Amiodarone

[Salvatore68]

Has anyone noticed problems Since taking this ? Did you switch to another drug? Was it effective?

[Hidden]

What are you experiencing?

There are loads of horrible side effects with this "dirty" drug. Personally I was getting sunburn inside my house in the winter, even when wearing factor 50+.

I felt dreadful for months when taking it, and it also damaged my thyroid.

It was effective, but not worth the damage.

If you use the search at the top of the page you will see loads of posts on this topic

[Gillybean123 in reply to Hidden]

Hi there, I was fantastic while taking amiodarone Theo ly thing I didn’t like was having to not go into sunshine with it. But I was totally fine on it.Felt really well. I was taken off it due to my age. I now take flecanide And I find no problems at all with this one either. Good luck.

[Salvatore68 in reply to Gillybean123]

How long did u stay on amiodorone And what mg strength? and did u have any issues?

[colourblue]

I took Amiodarone for about 9 months, had borderline kidney readings. Saw my Cardiologist last January & told him I wished to stop taking this drug as I was concerned about long term effects. He was happy for me to stay on Bisaprolol & Apixaban, but said that the A fib may come back, I do get brief episodes, so hope it does not get worse. From reading this site the opinion is that Amiodarone is a dirty drug & not generally used. My Optician was shocked I had been given it as long term use can affect eye sight. Having said that, we are all different & some people will take it with no adverse reaction. Best not to worry & consult your Consultant or GP. Best wishes.

[Salvatore68 in reply to colourblue]

Thank you great info

What dosage of amiodorone were you on for the 9 months and how often were you tested during that time

[colourblue in reply to Salvatore68]

If I remember correctly it was 200mg. My GP was very good at sending me for blood tests, probably had 4 or 5 during the 9 months plus BP & heart beat checks. Also had ECGS, Echo Cardiogram & 24 hour monitors ordered by my Consultant.

[Jason1971]

I was placed on Amiodarone about 7 years ago. I believe it should be for short term use only. Unfortunately for me I developed an over active thyroid and became pretty ill with it. Lost two stone in weight and generally felt rubbish. Came off it and fortunately the treatment for my thyroid worked and I was back to normal in about 4 months.

[Salvatore68 in reply to Jason1971]

What was the treatment for your thyroid?

[Jason1971 in reply to Salvatore68]

I was treated for Amiodarone Induced Hyperthyroidism. It was treated with medication. Carbimazole was prescribed and I was on it for about 3 months.

[Charlies747 in reply to Jason1971]

Did you take Amiodarone together with Carbiomaxole?

[Salvatore68 in reply to Jason1971]

What happened when you stopped amiodorone?

[Jason1971 in reply to Salvatore68]

I was placed on Flecainide and when we got the right dosage my AF was under control. No side effects and I’ve been taking it 6 years now. The drug works for me.

[Shemac52]

Amioradone is a nasty drug.

Was on it for a year had heart surgery came off it. Within 6 weeks had a stroke caused by AFib. Which was caused by overactive thyroid from the amioradone. I was having blood tests to check thyroid function and the last one before surgery was fine.

I was very ill with it they were very worried as the thyroid readings were off the scale. Treatment seemed to have worked slowly weaning off the steroids still.

[Salvatore68 in reply to Shemac52]

How often did u get tests done while you were taking adiordarone? How many mega day was your dosage?

I am taking 200 mg daily.

[Shemac52 in reply to Salvatore68]

I was tested every 3 months and was on 200mg a day. Went back into AFib so they decided time to deal with leaking heart valve.

[CDreamer]

Amiodarone is a drug of last resort and it does it’s job at keeping the heart in NSR very well but it’s not a drug anyone would want to take for a long period.

My husband has been taking it since Feb 2019 and until recently, he has done very well on it and it has stopped his AF and he has come back out of HF. He is now waiting for blood tests & results but he is now struggling with overwhelming fatigue, just over the last few days and I fear the damage. It has given him over 12 months of incredibly good QOL and I don’t think there is any alternative now if he reduces or stops the Amiodarone and AF did return because of his age (86) and previous history.

Everyone’s circumstances are very different and personally I refused the offer of Amiodarone - I was much younger 62, I wasn’t in persistent AF - my husband was so I thought that for me, the risks of the drug affects long term would outweigh the gains being in NSR.

Circumstances, age and how symptomatic your AF is all contribute toward decisions as to what treatment is most beneficial for you as an individual at any one time.

[Salvatore68 in reply to CDreamer]

How often did u get tests done while you or your husband were taking adiordarone? What was the dosage?

I am taking 200 mg daily.

[CDreamer in reply to Salvatore68]

Same dosage. Tests for liver & kidneys every 3 months & for Thyroid - every 6 months. With lockdown he is overdue all tests. Creatinine levels had started to rise and test showed Abnormal but not unexpected.

[harrigate1]

HI, I've been on Amiodarone since Jan 2020. My 1st AF June 2019, CV mid July 2019, felt absolutely normal till 2nd Dec when AF was back. Next CV 20th Jan and persuaded to take Amiodarone. Only side effect so far is a bit of constipation so eating 2 or 3 dried, but soft, prunes every day and OK. I was told it would make my skin photo sensitive but that has not happened much at all. Had my first blood test yesterday so will know what's happening to the rest of me shortly. Hoping SR lasts longer than 6 mths. I was 74 in March 2020.

