Amiodarone?

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debster913

debster913

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Messages
1,117
Location
California
Hi, all--
Just got back from the cardio. We discussed my stubborn, squirrely PVCs and I'm taking yet another Toprol adjustment- 50 in the morning and 100 mgs at night. I also have an upcoming date with the event monitor...but, Doc mentioned that although he'd really hate to, he might have to try Amiodarone on me.

I remember a while back this drug was a topic of discussion, and I know it's not a very favorable med. Anyone here been on it--and what were your experiences with it?

Thanks,
Debi (debster913)
 
I was on 800 mg (quite a lot) from the end of August 2005 until I had my operation towards the end of October of the same year. Then I was on 200 mg for another 5 weeks just to make sure.

Since it was for such a short time, I didn't have any of the really really dangerous side effects they talk about. However, being a person who has had chronic constipation since I have been born (which I generally have learned to control), if a medication has the smallest possibility of causing constipation, I suffer terribly from it!!! It was to the point that I thought I had dried concrete in my intestines!!!:eek:
 
Amiodarone should be the last choice when nothing else works. There are other things yet to try.
 
Adrienne said:
...... However, being a person who has had chronic constipation since I have been born (which I generally have learned to control), if a medication has the smallest possibility of causing constipation, I suffer terribly from it!!! It was to the point that I thought I had dried concrete in my intestines!!!:eek:
Click to expand...
You just want me to post the picture of the "brick", don't you?:rolleyes::D
 
Amio usually OK for short term only

Amio usually OK for short term only

My surgical group routinely puts heart surgery patients with rhythm issues on a short course of Amiodarone. I was on it 3 months following surgery. I'm sensitive to a lot of medications and I did get some trembling in my hands, not sure if it was from the Amio or something else. I had AVR and a partial Maze done. It would seem that a long term drug controlled solution shouldn't include this drug but rather one of the others mentioned in here.
 
i was on it for 2 months after my op for afib,seem to do the trick touch wood,didnt suffer any side effects that i know of,
 
I was on it 10 days after leaving the hospital (and presumably while there). Since it was prescribed for 10 days only, I decided to ignore the scary posts here, but would have paid more attention if it had been longer. The only noticable effect was making food taste bad (it was the only med I had with that side effect listed).
 
Adrienne said:
Since it was for such a short time, I didn't have any of the really really dangerous side effects they talk about. However, being a person who has had chronic constipation since I have been born (which I generally have learned to control), if a medication has the smallest possibility of causing constipation, I suffer terribly from it!!! It was to the point that I thought I had dried concrete in my intestines!!!:eek:
Click to expand...

You and me both! Nothing really seemed to help alleviate the constipation I had when I was on Rythmol, so I am averse to taking anything that might make it difficult to go.

We'll see what adventures the event monitor can catch! :eek:

Debi
 
This is the second time I've been on this drug. It has been 18 months so far, and I take it to help keep my A-Fib in check. The important thing to keep in mind for long term dosage is to have a Liver panel done. My numbers started to get high so they lowered the dosage. So far A-OK!
 
Debi,
I was on it. I did not like it but a world class surgeon prescribed it, so I went along. I started taking it a few days before surgery and continued for 8 months. I can't really tell how well it worked or not because immediately after surgery I went in and out of A-fib 3 times. Finally I self converted-I'm not sure if the amiodarone helped or not. About a month after surgery I went into Atrial Flutter and I had to be electrically converted out. I have not had any tachycardia since my conversion. Interestingly, the electrophysiologist (EP) suggested that Amiodarone may cause A-fib to shift to A-flutter, but don't quote me on that, I may be wrong.

My worst known side effect was severe constipation the day I started it. From this site I learned that if you are taking it you need to monitor your Liver and thyroid function with regular blood tests (CMP) and have your eye doctor monitor your eyes. Tell him about the amio and if he knows anything he will be aware of what to watch for. Your insurance should cover these tests. You might consult with your Dr about alternatives before jumping into amio. Good luck.
John
 
Deb,resort to something else if possible,people react well and some of us react,not so well,my doc's are telling me my loss of taste is do to my anesthetic from surgery and carioverted x3 after surgery as the maze failed.

I believe i am vomiting drastically from this amiodarone,ive lost alot of weight
to where its serious already for me,but it is a awful drug for me and i started at 5oomg in hospital and started to throw-up comming home ,still am and no food appeals to me at all and tastes like (no good)

Doc's aware of this and any change in mg's will effect you inr drastically.
my a -fib is gone,but so has my appetite and taste,i'm arguing it's the
drug but no one will listen to me and i go for a follow up march25th
i plan to be put on something else,i demand to when i see my cardiologist,as i've only spoken to surgeon about this.I will do a follow up
on whats happening to me upon my return and tell you what the cardio says.
This is just my opinion ,my experience since i started the amiodarone.

Wish you all the best with this as your dealing with the symptoms
for awhile now to try and get things straight.

zipper2 (DEB)
 
I was on it for about 5 weeks after AVR. I read the pamphlet from the drug and told the surgeon I wanted off that stuff. They weaned me off. I just did not like what I read about it. I did not have any side affects from it, thankfully. Best of luck to you.
 
Deb, I'm not sure that it's the amiodarone that has affected your taste and ability to eat. I felt that same way after surgery, in fact it was several months past surgery that I began to get my ability to taste foods back. Hang in there, it is still early days for you.

Kim
 
Sorry, dear Deb, about this. I am not familiar with this medicine, but have you tried Coreg?! When I was on it, my pvcs were much less when I exercised at a high speed at the rehab, but are back now, but not as bad when I am not speeding up

Good luck and keep me posted :)

Will keep you in my prayers.
 
Dyna said:
So amidarone...spelling...can play havoc with your taste buds? If so good because everything tastes weird right now, flavored water is extremely syrupy, garlic bread we had for lunch was super salty even though normally I don't ever taste any salt. Just seems like everything is upside down in regards to my taste buds right now & hopefully it's this med which I am only scheduled to take for a week which causes it.
Click to expand...

It could also be from the anesthetic they used. It took me 10 days to get my normal appetite back (I was on Amiodarone for 5 weeks after the surgery) and for the fridge to not smell horrible when I opened it.
 
I took it for several months after my OHS and am not aware of any side effects. My cardiologist wanted me off it as soon as possible, I can 't remember how long I took it for, might have been up to six months, I am not sure.
 
You should definitely not stop Amiodarone cold turkey and you are on a pretty high dose. I was sent home on 200 mg once a day for three months. I ended up only staying on it for one month because I was scared of the side effects. Talking to the PA before you stop this on Thursday is a very good idea.

Kim
 
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