Re: amiodarone

[Guest guest]

Hi

I have read about many who have taken Amiodarone for years with no

problems and read of those who did have problems. I was on it for 6

months. First a large loading dose in the hospital, then I gradually

got decreased to 100mg a day. It worked great, no afib. But after

about 6 months I could not drive at night for the haloes around

lights, esp. headlights, so I went off it. About 3 months later, I

started back into afib.

I am probably not typical of most posters here because I no longer

have insurance since my bills went sky high and my fmla ran out.

Because of this, I have told my ep cardiologist I want to wait to do

any procedures or other loading doses in the hospital until I qualify

for medicare. As a result, we have compromised/settled on " rate

control " instead of " rhythm control " for the time being.

I have also read of successes and failures with ablation. Before

accepting ablation as an alternative, I would research it carefully.

There are many different kinds of ablation. Would your ablation leave

you dependent on a pacemaker, would be a good question to ask.

I can get miserable when I have an afib episode because my energy

goes way down, but with rate control through the use of beta

blockers, I can tolerate the episodes much better than without rate

control.

Nothing will replace your careful research on the subject before you

decide to accept a dr's word that ablation will work for you.

Bless your heart

> Hi, I'm new to this site. I have AF, have been on digoxin, with

> no real changes in my heart. My doctor has recommended amiodarone

as

> a last resort before heading to the ablation. I have read the side

> effects and am quite leary about this medication. Anyone familiar

> with this? I am scared to death to take this. Any help,

> suggestions etc would be greatly appreciated.