Does anyone else have bad dreams when on Amiodarone? I have started having dreams where I will fall off a cliff and wake with a jolt. It doesn't happen every night but when it does it is quite alarming.
I have been told this is a side effect of Amiodarone.
This happened to me with Flecainide, horrible cos you get into a pattern of bad sleeping.
I'm taking codeine and paracetamol at night to try and help. It's a bit extreme but I hope to be off Amiodarone soon.
Yes I did but they settled down after a while, very occasionally now. pjr
Yes i get bad dreams on Amiodarone,
Don't sleep very well either, and got thyroid trouble, Don't stay on it to long.
good luck
Hello. When I first started to take Amiodarone my dreams were so vivid and colourful. That hasn't been the case lately though as sleep is rather evasive. Same drug causing that too. Please monitor the side effects of this horrid drug. I have just taken myself off it because of thyroid, kidney, liver and skin problems. I don't want to be alarmist but long term usage is for me not good. Look at other people's views on this forum!
You know how you incorporate real life happenings into your dreams. I wonder if you are having brief episodes of syncope or something else physical that is going into your dream. You might ask your dr for a Holter monitor or they actually sell little monitors now -- the kids wear them. Sometimes I dream that I am stuck underwater. I wake with a jolt gasping for breath. I'm sure it's apnea. Check it out.
How timely. I just woke up at 5 am with a start in the middle of a dream that I was in a boat in a storm at sea. I was in AFib. I don't know if the dream caused the AFib or the AFib caused the bad dream. I got up right away and did some calisthenic type exercises, emptied the dishwasher and that activity I think helped convert my heart back into NSR. I am not on amiodarone so I can't speak to that.
I had this problem, then I heard about 'lucid dreaming'. This allows you to take control in your dreams and alter the story. Sounds a bit 'Hippy-dippy' I know but it works for me. I chose an image of a pot of flowers and when I saw that image in the dream I knew I was dreaming and became conscious in the dream. Takes a bit of practice but I look forward to my dreams now.
Yes the neurological side effects can be quite pronounced. Myself in addition to bad dreams, there was a major issue of insomnia along with headaches, which I would think is also bad for someone with heart issues. Please be careful.
Ogilvie
I understand your nightmare side effects, I too experienced the most vivid dreams falling off cliffs, drowning, etc. I had a cardioversion two months ago and the dr. put me on 400 mg. per day, back in rhythm now, so he deduced the dose to 100mg. per day. This helped with the nightmares. oh, yea the nightmares also was causing many sleepless hours, I think just from the fear of falling asleep again.
I feel for you, you should tell your dr. about your situation. perhaps he can reduce your mg`s. or prescribe something different
I just had an ablation almost two weeks ago now. I had been on Flecainide before the ablation for about nine months and couldn't stand it anymore, (horrible drug - works for halting the palpitations, but has too many scary side effects), so I asked my EP about going off of it and he agreed it was ok for me to do so with the warning that the palpitations may come back in full force. They came back but not too bad. Now that I have had my ablation, he wanted to try me on another - amioadrone (sp?) for three months while waiting to see if the ablation works. At the start of taking it, I immediately broke out in a rash and began having similar symptoms that I was having while on the Flecainide. I am off of this one, too, after speaking again to my EP. These drugs work, but the side effects are just horrible and scary. To be honest, I'd rather have the palpitations. Since being off of both drugs before and after the ablation, I have to say that my palpitations have been manageable. Not getting them very often and not for very long periods of time. Stress is a major factor and I have eliminated one major stress factor from my life and feel that is helping. Since it is normal to have palpitations (on or off an antiarrhythmic) for a few months after an ablation, I am okay with that and am just waiting it out. Hopefully it will work this first time.
Amiodarone, I do experience a lot of bad dream also terrible night Mears .I got up in the middle of the night with my heart pounding even just after my AFIB oblation. My doctor reduce the dose so it's not as bad now.
Amiodarone 
