Amiodarone for a-fib

[sylviayasgur]

a positive spin????

a positive spin????

hi ruth,
amiodarone IS a very potent drug. joey has been on a small maintaining dose for a few years now, lessening it and trying to wean off it without any luck.
pre-surgery he was taking sotalol (betapace) and it was very effective in preventing afib.
four days after surgery, he went into afib and a sotalol bolus was given but did not do the trick. amiodarone was started after that along with magnesium and that has kept his afib under control.
we have consulted with several docs on ablation and other quick solutions to afib, but they all say that his afib is under control with this minimal dose of amiodarone. he has his eyes checked regularly and goes for pulmonary tests regularly and must watch himself in the sun or he'll get really burnt despite strong sunscreen.
the doctors feel that if sotalol failed to do the trick when it was needed, it is no longer a candidate. in addition, karlynn phrased it perfectly, they feel that the sotalol may increase or cause afib rather than prevent it.
although amiodarone wouldn't be my first drug of choice for joey, it is a small dose, does the trick and we stay on top of it's side effects.
whenever joey decreases his minimal dose to next to nothing, his afib starts up again, so this is it for now.

don't mean to praise amiodarone as the drug of choice here. you have so many more options that would work as well.

hope this helps. wishing you all the best, sylvia

 

[Adrienne]

Don't be afraid of cardioversion. As someone else said, you are put to sleep for 10 to 15 minutes, so you feel nothing.

 

[barbwil]

here's one good site

here's one good site

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/arrhythmias/a/amiodarone.htm

Ruth, there is a lot of good info from Dr Fogoros, EP in this article.

I was on amiodarone for about 2 years after cancer surgery when I first experienced a-fib. I had been on at least 9 other drugs for arrhythmias, none of which worked and I was allergic to Sotolol.

I read all the horrible side effects and insisted I wanted off but my cardio wouldn't take me off until I developed problems in my liver enzymes. The lung effects are irreversable and the drug stays in your system for 6 mo to a year because it infiltrates ALL of your body cells and it won't leave until your cells are renewed.

I had two cardioversions done (really nothing to these) but neither lasted for any time. So when the mitral valve needed repair I had the Maze done (at the Cleveland Clinic) but that didn't work either.

We are visiting my daughter for a few weeks and I had an episode yesterday which left me as limp as a wet dish rag and my heart rate was over 120. Today is better but I have no energy whatsoever. I'm sorry you are going through this and hope you find a solution soon.

 

[hensylee]

Dr Rich will not steer you wrong. That same article is somewhere here in VR posted long, long ago. Thanks Barbwill for bringing it up again. An excellent article - and he tells us there are lots of drugs to use BEFORE amiodarone.

 

[ClickerTicker]

Just to say that I had the corneal deposits common with amiodarone - my optician spotted them easily. I didn't notice any impairment to my vision - my eyesight has deteriorated generally over the last year, but that may just be the grim reaper getting closer. Pleased to say that since I stopped taking amiodarone (almost a year now) they seem to have disappeared.
Good luck with whatever choice you make over this.

 

[ruth]

Hey Susan - Thanks for asking.

I got a good night's sleep for a change last night and feel a lot better (relatively speaking, of course)

I was pretty out of it yesterday, stayed offline most of the day. No change yet in the a-fib but heart rate has come down some now and that helps a little bit.

I'll keep you all posted if there are any changes - good or bad- out of this experience.

Thanks again for all you insights thoughts and concerns.

Ruth