Amiodarone

[higgy52]

Hi,

Does any one get head aches all the time wile on Amiodarone, Have got thyroid problems over active, it could be that, but not sure, any ideas.

thanks

[Mickey16]

Hi higgy52 - suggest you see your Doctor because Amiodarone can cause thyroid problems, and as you already have issues, it might be an idea to discuss with him/her? We are not Doctors and this is individual to you. Hope you get it sorted soon.

Kind regards,

Mickey16

[sepine in reply to Mickey16]

Amioderone damaged my thyroid , after one month, the specialist took me off it, I'm now just hypo.. He was treating me for AF.

[higgy52 in reply to sepine]

Hi Sepine,

Yes my Thyroid was ok till i was put on Amiodarone 20 months ago but E P insist i stay on it, What do you do

[sepine in reply to higgy52]

Hi Higgy 52. My specialist swapped the Amioderone for Disapyramide , which I've been on for at least 10 years , together with 3.75 mg of Bisopralol a day. All is now pretty stable , with only the odd hiccup. My big breakthrough came 4 yrs ago, when I read about Uric acid in the blood making AF worse. But I have to say that I suffered with attacks of gout. Doc put me on Allopurinol daily. Since then I have been almost cured of AF. But I may be a unique case.

[Spoiler in reply to sepine]

What are you taking now?

[higgy52 in reply to Spoiler]

200.mg Amiodarone , 2.5 mg bisopolol, 20 mg ramipril.

Good luck

[Betty57]

Yes I got terrible headache day and night , I had to take paracetamol all the time . I just got taken of the amiodrone two days ago after being on it for a month , on the upside of it I went in to hospital for a cardio version and when I got my ECG my heart was absolutely perfect rhythm so never had that , I’m only hoping now I’m not taking amiodrone it doesn’t start the AF again ...

[higgy52]

Hi Betty,

Thats the thing, if i stop taking it will A F come back

[Polski in reply to higgy52]

If it was me, I would want to wean myself off the amiodarone slowly, with my GPs help, and seek a referral to another EP.

At the same time I would try magnesium taurate and a good multi-vitamin-and-mineral from a health food shop, and later possibly other supplements eg CoQ10 and L-Carnitine. These will help your heart, help your body to heal and should decrease the amount and severity of AF which you may experience.

Amiodarone stays in the body for months, so will still affect you, so AF not so likely to whiz back immediately.

I was on it for about six weeks and it took months to get my thyroid back to normal functioning. My cardiologist has said 'No more amiodorone ever' to me!

[higgy52 in reply to Polski]

sounds like your got it sorted, will try and wean my self off it

[Harfly]

Hi I have been on amiodarone for coming up a year and in that time I have suffered headaches, funny kind of headaches like brain freeze. I had thyroid problems before taking amiodarone and since taking the drug they have got worse!! Been back and forward to doctors every 4 weeks to try and get some stability to the TSH levels. Anyway on a positive note only 3 weeks left of taking amiodarone yippee..... had an ablation in June for flutter and PAF and feel wonderful. 😀

[higgy52 in reply to Harfly]

nice one, sounds like your sorted

[ange1960]

Hi Higgy, Yes, I had headaches everyday that I took the drug. I took Amiodorone for 11 months following failed ablations. I was diagnosed with Liver Cirrhosis from scans and blood tests some weeks ago (had Liver biopsy 2 days ago to confirm). I don't drink, never had hepatitis. My Cirrhosis is caused by Amiodorone Liver Toxicity. I stopped Amiodorone 73 days ago, (against my EP's advise, but with his knowledge).

I have not had any AFib yet. I was in persistent atrial fibrillation before taking it. This horrid drug is still in my system, and continues to damage me (and also continues to stop the AFib) for at least 120 days.

You already have Thyroid issues, please discuss urgently with your EP. My liver specialist said he couldn't advise me to stop taking the Amiodorone against my EP's advise, but did admit if I were his Mother/Aunt/Wife he absolutely would due to it's known toxicity on the body.

I have in the past been told by Arrhythmia specialist Nurses, 'don't worry, AFib won't kill you'. Well that's fine, but the medication they prescribed to treat it is going to be the cause of my death. Being on the Liver Unit of my local hospital this week, I got a glimpse of what the future holds for me. It's not good.

Get some advice about the Amiodorone. There are other less toxic drugs available. You are already getting symptoms that it's not agreeing with you. Try your Pharmacy, GP or EP to see what they suggest for you. Good Luck.

[higgy52 in reply to ange1960]

Thanks for that very interesting. iv'e had liver test myself no results back yet,

Yes your right A F wont kill you but the Amiodarone might. going to ring E P monday not going to ask them with i can come off it, i will tell them thats it no more Amiodarone for me

[PaulaEKing in reply to higgy52]

I also discovered that I have many new conditions as a result of amiodarone. It worked so well for my AF but now I have thyroid damage where the values are high but the symptoms are hypothyroidism - sluggish, weight gain that won't go away, tinnitus, absolutely NO tolerance to cold (and I live in New England- ugh), eye changes, you name it. I'm not sure if my liver is affected, although as a moderate beer consumer I'm sure it's not great. I've cut my amiodarone down voluntarily; going to see my cardiologist in a couple days and ask for a replacement drug. I can't stand the constant lethargy and cold intolerance. I've been on amiodarone for a year, from 400 for a month to 200 which worked (I thought) fine. My Dr. never mentioned any side effects of the drug (grrr). Now I'm taking 100 for the last couple of weeks, no AF and started on levothyroxine as well to try and help with the hypo symptoms. I feel like a pharmacy on the hoof!

