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Would love to hear opinions

Posted by koleke @koleke, Jul 15 4:44am

My question is, "Has anyone been on amiodarone for an antiarhyhmic medication. And did it work for you? "
I am in the "blanking period" from an ablation I had on June 9. I was having symptoms of fatigue and constantly having to get up during the night for a bathroom trip. I called my cardiologist and they put me on 200 mg of amiodarone twice a day saying they were loading my body so my heart would heal. They did a cardio version on Monday which did nothing, but cost me a fortune. Now they want me to stay on the high loading dosage for at least another month. What would you do? Has anyone experienced something like this? I live in a rural area and am thinking I need to go to a larger university hospital.

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abenn86 | @abenn86 | 1 day ago
In reply to @gloaming "@abenn86 I am very pleased to see this. I have seen patients post here that they've..." + (show)
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@abenn86 I am very pleased to see this. I have seen patients post here that they've been prescribed amiodarone, or even propafenone or flecainide, as a prophylactic against their hearts acting up after an ablation. They say, some of them, that they have not been instructed to wean themselves off of those drugs, normally via a two-three week 'taper' where the dose is reduced by a certain amount every few days or a week, so that when they have their Holter monitor event at 12 weeks or so, there is very little 'residual' effect from those masking drugs left in their systems and so that the Holter will get a proper assessment of their heart's rhythm. This, as a layman, is confusing to me: you would WANT the Holter to show what's really happening when nobody's looking, not a heart that's still nubbed by drugs. Did the ablation work, or did it not work?

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@gloaming
I have not had an ablation because they don't know what has caused my VT/VF to date. I did just have my electrode to my S-ICD revised along with DFT. My electrode was not optimally positioned which was discovered by Mayo. Thoughts are that's why it took three shocks in May. The idea behind stopping the Amiodarone is my age, and the fact another medication may be better. I will remain on Metoprolol through my October visit.

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koleke | @koleke | 1 day ago

Exactly my thoughts. Why put me on a drug during the blanking period? Now ill never know if the ablation worked or not.

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