How quickly can we come off Amiodarone

[Windhoek1980]

I am new here. I am on my third week of Amiodarone, down to 1 tablet a day. It stopped my AF after just 5 days. I had it two years ago and I have had no side effects. However, it is not a drug to stay on for any longer than necessary, and two years ago I came off it after 6 weeks and went on to 1.25mg bisoprolol, also with no side effects. Anybody out there know what is the minimum acceptable time to make that switch. How long can I stay in a moderate sun, if at all?

[Hidden]

I hope you get there support you want. You may get want to consider posting on the British Heart Foundation forum on HealthUnlocked. healthunlocked.com/bhf

[Galen70]

Amiodarone is a potentially toxic drug and clear advice and guidance should have been given to you by the prescribing doctor and/or pharmacist. If you are unclear for how long to take it for , or what the plan is , you need to contact the prescribing service .

EMC guidance about photosensitivity and other potential issues here : medicines.org.uk/emc/produc...

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (see section 4.8)

Patients should be instructed to avoid exposure to sun and to use protective measures during therapy as patients taking Amiodarone tablets can become unduly sensitive to sunlight, which may persist after several months of discontinuation of Amiodarone tablets. In most cases symptoms are limited to tingling, burning and erythema of sun-exposed skin but severe phototoxic reactions with blistering may be seen.

Its doesnt specify for how long you might experience the sensitivity - at a guess "several months " would be a minimum of two - but the pharmacists may have more info , or please read the drug insert information that comes with all tablets.

This is a specialist medicine used in specific circumstances. You should recontact the service who provided it for any queries , as the advice may be patient specific.