I was on amiodarone briefly between two ablations, the first of which was an obvious failure at the six day mark. It did a good job of nubbing the AF and keeping me free of it, although when I began the prescribed taper-off at the sixth week I relapsed. The attending at the ER shrugged and said go back on the maintenance dose for another two weeks and try again. I did that, and it worked...for two months. Long story, but I had to have a second ablation.
I tolerated the amiodarone well. Some have nasty symptoms inside of 48 hours (I wonder, as a layman, if 'science' needs to consider a different way of loading the drug. Does it HAVE TO be given at 800 or more mg for that first week, or could some start on only 400? )
The internist explained to me that the worse effects take place over a considerably longer time, years, and that few patients can stay on the drug more than seven or eight years. That's a helluva long time!! In your case, amiodarone should nip it, you'll be on it until perhaps the spring if that's when they can perform an ablation, and then you'll commence a structured taper over two-to-six weeks, but AS DIRECTED! After many months of taking amiodarone, it takes weeks, even months to leave the system. So, you should ask your EP about this if he/she wants you to remain on amiodarone during your 'blanking period' of 8 weeks after the procedure. My thinking is that you want the Holter monitor assessment at the 10-12 week mark post ablation to show truthfully what your heart wants to do, not what amiodarone wants it to do...if you follow. You would not want to be on metoprolol either, just drugs like hormone therapy, statin, anti-platelet, things nothing to do with your heart's rhythm.
Amiodarone is safe for the majority of users; that's why it's still on the books, unlike the fantastic Vioxx that my secretary swore gave her her life back...before it was taken off the market. Ask your EP how you will be monitored for your system's tolerance of it. Because of its potential dangers, patients need to be monitored for things like kidney and liver function, thyroid function, and pulmonary hypertension.