It took three hospital admissions to correctly diagnose it in me and I was officially "close to death" on the third occassion. I racked up 27 chest x-rays and 3 CT scans. It's unlikely that this is a problem for you, but if needs be I can giveyou the contact details of the clinicians who treated me in 2014/15. There was a clinical paper written about my case at the time. If Amiodarone is giving you a problem, you can report the symptoms to the MHRA via the "Yellow Card" scheme (the patient's section) that can be found via Google.
Gosh! I've only been on it 3 days. Nothing like that yet but have Heart Failure too which means my lungs gather fluid quite quickly.....
COP secondary to Amiodarone / Dronedarone causes a crackling sound when breathing out, a bit like Velcro slowly being pulled apart. If you don't have that then it's probably just a cough. As you have lung issues, I assume that your SpO2 is being monitored. My GP advised that SpO2 can drop fairly steadily to 90%, but from there it can drop rapidly, so that's another point to watch.
No nothing like that, I know that sound though from chest infections of the past....
Am starting my Amiodarone this week, when I finish a course of antibiotics for a chest infection. Really nervous. My breathing is so bad now though and I am so fed up that I just hope it may provide some benefit without killing me off. I have been so down for the past few weeks with a virus/chest infection as well as a bladder infection on top of the racing heart and breathing difficulties. I was diagnosed in November and have not had any other procedures yet - just 10mg of Bisoprolol daily which is not doing anything. My BPM ranges from 80 to 120 and is in constant AF. have been told my left atrium is dilated? Very grateful that this forum is here for support.
Good luck to you, you sound like you've been through the wars. I have heart failure in bottom left ventricle. Started on Bisoprolol 2.5 mg and Ramapril plus frusomide last November too and been struggling with my BP. I have yet to meet my consultant and only found out I had an arrhythmia nurse by accident because the doctor that discharged me didn't refer me on. Hoping to get back on track now. I've suffered because I started taking it off the back of general anaesthetic and CV but it has pushed my BP up.
So glad I found this forum!
Xx
1 grm or more per day of Vitamin C (taken morning and evening) should help your general health and immune system. A good multi-vitamin-and-mineral from a health food store taken each day for three months would also help.
For heart failure, you may find reading 'The Sinatra Solution - Metabolic Cardiology' by Dr Stephen T Sinatra interesting. Magnesium is the first thing to try, with your doctor's agreement. Try searching on this forum for magnesium, for details of the best sort to buy etc.
Thanks - I've taken supplements for years (inc magnesium - food state is the best I have found from a company called Natures Own) and was hardly ever ill until this started and even with this I have dodged (crossing fingers, thumbs and legs) all the flu and colds that have swept our office.
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