Can anyone recommend a med to use to correct afib after cardio version

I've had one cardio version and was immediately put on a six month course of amiodarone. It has a long list of side effects and not everyone tolerates it. I remained free of AF for 14 years afterwards,

A cardiologist who knows your case and any limitations or other drugs that may contraindicate would be the person to ask. For some it's amiodarone right away, for others Multaq or Tikosyn might work well and not offer so much potential for toxicity as amiodarone can....not 'will'.....can. Tikosyn needs a hospital admission for at least 48 hours while they load your system initially. So does amiodarone.

Flecainide might be trialed, but it's not as powerful, and it is contraindicated for those with CHF....chronic heart failure, which some arrhythmia patients develop in time.

Just wanted to add my two cents since I went through something similar. My afib came back about 10 days after my first cardioversion, and my EP ended up switching me from flecainide to sotalol. It's another option worth asking about besides the ones already mentioned - it's a beta blocker with antiarrhythmic properties, so it can help with rate control too, but it also needs monitoring for QT prolongation, so you'd likely need an ECG check before and during dosing.

What gloaming said is spot on though, so much depends on your specific heart function, other conditions, and what meds you're already on. My cardiologist actually ran an echo before deciding what to try next, just to rule out any structural issues that would knock certain drugs off the table.

Hope you find something that works for you. It's frustrating when the first attempt doesn't hold.

I have ha e numerous cardio versions and four ablations. I have been on flecinade, and sotalal - they raised the sotalol to the highest dose in the hospital and my heart paused for five seconds. They stopped the drug. My sister got torsads from tycosin and it had terrible side effects so I wi t go on it. I M now living with some abnormal rhythm and I. A low dose of metoprolol and feel well. I have accepted that I don’t think there’s anything I can put me back in normal rhythm.

@wews I'm sorry you have had such a hard time. Blessings to you.

@wews Thanks for sharing your story. For those reading who may think that 'torsads' is a typo, please see the following: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21915-torsades-de-pointes

thanks for sharing this link. My sister has permanent heart damage from Tycosen - she almost died and ended up in congestive heart failure when she had some afib issues before she took this arhythmia medication. I in the hospital following one of my ablations and one of the heart specialist nurses who had been there a long time said they see a lot of patients hospitalized because of this drug. It is a personal choice for me to not use medication that could make me feel worse. I did not manage sotelal well. I had a lot of stomach problems and ended up on medication because of it. I wish everyone the best in choosing what is right for them in consultation with their doctors. As my family doctor said cardiologists like to write scripts because with arrhythmia issues, there is only so much they can do. I am fortunate in that my issues are controlled with metoprolol and eliquis. I may have episodes of afib and atrial tachycardia but I fell well and that is what counts.

@rusjr so only six months n was discontinued??

@rusjr My brother took Amiodarone for 10 years without any serious side effects. The "new" cardiologist he was assigned to was "shocked" that he had taken it that long and took him off. He was fine for 6 months and then A-fib returned and he had an ablation recently. I read the side effects and was also appalled that he took that med for that long without lung damage!

@cruisenurse Yes, that was the plan from the get-go.