heart medicine side effects

[oldie]

after 18 months on 200 amiodarone prescribed for ventricular tachy I was changed to a single daily 150 dose of propafenone three months ago. Now two of three days a week I have heart skips,  dizziness, fatigue, severe breathlessness, nausea, half fainting, confusion, speech diffuvculty and general malaise as I did before taking amiodarone On   other days I feel well. I'm 80. Also this year my TSH was 38 reduced over two months by levothyroxine which I still take.
Life is not too good. Could you please advise about my medication
oldie

[Jerry_NJ]

To my knowledge Propafenone is a light-duty drug compared to Amiodarone.  I suspect you need more than Propatenone, as was the case in the past.  I think your doctor was just trying to get you on a lower strength drug.

I've taken Propafenone in past year, usually 225 mg three times a day (every 8 hours), and had no side-effect that I am aware of.  From that limited expeience I'd guess the problem is not Propafenone, unless you need a stronger dose.  You need to discuss with your doctor. If Amiodarone worked, maybe its time to go back on it.

[oldie]

thank you for your rapid reply. I see your dosage of propafenone was 4.5 times mine. That is a notable  difference. I will ask the cardio tomorrow.  May I ask you what were the symptoms that prompted the doctor to give you  so strong a dose?
best

[Jerry_NJ]

I took Propafenone following an electrocardioversion for AFib.  I have had several of these over the years.  The first time I took only Toprol SR 50 mg a day.  I lost sinus rhythm in about 3 months.  I was then put on Propafenone at 225 mg by 3 to see if it would convert me, it didn't, but taking another electrocardioversion the same dose of Propafenone held me in sinus for about  a year when I reduced my dose to 225 mg twice a day (morning and night) and I returned to AFib in about another 6 months.  Thus, following the next electrocardioversion I remained on 225 mg x 3 and even then my sinus rhythm lasted only about 18 months.  At this point my leaky Mitral valve had caused too much enlargement of my left artial chamber to let it go on, so I underwent open heart surgery in November 2007, to repair my Mitral valve.  I have not been able to regain sinus rhythm, however.

I guess the only "take away" I had to offer you was my experience that says Propafenone didn't give me any unpleasant side-effects, in fact during that time, up through the end of 2007 I was still jogging 3 miles at about 10 minutes per mile, and in my early 60s.  AFib, which I currently in, makes it impossible for me to engage in such vigorous activities.

[oldie]

Your intuition that I perhaps needed a stronger dose of propa was right on. My cardio today put me up to two doses  of 150 mg a day. He said the initial dose was low because I still had  deposits of amio in my system and the two don't go together. he said I should hang on through those symptoms until my system reajusts after  years of hypothyroidism and amio.. We'll see. Thank you for taking the trouble to detail your med history. It will be a great help to me because it means, in essence, that we have to soldier on. And you have been a braver soldier than me.

I have not read up about synus rhythm. My basic heart weakness is double branch block