Anyone have experience with amiodorone as an arrhythmia treatment?

Posted by insley @insley, May 14, 2024

I’ve had almost 2 years of treatment for PVCs. Two ablation treatments failed to resolve these extra beats and left me with RBBB. Flecainide (100mg 2x/day) provides considerable relief but I still have periods of symptomatic PVCs nearly every day. My EP has suggested starting a course of amiodorone. Anyone have experience with amiodorone after Flecainide?

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@bettycll

Thanks for your comments and your story. That was my first episode of AFib. I saw my cardiologist (At that time I had never heard the term "electrophysiologist"). I just accepted what he said about needing a blood thinner to prevent a stroke and the Amiodarone for the AFib. At that time I did very little research - thought AFib was like diabetes - something you had and treated (like taking insulin). Then I started researching and found that most people are started on Amiodarone in the hospital to make certain they tolerated it and not just given 400 mg twice a day! In the years since, I have become much smarter! I research everything, won't take a new medication, unless I have learned everything I can, and generally get the opinion of other doctors. My next 3 episodes of AFib I approached very differently and saw an electrophysiologist, not a cardiologist. My EP wants to do an ablation; today I saw another EP for a second opinion. My amiodarone experience has made me very cautious. I have permanent scarring in my lungs; the four months of steroids reversed some of the damage - but not all. Like you, I have had many wonderful doctors, but enough negative experiences to convince it is essential to do my own research and question EVERYTHING!

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Hi-glad you’re researching everything now. I didn’t in the beginning but I quickly learned. Also, it’s good that you get second and third opinions; a good dr will never be offended by that. Do consider ablation; it might just solve the problem.
My experience has been that they will always keep you a day or two in the hospital while titrating any antiarrhythmic. Also, amiodarone is supposedly a drug of last resort.
Sorry again about the lung scarring and glad some of it could be reversed.
Let us know how the ablation goes if you decide to do it.

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Thanks to the 3 that responded to my message about amiodarone. It was helpful to see your messages and read your experiences with that medicine. I have an appt. tomorrow with the electrophysiologist doctor to go over the ECG and ECHO reports. Given the readings on the reports that I have scrutinized, I do not think I meet the parameters for taking the medicine or the parameters for a defibrillator. Thanks again for your responses. Very helpful.

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