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← Return to Experience with amiodarone?
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Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (30)
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Thank you so much, @jc76, for giving me so many details. I have relatively short AF episodes (not persistent) of 2-4 hrs which flecainide stops, but I'd prefer not to be having any, ha ha. But since mine are mild, HR stays fairly low, I have low BP normally, etc., we figure I'll keep using flec as "pill in pocket", ie., as needed, and keep amio in reserve. You've been through a lot but I'm so glad to hear amio did not harm your eyes, etc. Thank you again, and best wishes for healing to both of us!
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I am adding more comments as to personal experience of taking Amiodarone. I was put on 400 mg daily of Amiodarone when I first went into AF. After several months I was having a lot of difficulty breathing. I was told it was the AF.
Things got worse, and I went into bradycardia; my heart rate was in the 30's, and I could barely walk across a room. At that time I had been on Amiodarone for just over a year; of course, I was taken off of it then. Since I was told that it stays in your system for 6 months, no one knew if my systems were due to the Amiodarone or something else.
Meanwhile, I saw a pulmonologist who determined that the Amiodarone was extremely toxic to my lungs. I started on steroids for that. I had no other damage to eyes or any other organs (as far as I know).
An episode in which my heart stopped and I passed out resulted in an emergency pacemaker. I have since had 2 other episodes of AF. I have taken Sotalol and Flecainide and am currently on 100 mg of Flecainide twice a day in hopes of preventing more AF episodes.
As gloaming said, "Amiodarone bears watching". Amiodarone works well for some (as indicated above). However, for me it is a "poison pill" (designation given by my pulmonologist).