[Bettiehough]

I was on amiodarone, showed liver damage and was switched to flecenaide which kept my PAF under control for more than a year.

[tcpace]

If you have a thyroid issue, then you really should be monitored when on amiodarone. If you're overactive, I do wonder whether it might even be beneficial (big question mark though) because it reduces T4 production.

There is an alternative to amiodarone if you have thyroid issues, namely dronedarone which is supposed not to affect the thyroid. Not sure whether it's appropriate for you because you're overactive. Also, like amiodarone it's best avoided if at all possible.

Have you discussed an ablation with the EP? Might be a better option. Personally I'd advise against cryoablation and RF-ablation is best done with a GA.

[higgy52 in reply to tcpace]

Yes had the Ablation 9 months ago and heart a lot more stable

[Georgianjane]

Get off that poison immediately! It caused a serious hyperactive thyroid for me including headaches and seizures. It's really remarkable how clueless some doctors are. You need to see a thyroid specialist. I was taken off amiodarone and put on propafenone which worked fine for the AF but by then I was so leery of meds I went for the ablation. Which overall was a success except my oesophagus was accidentally burned and the PPI'S they gave me after the ablation caused, yes, ridiculous, heart palps and 8 months later the AF is still gone but now I have AVNRT.

[higgy52 in reply to Georgianjane]

Been under thyroid specialist for nearly a year, had all sort of injections and test to find out why my bodies producing to much T3 or T4, which i don't understand, told them it could be the Amiodarone, but they don't think so. never had any thyroid trouble till started taking Amiodarone nearly 2 year ago

[Syreen]

Have you had your eyes checked? Amiodarone severely damaged my eyesight, I only took it for 4 months, but lost 50% of the vision in one eye. I consider myself lucky though, after reading the horror stories on the Stop Amiodarone group on Facebook. You don't need to wean yourself off it as it has a very long half life. And you don't need permission from your doctor; it's your body. Good luck

[higgy52]

Thanks, keep hearing more bad things about Amiodarone, your right it;s my body its damaging.

[RichMert]

Hello Higgy, vision problems are a side effect of taking Amiodarone and should not be ignored. This could be a source of your headaches.

[Amcech]

I started amiodarone 6 weeks ago. I did have headaches at first but those have gone away. My primary doc did blood tests on my liver and thyroid so I would have a baseline. Those tests were normal. I'm very happy my primary doc is keeping a close eye on things for me. My EP is more concerned about strengthening my heart (my ejection fraction was 40-45 in July) than the damage the drug can do to the rest of my body. I've had 3 ablations, the most recent in May which failed. I have one bout of afib every week which lasts 2-4 days, even on the amiodarone. I've tried just about every other rhythm control drug and none of them worked. I'm only 62 so I'm anxious to get my ejection fraction up so that I can stop the amiodarone. In any case I've decided to take myself off it after I see my EP for my 6 month checkup regardless of what he says. I'm in the U.S. and our insurance will only allow one echocardiogram per year so I have to wait until the end of July to see if my ejection fraction has improved. Amiodarone is scary stuff!

[Harrycat in reply to Amcech]

Hello, I was put on Amarodian 2 years ago pre cardio version, I did not get blood tests beforehand, which I know now should have been done, first I heard was from the cardio nurse to go to my surgery and get some bloods, due to get cardiovascular later that week. I had been going round feeling terrible, but thought it will be worth it. Next day I got a phone from the hospital and take a bag, I will be staying in hospital. It turns I have sjogrens, my kidneys were dangerous , may need dialysis they stopped Amarodian!!! I was in hospital for three months, need open heart surgery for valve replaced and I have Autoimmune. The docs never agreed it was Amarodian, but funny the computer in the surgery has a big red alert on the screen do not administer Amarodian. After all that, I have still got AF, I am on Verapamil . That was 2 years ago,still struggling to get to reasonable better health....

[higgy52]

Yes they say its a nasty drug, my thyroid was ok at first ,but not now after been on it for nearly 2 years, E P wants me to stay on it nearly 10 months after Ablation as heart still not settled down yet. but going with my gut feeling and stopped it before it kills me off.

[drdang_20]

Amiodarone can cause both hypo and hyperthyroid. So get your TSH , fT3 and fT4 every 3 months hyperthyroidism can trigger your AF.

[higgy52 in reply to drdang_20]

thanks,

yes got hyperthyroid and being tested regular, and been given some more pills to bring it down

[PaulaEKing]

I do not understand why even though my thyroid level was high, that the symptoms are hypothyroid. It's like the worst of both! What a pain.

[higgy52]

Have they given you Carbimazole yo bring your thyroid levels down, They did me but there not working

[PaulaEKing]

I too was on amiodarone. It has messed up my thyroid so now my doctor has stopped it and put me on 100 mcg of levothyroxine. It has caused intense itching on my body (not so much the arms and legs, mainly the torso). I swear if it's not one thing it's another! Apparently amiodarone, which works great for a fib, is really quite dangerous. Which, I was not informed about when they put me on it. sigh.

[Hallelujah31]

Hi I'm also on amiodarone for 10 months. I don't have the headaches but am concerned with the bowel changes - bowel shape and the feeling of not having released all. Do you experience the same?