Hi,
I had VT cardiac arrest last August,ICD kicked in and sorted out the rhythm.
I have been told by electrophysiologist,after he failed to address the problem
with an ablation,that I should stop taking Amiodarone 200mg
He didn't elaborate as to how to proceed with the instruction.I doubt if I can
get the info anytime soon due to the current situation.Any info greatly received.GE
Personally I don't know Boludo. Amiodarone is a pretty serious medication - do you think you could contact your EP by phone or video link ? If not many doctor's are offering a virtual consultation. It might be worth trying one of these options to clarify what's the best way forward for your personal circumstances.
You wrote
"after he failed to address the problem with an ablation"
One ablation might not address the problem - for some it works and others not. Try and speak to a doctor to clarify about your dose of Amiodarone - either stopping or reducing the dose over a few weeks. I really don't know the answer - I think you need to check with a qualified medic.
Your pharmacist might be able to help too - although I think your EP is the best person to contact if you are able to do this.
Paul
I agree with Paul, try to get hold of your EP via their secretary, you should be able to track down a phone number or email.
We can't give you advice on here about stopping. We are not medically trained.
For me I had to stop immediately as it damaged my thyroid, there was no weaning off period as it has a half life of 3 to 6 months
I have stopped Amio. The drug stays in your system for a couple of months so it is not like turning off a tap. For your own peace of mind your GP will be able to advise you or your local pharmacy.
Good Luck
I was put on Amiodarone prior to cardioversion but 3 weeks in it had affected my liver and was told to stop immediately and was scheduled to have a liver scan which hasn't happened due to lockdown. Don't know how long you've been taking it Boludo but I didn't have any problem just stopping but not on it for very long so would endorse what other posters have said.
I was on Amiodarone for 7 months before and after my ablation. At my 6 month check up I was told i could stop it, so I did. It had worked well for me with no side effects, but I had read so much about it I was relieved to stop. I had no repercussions from stopping abruptly.
Thanks to all who replied,much appreciated advice.
Hi Boludo hope this information can help you. Number 1 you cannot just stop amiodarone. My EP weaned me off but it stayed in my tissues for 18 months. I never had an ablation I went into AFIB after a long intense surgery. Dr gave me a cardio conversion that worked for 5 days. I flipped back and then he put me on amiodarone, high dose for 3 weeks magnesium 600 for 3 weeks hit me again and it worked. In steady SR for 2 yrs but have thyroid problems, neuropathy and bad balance due to this toxic drug. Please call your EP and discuss I don’t know why he or she couldn’t advise you on the phone or video chat. Much Luck!
Two EP have told me by letter to stop amio without stating that I need to do a gradual withdrawl.I think they would have advised me to do this if it was necessary,methinks.Thanks for replying.
Hi boludo I was prescribed Amiodarone 100mg daily for about 18months, until a blood test indicated that my Thyroid levels were high. I received a phone call from the Surgery to discontinue Amiodarone immediately. I did and had absolutely no problem re: Atrial Fibrillation. Is it worth trying to speak to the Arrhythmia nurse for clarification. Hopefully there is a partial service for support. Good luck. Phyl.
Boludo, I am a FIRM believer the reason most Afib occurs is a nutritional/mineral imbalance. Maybe even myocardial infarctions. My first bout of afib occurred when I was 45. I am/was very healthy, exercised 5 days a week, ran, weights, very active job requirements. I sweat profusely, but drank loads of water. If I'd only known then what I know now, I could have stopped it in its tracks. By the time I was 57, the occurrence was more and more frequent. At 59, it went from proximal to permanent. I had moved, retired, and was working out side on my property constantly, loved it. My house had a whole house water filtering system. So, I'm sweating profusely, healthy, drinking loads of water (filtered) and eating right. Permanent afib was not in my late life expectations. FINALLY, I started to do some research. Low and behold Magnesium continued to come up in my research. Long story short (too late for that Ha!) I was not replenishing my magnesium, drinking bottled water, sweating so much and our foods are much deficient in minerals than in the past. I bought the book The Magnesium Miracle along with reading loads of published magnesium articles. It's a travesty our medical professionals do not promote this. Sports encourage magnesium loads in their athletes for advantage in benefits to the muscle. Within a month I was up to 600 mg of magnesium per day (liquid magnesium, better absorbed and metabolized). I was sleeping like a baby, no more anxiety, I felt good, but It didn't help my afib (that I was aware of) as I was still in permanent afib. My cardio related a simplistic reason as to why the heart has difficulty reverting back to normal rhythm. Normal rhythm is like a smooth road, off the road are mud ruts. Once you get into a rut, it's difficult to track out of it. An ablation is like they've filled in the ruts to track you back to the smooth road. Anyhow, two cardioverts didn't work. Finally about 3 months after taking the liquid Mg, I decided to get the ablation. The information I'd read, it was about 50% effective and may have to go in for multiple ablations. This was NOT giving me confidence.....AND after my ablation, there was definitely NEVER going to be another! Most painful experience of my life. Anyway, it worked. Six months later, still beating in rhythm AND I'm still taking the Magnesium. I told my Cardio about it and he basically humored me and said probably nothing to it. I say it's because magnesium has filled the ruts to prevent you tracking off the smooth road. Listen, It is a cumbersome and most difficult journey to take the magnesium, working your way up to the right