[Salvatore68 in reply to harrigate1]

I am 75.

I had ablation May 2020.

My afib is called persistent . And yours?

also,

How often did u get tests done while you were taking adiordarone? How many mg. Per day was your dosage?

I am taking 200 mg daily.

[harrigate1 in reply to Salvatore68]

Mine was persistent too. 200mg/day. My first test yesterday.

[Hidden]

I have been on it for 3 months on 200mg, when I started it it was 1 week of 600mg a day, next week it was 400mg and now I am on 200mg. I get sunburned in my house, and fatigued. Thyroid and kidney functions now borderline and waiting for a Kideny scan ( waiting 2 months so far) and no sign of a date when I will get my second Ablation. I am lucly enough to be able to pull the money together to go private for the OP ( I think it is £4K) if it is a lot more then I will need to wait a long time and that concerns me on this drug.

[mbhakta]

Hi, I am taking amiodaron since last five years. two or three times my dr replaced the medicine with ramipril or so. for last six months I'm taking amiodarone 200mg daily. it had affected my thyroid. other toxicity symptoms are not apparent. dr has suggested to continue with the medicine.

[Salvatore68 in reply to mbhakta]

What did amiodarone do to your thyroid? And how long had you been taking it when thyroid happened?

[Diamondcat]

Hi there

I was put on this instead of Sotalol. Had problems from day 1. Felt sick, had a very fuzzy head, In AF all the time and felt tired and generally unwell. Back on sotalol now which agrees with me much better.

[Jes59]

I went on Amiodarone 200mg and it quite quickly got rid of my AF of which I was having many episodes a week. It was like a miracle drug but I knew it had some nasty side effects, but my AF was making life miserable so I would try anything. After six months my consultant reduced my dosage, first to 100mg and then 50mg and I finished taking it after one year. My blood tests showed no significant raised levels. I protected my skin but still enjoyed a holiday abroad and suffered no skin burn.

I count my self very lucky with Amiodarone as it has enabled me to enjoy my life again, the AF was part of the reason I retired as I was unable to function at work (Not a stressful job, really enjoyed it!) during episodes, mainly because it made me feel so tired. I am over a year since stopping it and have only had one Short episode of AF and a couple episodes of ectopics.

But for some people Amiodarone can cause more problems with the side effects as has been stated previously. It is therefore a choice to be made between yourself and cardiologist.

Alas I cannot take Flecainide due to my coronary arteries being somewhat narrowed, which my consultant said he would have put me on if the Amiodarone did not work (he says it usually does) or if I could not tolerate it, but so far I have not needed any further medical intervention.

[Gordieh]

I was advised to take this by my Cardiologist, but having read the side effects decided not to. I spoke to my GP about it and he said it was the wisest choice as although it does work and many Cardiologists prescribe it, they do not see the problems it causes to other organs. "Stay away from it" was his advice.

[Mittzy]

I have PAF and was put on Amiodarone for three months after I was first diagnosed three years ago. My GP took me off it after My hair started falling out. I suffered over 50% hair loss and when brushing, it was coming out all over the place. As soon as I stopped this horrible drug my hair started to return and is pretty much back to normal now. After all that it never put me in NSR so I never got the benefits from it. I was put on the lowest dose Bisoprolol as I am also asthmatic and can’t tolerate a high dose. We are all different but I would talk to your GP and share your worries. Mine was very kind and understanding.

[Mister_K]

Some cardiologists love it and make claims about its effectiveness; other doctors disagree. My advice is stay away from it--it's your thyroid.

[bmw2002]

After 3 admissions to icu due AF on jan 2020 my EP send me amioradone 200mg bid and do ablation on march 2 last week he low my dose to 200 mg one daily . He told me that for september if everything ok take me off. Amioradone works well only if strictly necessary. To much risk.

[engvey00]

I have been taking it for about 5 months. 200 MG. My heart rate dropped to the low 40s and my BP was lower than 100. My energy has dropped through the floor. No AF though. I talked with my Card,,, and have lowered the dosage to 100MG. My heart rate is back to the mid 50s an d my BP is back to 120. My energy is still on the floor. Will try it for a while longer.

[Silvasava]

I was put on Amiodarone prior to a cardioversion but after the first blood test I was taken off it immediately as it was affecting my liver. I am due to have a liver scan in a few weeks to check if there is any underlying condition. I did enquire about possible effects to the thyroid as I hav'n't got one! Hopefully cardioversion will be done after lockdown as I'm on 10mg of Bisoprolol and I'd like to come off it.

[john-boy-92]

Some people are not adversely affected by Amiodarone and the related Dronedarone. Others including me, experience nasty side effects; I ended up in A&E. I no longer have rate control medication as my resting heart rate is 48 to 54, and that would be a problem whilst asleep. I'm just on an anticoagulant and watch my heart rate whilst exercising.

[Annushorribilus]

I was initially on Amiodarone which helped with Afib but after 6 months developed an overactive thyroid, managed to reverse that with treatment and have been on sotalol ever since. Sotalol has been better for me, no side effects in the 20 odd years I’ve been on it.