Reaction to Amiodarone.

[Petrocelli]

Can anyone tell me of their experiences with Amiodarone, my husband has not been very well since he started it. He has episodes of feeling very dizzy and not well at all.he has been on it it since 31st dec and this first episode was the day after he started it but our heart nurse can’t explain it.!!

[Kaz747]

I was on it for two months. I had a lot of rashes from the light sensitivity. I struggled getting up the stairs at times. I was taken off it when my blood test showed an extremely high enzyme level in my liver function test (the particular level should have been under 35 and mine was nearly 200) and I was having lung issues.

[etheral]

Extremely toxic drug. Last resort only. Can destroy thyroid, lungs, etc. Long half life, symptoms can last for months or be permanent. Ask your doc about alternatives. Are you in the UK? More alternatives in US.

[pottypete1]

I understand Ameodarone is normally used for only short periods because of the side effects.

The hospital changed my medication to Ameodarone about 5 years ago but very quickly the side effects made me feel very unwell and it was stopped and I reverted to Flecainide.

Pete

[Norm]

Amiodarone is very toxic. It should only be used as a drug of last resort and then for very short periods and closely monitored. I was on it for 4 months in early 2016, it did nothing for me except mess my thyroid up for which I now have a tablet for life.

Please also search Amiodarone, on top right box of this page for all previous posts on Amiodarone. I wish you and your husband well and hope this is of use.

[jeanjeannie50]

I echo what Norm and others have said. It damaged my thyroid and I thought my extreme tiredness was AF, but no it was an underactive thyroid cause by that toxic pill. I can't bear to think that people are still being prescribed this drug!

Jean

[Salvatore68 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

How long were u on it ? What was your dosage?

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Salvatore68]

Do you know I really can't remember how long, but was on it the first time while waiting for my first ablation which was about 7-8 months. Then took it a second time pre another ablation. It didn't stop my AF attacks. I still have the last pack of drugs as a nasty souvenir, they were 200mg and I had to take one three times a day for seven days, then one twice a day for seven days, then one daily.

[CDreamer]

I hope you will go back to your health team - not being able to explain it is NOT an answer. My view is that if a drug is not working for you to help you then why take it? But you also need to consider what if it isn’t the drug but the condition which is causing the symptoms.

My husband is also on Amiodarone and it seems to have worked very well for him but it is a drug I refused to take.

I would echo all the above warnings about long term use but it is the most effective drug around and it has certainly improved my husband’s QOL.

[Hidden]

Damaged my thyroid, had issues with my vision, sunburn even when inside the house if i stood too close to a window (in February with factor 50+) felt like I had flu, just a horrible experience and took months to get over it.

I have refused to take this again on at least one occasion

[john-boy-92]

There are rare but serious side effects from amiodarone and the related dronedarone. Serious to the extent that A&E wanted to sedate me and place me on mechanical respiration in an ICU and ring my wife at 1 am. Symptoms are: coffee coloured urine (contraindicated for the liver - check creatine against the baseline); a light unproductive cough (clinicians will incorrectly diagnose community acquired pneumonia, but the chest sounds are from a different quadrant than pneumonia and the cough will not respond to antibiotics); chest sounds like Velcro being pulled apart; low SpO2 (mine was 76% and dropping like a stone on admission); a mass will show in one or both lungs on a x-ray. If this sounds familiar, I suggest that your clinician rings the North Bristol Lung Centre (0117 4146338) and contacts Dr David Smith or Dr Andrew Medford both of whom treated me. The related published paper in 2015 is "Organising pneumonia due to dronedarone" at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh". Amiodarone is not mentioned as I was given an amiodarone IV on the second admission but it was not recorded on my discharge sheet. Dronedarone is the same as amiodarone but with the iodine element removed. My treatment was high volume warmed and humidified oxygen at 70% and prednisolone.

It took three admissions to hospital to detect my condition and I was lucky to have the head of respiratory medicine in the South West to look at my x-rays and CT scans.

[DoubleEm]

My husband has taken for approx. 10 months, had a cardioversion in October and has remained in normal rhythm since then. Throughout this time he has struggled with extreme fatigue and feeling slightly unbalanced. He has persisted with Amiodorone because he was told it would give the best chance of keeping in rhythm and allow the heart to make the best recovery.

If your husband remains on Amiodorone for any length of time make sure he has regular blood tests (3 - 6months) to check his thyroid and liver function and that the GP checks the results against the baseline markers that should have been taken when he was first prescribed this drug.

Last week my husband's Consultant told us that the heart function (ejection fraction) has improved from 25% to 42% and he had no doubt this was due to the Amiodorone. At the same time he recognised that it is also responsible for the extreme fatigue etc. and it was agreed that this will be stopped in the near future and carefully monitored.

Try and speak with your Consultant to get a better idea of what the plan is for your husband. Best wishes to you both

[Mittzy]

I was on Amiodorone for three months and was taken off as I had considerable hair loss. Horrible drug. I hope your husband will be able to get an alternative after discussion with his consultant. All the best to you both.

[Offcut]

I had a bad reaction to Amiodarone as well I have since found that it has an Iodine content which I am also Allergic too?

[Danny44]

I’ve been on amiodrone e for years no bad reactions until I stop taking.Dont drink grapefruit juice it could be a reaction to some kind of food or health supplement but had no dizziness bisoprolol can make you dizzy and apaxiban I would go to dr get a meds check good luck !!!

[nymima01]

My mother is in stage 4 chf. She is 93 yrs old. Her EP (she has a pacemaker) wanted to do an AV node ablation or at least start her on Amiodarone because her symptoms were getting worse. She declined both. I am happy she was able to make up her own mind about these choices, because I agreed with her on both decisions. I’m not sure if she would be able to take the stress of the ablation at this point and I feel she would be very sick if she took Amiodarone. We are awaiting some tests on April 1st to see where we will go from here.

Do look into other choices if there are any. I’m sorry your hubby is not well on this drug.

[EricR]

My cardiologist stopped prescribing it to me after a few months following my hospitalization from a severe cardiac event. He said it did its job as my echocardiogram showed a return to normal ejection rate. He said it had too many potentially toxic side effects for most people taking it for a prolonged period of time.

[Aus19]

I saw my EP yesterday (in Brisbane, Australia) and we specifically discussed amiodarone. Everything that people have said in their replies here was echoed by him yesterday. He gave me the choice of trying it but I won't be going down that path. He emphasised that it was for short term use only. He did say that it can work well for some people.

[gixxerboy]

I was put on Amiodarone and within 24 hours l was climbing the walls !!!!!!!!! I felt so ill and going stir crazy with it....not a nice experience...

[Salvatore68 in reply to gixxerboy]

What did you take instead of amiodarone?

[Petrocelli]

Thanks for you response, we are seeing our heart nurse tomorrow, may get some answers.