Dronaderone

[Kernowafibber]

After my second (failed) ablation last July I was put on Dronaderone, along with Edoxaban, My AF although changed continues and is almost constant. A couple of days ago I forgot to take my evening dose and the dose the following morning. When I remembered. was out and about and I suddenly thought, wow, I feel so much better! More energy, less breathlessness. I took my missed morning dose and returned to 'normal'.

One thing that I have learned over the years with my AF is that diagnosing it and treating it is not an exact science at all.

I wonder whether the Dronaderone is actually making things worse, My cardiologist is now advising Amiodarone to see if that controls things any better.

Does anyone have any experience wth this?

[Gumbie_Cat]

I was on Dronedarone following diagnosis last year, and then have been back on it again since my ablation in December. Last year I was still going in and out of A Fib, and the medication didn’t stop this happening, just prevented the rate going really high.

When I reverted though, my HR could be pretty low, and I still felt like my legs had no energy going uphill or upstairs. When I was advised to stop it last summer, I felt so good!

Sadly, A Fib turned persistent late last year, and carried on just two days after the ablation (I live in hope 😂). Was put back on dronedarone, which is again helping to control it. Back to the heavy legs feeling, and difficulty with hills and stairs. Though I also had this as soon as the A Fib was persistent and on Bisoprolol.

So, I’m not sure how much is the A Fib and how much is dronedarone. Must admit, my name for it is ‘the drone’.

[Tommyboy21]

I've just came off it. I feel much better. Less breathless and no waves of strange feelings like cold sensation across forehead. Also my bowels have normalised. I just feel more normal in myself altogether. Didn't stop my AF. Still about 50/50 . On flecainide now but still AF.

[Jalia]

It certainly isn't an exact science. A lot of trial and error involved.

I was put on Dronedarone following a cardioversion not long after it came on the market. I can't recall any adverse effects but nor any good ones . It is supposed to be similar to Amiodarone without the Iodine atoms( should not interfere with thyroid)

. Now Amiodarone is the Daddy of all anti arrhythmia drugs! Not for nothing is it called Cardiac Domestos......kills all known arrhythmias! This does come with certain undesirable side effects which will be pointed out to you. It is not normally used as a long term treatment but can be very useful where other treatments have failed. I've been prescribed this on several occasions and have had some success with it.

[Spin-off]

I have been on Amiodarone since mid September last year - and so far, so good. I feel well. It was a last resort to bring me back into NSR after another really bad AF/Brady attack. Dronadarone is not licensed in France so is not an option. I know I can’t stay on Amiodarone for long as it previously caused me thyroid problems. If you do take it have regular blood tests (mine are every 10 weeks). I have had AF for around twenty years and have had 4 ablations and several cardioversions. I am seeing cardio in March and will agree to pace and ablate. Onwards and upwards.

[Ossie7]

good morning Kernow . I am on dronedarone post successful cardioversion for persistent AF in early October . Also , 2.5 mgs of bisoprolol , as my AF prior to this was very unstable ( extreme swings of high and low heart beat persistently ) . So far it is controlling my heart rhythm perfectly but I am breathless still on exertion . I thought this was the beta blocker but who knows , could it be the ‘ drone ‘ . I was on dronedarone a few years ago for breakthrough AF post ablation and it was great for almost a year when my AF broke through with a vengeance . Flecanaide was tried but I don’t agree with this drug sadly , just felt awful on it . I feel that generally dronedarone does agree with me so just shows how different we all are !

I was on amiodarone for a year too ( well monitored ) after my second cardioversion and I hated every second of it . Had to come off as it caused protein plaques in my cornea . Took 2 years to clear up , but I feel it reduced my vision long term .

Good luck with your ongoing AF journey , it really is a bogger !

[Visigoth in reply to Ossie7]

Did you notice any changes in your vision at the time? I ask because I am on amiodarone and I have the protein plaques but my ophthalmologist isn’t the least bit concerned and I haven’t noticed any changes in my vision.

[Nyhyttan123]

Have been on Dronedarone for nearly four years now. Initially a very good effect with PAF breakthroughs approx. 4 times a year. This last year an increasing amount of PAF now every 7-14 days with a duration of 6-8 hours. I abort the rapid AF approx. 130bps by taking Bisoprolol 2,5 mg sofar with the desired effect. My only sideeffect of Dronedarone experienced by me is tiredness . I always feel better when taking brisk walk which raises my heart rate which is normally 80 at rest but with Dronedarone is around 65. Regular blood tests for liver and kidney function.

[Tomred]

Hi kernow, i take dronederone also and have been wondering of late if its making my paf worse also, or is it the natural progression of afib , its hard to nail it with missing one or two doses though.

[Slidingdoors99]

Hi! I only have experience with Amiodarone to share with you. Isn’t the other drug you mention the same family (I may well be wrong, but I thought it was a slightly weaker version of Amiodarone?)

Anyway Amiodarone was a mixed blessing for me! In six weeks it converted me back to NSR but also affected my thyroid and gave me something called extended Q T intervals.

I had to come off it fast!

[Jajarunner]

I'm on dronedarone but I was back in hospital for another cardioversion last month so waiting to switch to amiodarone. I took that pre and post my first ablation with no problems so fingers crossed for us both xx

[AblatedCyclist]

I’ve been on amiodarone for about 4-5 months following an atrial ablation and subsequent atrial flutter- for which I got cardioverted. My EP is weaning me off the amiodarone. I started at 200mg daily, cut back to 100mg after a couple months, and am now at 50mg. I guess it’s been successful in that I haven’t had any heart issues since I started. But I started having some side effects after a couple months- hands would tremble a little, balance seems a little off, more shortness of breath, etc. So for me it’s a mixed bag. I think I’ll be off it in about a month and hopefully my heart will remain good and those side effects will go away. Good luck to you. Keep your doctor advised if you begin seeing any side effects

[4Pip]

I was on dronoderone do 9 months and was so very ill on it. Extreme extreme fatigue extreme breathlessness it was miserable and everyone put it down to my weight. They didn’t know me and I had been cycling every day before that drug. I will never go on it again. I immediately started to recover whilst coming off it. Then amioderine not good but not as bad. So 3 ablations later. I am well and after a 3 year journey I might get back on my bike again. A good number of people struggle with dronoderone. I will never ever go on it again.

[Jholl]

Hi, I have persistent AF and like you I’ve had two failed ablations. I was told they would only try a third ablation if I went on Amiodarone or Dronedarone afterwards. In the past they had tried me on Sotalol, also an anti arrhythmic drug, and I felt dreadful on it, heavy legs, no energy, achy, more breathless than usual when exercising , could only walk slowly. When I came off it, like you, I felt so much better, energy returned, aching went, I could walk faster, etc. So this time when they offered me Amiodarone (I wouldn’t have gone on that anyway because of the risk of serious side effects) or Dronedarone - which are even stronger anti-arrhythmics - I said no. In my opinion, the whole thing is about quality of life. What’s the point in having a normal or slower heartbeat if the drug you’re on to maintain it is making you feel worse than the AF did? (Also, the Sotalol didn’t, after all that, keep me in rhythm). I’ve chosen to have a pace and ablate instead, but if I wasn’t able to have that, I would have just stayed on my ordinary meds rather than go on anti-arrhythmics. I think if you feel this bad on Dronedarone you’re likely to feel much the same on Amiodarone as they’re very similar drugs.