dose ..... if I were a doctor, it would take far too much time to work with patients to get them on magnesium. Seriously, most patients are little babies who won't even continue with drugs that have no side effects. You have to do this on your own and you have to be DEDICATED! So here's what I've found, not only do I believe this has prevented any further rhythm abnormalities, but my LDL cholesterol went down 40 points! My muscles feel more energized, I had a shoulder pain that wouldn't subside (gone now). Lower back pain is non existent (before it was chronic, but not debilitating). After reading the book and learning about why our bodies require magnesium all my health issues made sense to me. I eventually added a liquid calcium to my supplement magnesium and also vitamin D-3. Magnesium is the reason these elements are absorbed. Without the magnesium, these other minerals are not utilized. I just turned 62 now, I've been taking the magnesium for over a year. I've bought pharmaceutical grade magnesium chloride and Calcium carbonate to mix my own, at pennies per day. I take 600 mg of magnesium because my burn rate, how much I sweat, and drinking purified water all the time caused me to deplete my stores of magnesium. It can take 6 months to a year to replenish your magnesium, of which the HEART muscle is the biggest beneficiary as you will read. Makes sense your heart, adrenal glands, muscles might get weak. The biggest overall surprise was my cholesterol. My doc always wanted me to take a statin, but I just felt bad on them. My LDL cholesterol went from 160 to 120 in about 7 to 8 months of taking the magnesium. But after my research, all of this makes perfect sense. Hope this helps, I have nothing to gain. Good luck to all and PERSEVERE!
NOTE: You may get a magnesium level with your blood work and it will be normal, despite the possibility of it being very low in your tissues. The blood levels of magnesium are constant because when you are depleting areas of your body of magnesium, your blood will become like Robin Hood. Your body will maintain a level in the blood to distribute to the depleted areas. Docs know this, but the hospital labs won't allow a more accurate (and more expensive) test to measure levels in the tissue. AND the HEART is the biggest utilizer of magnesium in the human body.
Hi boludo
I have taken amiodorone twice now - and had two ablations at a high ranked London Teaching Hospital by an electrophysiologist I know well and trust completely.
If I’ve understood correctly you’re asking for advice on how to stop taking it. Amiodorone - even though you have to load up gradually when starting it - does not require gradual withdrawal. You can stop it totally straight away. I have done that on both occasions - immediately after leaving the Outpatient Clinic.
If that wasn’t your question please come back to me.
Best wishes
My experience on Amiodarone was not a happy one. Lots of side effects that made it quite difficult to tolerate. Because of this, my EP felt I was a good candidate for an ablation, but my health insurance company did not initially sign off on it. Thanks to the persistence of my EP, who continued to push for this procedure, the green light was eventually given and an ablation was performed back in December of 2018. Aside from two short, isolated Afib episodes, all has been good.
I can offer this: while I was waiting for the ablation and taking the Amiodarone, I made the decision to take half the recommended dosage, which for me was 100 mg once a day. My EP was aware of this decision and willing to go with it. Though it did not eliminate the side effects, it did make them more tolerable.
Your success with a first ablation really comes down to how much fibrosis you have. That is what I was told. The less the better. They were able to tell me how much fibrosis I had following an MRI.
I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't be offering you an alternative to the Amiodarone. I hope that you can sort this out relatively soon. I also don't understand why you would not be able to confirm with him via email, text, or something like Skype during this period of lockdown?
Wishing you the very best. Please let us know how this all settles out.
I had a bad attack of Afib in hospital 2 days after having my aortic valve replaced (apparently up to 40% of patients having this op experience this problem). I was put on an Amiodarone drip for 18 hours and then 200mg tablets 3 times a day reducing to 1 a day after three weeks. At the end of three weeks I asked my Doctor if I could come off the drug, he said speak to my surgeon. His secretary referred me to one of the cardiac nursing staff who was also reluctant to make a decision. Having been in touch on this website with another patient who had the same op and exactly the same experience of Afib as me, he told me his surgeon saw him after the op and told him to stop taking the drug after three weeks as he had no repeat of Afib. I therefore made the decision myself to do likewise.
My concern with this drug was the potential damage to the liver and thyroid as well as other side effects. One of these was losing sight in one eye which I experienced on a regular basis. The notes that accompany this drug list all the potential risks and also state quite clearly that the drug can remain in your system for at least 6 months. I had my op in July 2019 and was still experiencing occasional loss of vision up to a month ago. A blood test in February this year revealed two abnormal readings in my liver function test, one of which was almost 200% above normal level. I am now waiting for another blood test (which I have requested) to see if these levels are still increasing.
I can only comment on my own experience, but anyone taking this drug for more than a few weeks should ensure they have regular blood tests for liver and thyroid function. Symptoms of damage to these two areas do not become obvious until the damage has been done.
It is now 9 months since my Afib attack and fortunately I have had no repeats.
Hope you get your bad reactions sorted.I was taking this drugfor seven months without any effects,that I know of,stopped now.Take care.
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