topic Re: Amiodarone in Wellness

Amiodarone

Cardinals97 — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 16:04:33 GMT

Has anyone taken Amiodarone for AFIB? If so, did you have side effects and did you take it for a long time?

Re: Amiodarone

Shelbelle — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 16:21:59 GMT

Both my late Mom and my MIL took it, one took 100 mg daily, the other took 200 daily, both for A Fib. As I can recall, neither had any side effects, and the A Fib was under control. Neither of them took a blood thinner either, just a daily aspirin full size.

Re: Amiodarone

hckynutjohn — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 17:00:21 GMT

@Cardinals97

Know 3 of my close friends that have taken Amiodarone for their A-Fib. To my knowledge they never mentioned any side effects. Wish I could tell you more, but 2 of them have since moved. The other unfortunately let's his wife handle all his prescriptions, and is not even aware of dosage etc.

The other 2 were on it for a long time at the time they moved.

hckynut

Re: Amiodarone

CamdenCat — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 17:26:27 GMT

I had to take this for a while after I had open heart surgery in 2018. Had developed AFIB in the hospital, but it cleared up. The only "side effect" I had was the developement of cataracts. I new I had cataracts but they had not grown in years....until after I was on this medication. They have since grown and I have finally gotten brave enough to have them removed this coming spring. After the surgery when I had my yearly eye exam, my optometrist asked if I was on amiderone and I said yes. I googled while in the waiting room and found out about the developement of cataracts. But no other side effects.

Re: Amiodarone

Mom2Dogs — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 17:48:48 GMT

@Cardinals97 DH took it for 3 years, and his doctor took him off of it. He did not think it was an effective drug, and the doctor adivsed that the drug should not be taken for more than 3 ish years.

Now he takes Flecainide. He is rarely in AFIB since on the new drug.

Re: Amiodarone

Cardinals97 — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 18:16:55 GMT

Thank you for input. I've been on it about six months after having a Cardioversion. Although I don't have any serious side effects so far, I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking it for a long time. It's helped keep the afib away though!

Re: Amiodarone

hckynutjohn — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 20:38:37 GMT

@Cardinals97 wrote:
Thank you for input. I've been on it about six months after having a Cardioversion. Although I don't have any serious side effects so far, I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking it for a long time. It's helped keep the afib away though!

@Cardinals97

Glad this is helping you with your Afib issue. I have had 2 heart attacks, but never a problem with Afib.

I have however had Premature Ventricular Contractions(PVC) for as far back as I can remember. This by us lay people is usually called "skipping a beat".

Mine has always occurred at exactly 120 Beats per Minute(bpm) heart rate. I could always tell when training for my Road Running events, or when ice skating workouts, exactly when my heart hit that 120bpm.

Once I started wearing my Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor, I can readily see it is still exactly the same these many decades later. I always wear this during my ice skating or any type of Cardio Exercise.

Hope things work out well for you with this heart issue.

hckynut 🥅🏒

Re: Amiodarone

Scooby Doo — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 20:55:59 GMT

I have been taking it for a month. It's definitely helped with the AFib and I feel much better. However, there are serious side effects with this drug. It's already lowered my thyroid function and I've never had a thyroid problem before. I get very dry eyes to the point that I have to use eye drops during the day and eye gel at night. I've developed the green halo around outside lights. It's not cataracts because I had that taken care of two years ago. I had an eye exam last week and that's not the problem. Apparently with this drug you can get protein deposits in your eyes. Also, you need to keep aware of your lung function because you can get water on the lungs. I read that 10% of the people taking this drug develop pneumonia. I also have weird dreams and I wake up every night between 3 and 4.

So, I feel better but..................

I have an appointment with my cardiologist tomorrow and I'm going to talk about an ablation because I don't see myself taking this drug for very long. But then again, my body is drug sensitive.

Re: Amiodarone

Scooby Doo — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 21:02:05 GMT

@Cardinals97 wrote:
Thank you for input. I've been on it about six months after having a Cardioversion. Although I don't have any serious side effects so far, I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking it for a long time. It's helped keep the afib away though!

You might want to see an endocronologist to have your blood tested. This drug puts iodine in your body that affects your thyroid.

Re: Amiodarone

Shelbelle — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 21:36:29 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
@Cardinals97 DH took it for 3 years, and his doctor took him off of it. He did not think it was an effective drug, and the doctor adivsed that the drug should not be taken for more than 3 ish years.

Now he takes Flecainide. He is rarely in AFIB since on the new drug.

I have a friend who takes Flecainide for her A Fib successfully and no side effects.

Re: Amiodarone

skatting44 — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 21:41:47 GMT

Warning if you have macular degeneration. 23 & Me has a dna test for macular degenertaion

Re: Amiodarone

DottieBlue — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:59:45 GMT

Yes, I was on Amiodarone for a year, for Afib. I started losing sight in my left eye, and was extremely fatigued. My doctor took me off it and put me on something else.

Re: Amiodarone

Mindy D — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 17:15:43 GMT

@Scooby Doo @Relative of mine just had an ablation two days ago. She's home feeling good. Ablation is highly effective.

Re: Amiodarone

CatsyCline — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 19:40:38 GMT

My Mom took Amiodorone for about 4 years. She developed AFIB in the hospital after a hip replacement. She had to have a cardioversion after a year of taking this med. Her cardiologist took her off it in August. In September she had her annual lung function test and the Pulmonologist said her lungs are clear. Great news. She is 92. i just hope she continues to self-monitor her symptoms. she has a habit of brushing off physical cues .she could not feel her rapid heart beat the time she had to go to ER (where after admitting her they did the cardioversion)

Re: Amiodarone

owls — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 03:52:48 GMT

When I was diagnosed with AFib I was in the hospital for 5 days to test different medications. Amiadorone (cordarone) helped for 12 hours and then I was back in AFib. None of the medications they tried helped me. I finally had an ablation which was 7 years ago. My second cardiologist said that it is no longer recommended that individuals in their 50's use amiadorone because it's harsh on the whole body. I cannot even tolerate anti-arythmia meds. I had 2 cardioversions. Neither worked, so the need for an ablation. In any case Amiadorone not recommended by my cardiologist. My mother was on it for 8 years but was 70 years old when she started using it after a massive heart attack. Apparently by that age it's ok to use. I don't remember her having any side efftects.