Muscle Weakness / Amiodorone

[DoubleEm]

My husband was taking Amiodorone for 19 months before stopping in November 2019. Whilst taking this drug he suffered with extreme fatigue and body weakness and 8 months later the weakness has barely improved.

It's unlikely that he will see his cardiologist for his routine appt. any time soon and GPs are faffing about aimlessly.

He's 71, walks 2 miles a day and is reasonably well but is very concerned that every muscle in his body is so weak, in his words "it doesn't feel right".

(He currently takes Warfarin, Valsartan and a daily Vitamin D supplement)

Has anyone experienced this prolonged muscle weakness after taking Amiodorone?

[CDreamer]

My husband has been on Amiodarone since Feb 2019. I wouldn’t jump to conclusion and blame the drug - the affects of AF are long term and make us feel like that. When we do less, muscle is lost, age means building muscle is more difficult so fatigue is inevitable.

Strength training with weight resistance is best at building muscle. My husband is 87 now, still does 30 mins stretch & strength exercises every morning with no problem but tires quickly walking - although it’s great for heart & circulation.

Amiodarone also takes a long time to clear the system. Has he had all the usual bloods - Thyroid, kidney, liver & B12 & anaemia?

I think if no underlying condition arises & he is in NSR with good HR then it may be about managing expectations. I know my husband thought he would be back to jogging & adapting to new norms has taken a lot of adjusting to! He is now in a much better place than he was this time last year but having to go slower & rest more.

Have you thought or advised about COQ10? I know when we don’t take it we feel the difference.

Best wishes CD

[DoubleEm in reply to CDreamer]

BT monitoring has been carried out regularly TSH, T3+4, Kidney, Liver, B12, Anaemia etc. - nothing of note apart from early Potassium deficiency now rectified by diet and recent Vit D deficiency (hence the supplement).

I'll look in to COQ10, thank you

[Auriculaire in reply to DoubleEm]

How much vit D is he taking? If he is sticking to the recommended 400iu a day there will likely be no improvement in muscles for months if at all.

[DoubleEm in reply to Auriculaire]

Yes 400iu per day

[Auriculaire in reply to DoubleEm]

Are you saying that this tiny dose has corrected the deficiency. Has he been retested?

[DoubleEm in reply to Auriculaire]

No, I'm not saying that. This was only picked up 9 weeks ago and he is due to be retested in August.

[Auriculaire in reply to DoubleEm]

I think you will find that 400iu will not have made much difference to the deficiency. Who recommended this dose?

[johnMiosh]

Amiodarone has potentially nasty side effects, particularly to the lungs, liver and kidneys, so tests would be a good idea. It can take a significant amount of time to leave the body, but after 8 months there would only be 5% of the maximum left. If there has been no pulmonary damage I would expect that the muscle weakness is more likely to be from valsartan and AF.

[DoubleEm in reply to johnMiosh]

BT monitoring has been carried out regularly TSH, T3+4, Kidney, Liver, B12, Anaemia etc. - nothing of note apart from early Potassium deficiency now rectified by diet and recent Vit D deficiency (hence the supplement).

Amiodorone seemed the most likely culprit but Valsartan is also on our radar.

Thanks for the info