amiodarone side effects

[navyrogue]

Recently diagnosed with Afib and a leaky heart valve. What are the main side effects of Amiodarone and is there an alternative?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum! First off because a drug has side effects it doesn't mean you will get them. A friend is currently off AF medication after removing triggers like alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and spicy food from his diet. If you have not done so it is definitely worth a try. Stress is also a trigger that is harder to deal with.

[Becksagogo]

Amiodarone is the Marmite of the drug world. Some people are fine on it long or short term but for others it can be highly toxic. The trouble is, it works! Unfortunately for me it affected my thyroid, liver and kidneys so I was taken off it.

Please research it all you can and talk to your Consultant so that you can explore alternatives.

[road2ruin]

Hi,

I was put on Amiodarone after suffering AF post op. I was on it for about two months and had no noticeable side effects. It is not recommended for long term use however and they will probably put you on bisoprolol if you need long term medication.

[not2worry]

After two unsuccessful cardioversions my hubby was put on Amiodarone to control his AF and yes it worked. Unfortunately it is one drug that can affect and damage liver, kidneys and have other long term side affects. You will need regular bloodwork labs done to watch for these symptoms.

My husband was on the drug for 3 months and during that time the lab test showed it was starting to affect his liver.

His Cardio and Electrophysiologist recommenced a pacemaker. My hubby stayed on Amiodarone until the PM procedure was done. It took 3 months for the drug to leave his body-the longer you take it the longer it takes to completely leave your system. After 6 months my husbands liver function returned to normal.

And the PM solved his AF!

[DaveTR]

Hi,

As MichaelJH stated if a drug does have potential side effects it doesn't mean you will get them.

I've been on Amiodarone for just over 12 months to sort out an erratic heart beat following a failed Ablation.

I'm pleased to report no side effects and I'm being closely monitored.

I'm not sure about alternatives so I would suggest discussing that with your medical team.

[cjbroon]

I was on it for 3-4 months after I took Afib after heart surgery last year. I got taken off it slowly as you can't come straight off it, whilst I got put on a small dose of bisoprolol. I had no noticeable side effects but was glad to come off as the consultant had said there was side effects and they didn't like to put you on it long term.