Amioderone

[joncha]

I am a 48 yr old male with no history of heart disease.  2 weeks ago I had a verticle sleeve gasterectomy. 2 days after the surgery, the doctor said they gave me too much IV fluids, which caused my heart to swell a little and that i had AFIB. I was given an IV dose of Amioderone and immediately went into sinus rythm. Athey continued to give me an oral dose of Amioderone for 2 weeks, then I was released 2 days ago.  I then read all about how toxic this ndrug is and I do not want to take it at all.  It's 1:21am and I have not taken it. I feel fine.  I felt a few flutters but I feel fine now.

I am horrified by this drug and really do not want to take it.  As i said. I pretty much stopped today.  It seems the side effects are worse than not taking it. Am I totally wrong?  Am I totally crazy or can I take charge and do something else?

[is_something_wrong]

Bisoprolol is only good for rate control. It doesn't prevent Afib.

[is_something_wrong]

Amiodarone is not necessarily toxic. Yes, some of the side effects are severe, but not everyone get side effects. I read an article saying that amiodarone is in fact not as bad as doctors used to think. It is a very effective antiarrhythmic, in one article named "the king of antiarrhythmics".

If your doctor prescribed this drug, and you did tolerate it well in the hospital, I wouldn't discontinue it without asking your doctor. Reading about side effects is generally not a good idea.

[Ger57]

Btw, I just read this :
No one should EVER stop taking amiodarone suddenly. Discontinuation might trigger life-threatening arrhythmias. Should this drug ever need to be discontinued, it should be done so only under the careful supervision of the prescribing physician and in a gradual manner.

[Ger57]

You are right, at lot of side effects are knowm from taking Amioderone.
However the medicine is still prescribed in different situations.
Your cardiologist must be aware of the side-effects but still has prescribed it for you. I guess he/she did this for a good reason.

Although Afib's are normally not life threathening they need to be treated.
The fact that you are not feeling afib's yet, could mean that the effect of the pills you took already have not worn off completely.

You are already taking this medicine for a couple of days. What is a couple of days extra? You did not say what the side effects are that you experience. Or do you want to stop taking them because of what you read?

I suggest that you contact your cardiologist and ask his advice before stopping.