Has anyone been given Adenosine?

[spinningjenny]

I have had a spell in hospital between Christmas and New Year with rapid AF and was administered intravenous Adenosine. The doctor who gave it said “It will make you feel like s**t, I mean really s**t. You will think you are going to die.” He was right. Moreover, it didn’t work. Since I was given it I have had oesophageal pain when I eat. A bit like the pain you get when swallowing a cup of tea that’s too hot.

I did mention it while I was in hospital but was largely ignored. Unfortunately I wasn’t on a cardiac ward because my initial Covid test came back positive (a subsequent one was negative) and I was put on a Covid ward so I don’t feel I was asking the right people. Had I been on the correct ward someone might have understood why I was trying to say.

Has anyone else had this drug and subsequently had similar pain? I think the drug affects the vagus nerve but I can find very little about it on Google written in dumb bunny language.

I am now home with a heart rate between 70 and 80 with occasional rapid runs. Bisoprolol increased to 12.5mg daily with a bit of digoxin for good measure so I barely know which way is up.

[10gingercats]

Maybe wait for Bob to comment .But I noticed during a quick look that there seems to be quite a lot of medical info on this drug just by typing in the name .

[BobD Volunteer in reply to 10gingercats]

Sorry never had this so can't comment other than it is generally a hospital prescribed drug not everyday use.

[Kaz747]

I had it in 2018 when I had Atrial Flutter when they tried a chemical cardioversion. That didn’t work so the next day they did an electrical cardioversion. Adenosine is also known as “impending doom drug”. Not a nice feeling 😜

[spinningjenny in reply to Kaz747]

I think my doctor summed it up nicely. Did you have any after effects?

[Kaz747 in reply to spinningjenny]

It’s hard to tell. A few days after my cardioversion I was diagnosed with Shingles them post herpetic neuralgia so I wasn’t well anyway.

[spinningjenny in reply to Kaz747]

Gosh. You had a rough old time.

[rosyG]

I don't know the answer to your question but know it stops one type of SVTs and not another and is used to diagnose this as only works on one-not used for AF usually so wonder if you had a mixture of tachycardias?

[spinningjenny in reply to rosyG]

Yes I have a mixture of SVT and AF.

[rosyG in reply to spinningjenny]

so keep a note of this as, if ever there' s talk of ablating your SVTs they will know which type you have e the one that doesn't terminate with adenosine!

[spinningjenny in reply to rosyG]

Oddly enough I am on the waiting list for an ablation and while I was in hospital Wythenshawe phoned offering me a cancellation on Sunday. Of course, I couldn’t take it as I now have to self isolate for two weeks. At least I know I’m near the top of the list.

[LMor]

I have had adenosine for Svt. Heart rate around 280...was not a nice experience but nor is my heart beating that fast lol. I didn’t experience side effects after so maybe I was lucky. Just extremely tired and out of sorts for a couple of days. Maybe you could call the cardiology department and speak to someone there and get some advice

[Stumpy47]

Doctors will use Adenosine after they are satisfied your ecg is an episode of SVT, first dose would be 6ml followed by 12 ml if it does not work. I had this frequently prior to my successful ablation. It isn't an enjoyable experience but it became a love hate relationship. I didn't experience any throat discomfort at all .often you just want to sleep afterwards. Having Adenosine was certainly better than svt of up to 220bpm for hours on end! Best wishes.

[Tomred]

Yes I've had it and word for word the doctor said the same thing to me it must be the mantra with this drug i had it after af set in after treadmill stress test to find out if I had af for sure that was the day i found out it really was it and it didnt work for me either then of for a cardioversion which didnt work either was put on bisoprolol 1.25mg and dronederone i didnt have any further adverse effects that i can say after adenosine and yes i did feel as he said for about 10 seconds

[spinningjenny in reply to Tomred]

It was the most peculiar experience. At least they now know it doesn’t work for me so won’t use it again.

[Marina_D]

I had this in early 2019 for a/flutter, 3 boluses to be precise. They increased the dose each time, it didn't work, and the feeling was horrible, it was like my body shutting down from over my shoulders, down my arms, then down my legs. There were 4 nurses and the administrating Dr around my bed. I later found that the crash cart was just outside the cubicle, just in case. After effects for me were a faster heart rate for a while and a very low blood pressure. I was kept in overnight for observation then discharged on meds. These never really worked and I started to develop tachy/brady syndrome. Cardiologist said that meds were not a viable, long term option. So we agreed to look at the medical intervention route.Anyways, after much deliberation and research, in August 2019 I had a 2 lead pacemaker put in, then an AV node ablation in October 2019. After a few tweaks I was able to function way better than I had whilst coping with paroxysmal AF. All good!

[spinningjenny in reply to Marina_D]

It was defiantly a not to be repeated experience. I am due an ablation very soon but see a pacemaker looming over the horizon .

[Marina_D]

Hi spinning jenny, I skipped the ablation option after learning it would be a PVI ablation with only a 70% chance of success, and the fact that it had a higher risk.So for me it was a 'no brainer' to skip to the pacemaker and AV node ablation option.

That was my personal choice.

[spinningjenny in reply to Marina_D]

It will be a few years before I have to make that decision with any luck. Pace and ablate is the most likely option but one that scares me a bit.

[Marina_D in reply to spinningjenny]

A/fib and a/flutter are indeed a very daunting conditions that coexist. I'd had too many unpredictable days and my quality of life was becoming more affected so after finding out that meds were not an option either I had to make some sort of decision to move on with life. I hope that your AF journey will be resolved soon, without too much hassle.