Eye problems............Amiodarone

[SerenK]

I have been taking Amiodarone for just two weeks, on two occasions I have had episodes of being unable to focus my eyes and blurring and double vision (I have never had these symptoms before). Anyway, I went to my GP and she advised to stop taking the Amiodarone, and has upped my dosage of Bisoprolol. Also I am going to have my eyes looked at in hospital on Wednesday. No more funny eye symptoms as yet, hope it won't come back. Don't know if it was caused by the Amiodarone, but can't be too careful when eyes are involved.

[Dolphin14]

Why were you put on amiodarone and was it by the cardiologist?

Just wondering if cardiology ok the discontinuation?

Glad the symptoms went away and that you are feeling better.

[SerenK in reply to Dolphin14]

Put on for A Fib, short episode in hospital after operation. Prescribed by Surgeon, phoned the ward and told them my symptoms, unable to advise, told me to go to the GP, she said she would contact cardiologist and tell the what she was doing. I can't do any more, no body discussed the side effects of this drug with me, the eye symptoms were pretty frightening.

[not2worry in reply to SerenK]

Amiodarone is a very nasty drug and taken for a long period of time can be very damaging to your organs. My husband had to take it as a temporary drug to control his afib. He took it for 6 months. During that time he also had vision problems and while on the medication had to have blood work to monitor the side affects of the drug. After 3 months his liver enzymes had become elevated. The electrophysiologist stopped the drug and within a month my husband had a pace maker procedure to solve the AFib problem. For my husband, who is 84, Amiodarone was the only medication he could take due to other medical issues and at the time they felt he was too weak to have the PM. There are other medications and procedures to control AFib. My husband had constant AFib, some folks just gave episodical AFib and some folks just experience it occasionally. But as our Cardio doc told us-there is no such thing as a “little” AF. The absolute one thing you need to have in terms of precaution is to be on some type of blood thinner. AFib won’t kill you, but it is the leading cause of stroke. If you are not on some type of blood thinner you need to immediately discuss with your doctor.

As a side note Amiodarone takes a long period of time to leave your body. While my husband was on the drug only 6 months it took 2 months for his bloodwork to get back in normal range.

Glad you are off the medication but with AFib you need to be sure to follow up and have a consult with your cardiologist.

As a side note, my husband is doing great. We were fortunate to discover his AF before things got more complicated. He just got so tired all of the time. We discounted it as just another sign of getting older. Yes, age slows us down but fatigue can be something other than age. My husband had no symptoms that many people have - he was asymptomatic. They only discovered he had AFib on an EKG.

Yours From Across The Pond

[SerenK in reply to not2worry]

Hi I am on Warfarin for 12 weeks, am will be seeing cardiologist in Sept, 5 weeks or so.

[seasider18 in reply to SerenK]

When you were prescribed Amiodarone was your Warfarin dosage reduced as it should have been.

[SerenK in reply to seasider18]

both prescribed at the same time upon leaving hospital, started taking them when on the ward. Still having my INR measured very regularly. Will see what they say at the clinic on monday when I go for blood test.

[seasider18 in reply to SerenK]

I read it as the Amiodarone was prescribed later. When that happened to me my Warfarin dosage was not reduced and everyone scratched their heads as to why my INR practically doubled over the next weeks. I had to do my own research to discover why. When I asked the pharmacist why she had not warned me she said she thought everyone knew that and would have adjusted my dosage. The assistant registrar cardiologist did not know nor the practice nurse who checked my INR or the GP she asked for help on my readings.

Amiodarone affected my vision and also caused deposits to form on my cornea. It also affected my equilibrium and I had difficulty with small turning movements such as you make in the kitchen or turning in the shower. I was having to hold the wall with one hand and wash with the other.

[SerenK in reply to seasider18]

Seasider that sounds awful, how are you now?

[seasider18 in reply to SerenK]

That was seven years ago. My present worse problems are caused by Cipro and Fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

[SerenK in reply to seasider18]

Seasider so sorry to hear, hope you soon have improvements in your life. Thinking of you.

[Dolphin14 in reply to SerenK]

Oops looks like I replied to myself lol.

Below is the response to our conversation.

[Dolphin14 in reply to Dolphin14]

I'm glad you are feeling better. Just wanted to know why you were on it to be sure you have the proper coverage medically.

Best of luck to you

[SerenK in reply to Dolphin14]

I didn't really like the fact GP can alter medication so easily, but she did say that the cardiologist would be informed, so hope that if I need to carry on with the medication, I will be called back to GP. I am willing to resume if it is the only medicine that is going to fix me, but I need to put my eyesight first,

[Dolphin14 in reply to SerenK]

Agree, as someone said it is a strong med.

If it was post op afib that's very common. May never happen again. Glad to see you are on blood thinner which is protocol for af.

Do you know how to check your pulse for irregularity. If not mayb you should ask? Just a thought.

Take care

[SerenK in reply to Dolphin14]

no I don't I will have to look into it. I take my blood pressure daily at home, and that shows a heart rate, but don't know if this the same thing. I don't know much about A Fib, and can't wait for follow up appointments, to ask all these questions. Will be going to cardio rehabilitations, in a few weeks, so hoping for some guidance there ?

[Dolphin14 in reply to SerenK]

Oh yes rehab will help for sure.

I'm sure you will be fine.

Take your blood thinner.

If you feel your heart beating funny in your chest, or get short of breath or discomfort then call the md.

They increased your beta blocker and that will help.

I'm in the US. Some dr treat post of af with amiodarone others choose beta blockers.

[SerenK]

not dry eyes. Unable to see properly for a few minutes, difficulty still with reading the subtitles, which were not a problem a week ago.

[Hidden]

I was put an Amiodarone as I developed AF two days after my aortic valve replacement. My AF was terrifying as I had no idea what it was (it felt as though by complete heart was bouncing around my rib cage -it would then stop for several seconds and then keep repeating the same sequence). I was put on an Amiodarone drip and after half an hour or so the AF stopped and I was mightily relieved. The drip lasten 18 hours and then I was put on three 200mg tablets a day for 7 days, two a day for the next seven and finally one a day for 7 days. So for me, I was very glad to have the drug as it certainly fixed the AF.

When I got home I checked the information sheet inside the box of tablets and it gave a comprehensive list of possible side effects.

One of the 'common' ones was interference of vision which I experience a number of times especially when on 3 tablets a day. After 21 days I asked to be taken off the drug due to the more serious side effects (possible permanent damage to liver, thyroid and also the lungs). Whilst on the pills I noticed my BP dropped but is now back to normal. Having said that, it seems that this drug is probably the most effective for stopping AF. There is another method called cardioversion which is where the electrical signals are stopped and restarted, but this is not always effective.

I think as a short term measure it is worth putting up with side effects, but if you stay on the drug for any length of time you need to have regular blood tests and possibly X rays.

Regards, Mike

[SerenK in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Mike, my A fib was not so intense feeling, just a few palpitations and only knew I was in A Fib from the monitor by my bed. I understand that the drug is effective, but my eyesight problems frightened me, not had any funny symptoms for a few days, and seeing an ophthalmologist next Wednesday, hope no permanent damage.