Amiodarone

Good evening,

I've been on amiodarone for 6-7 weeks now...400mg per day.
The doctor tells me our goal is to reduce it to 200mg per day and eventually come off.

I've schedule a pulmonary function next week.

Anyone with feedback regarding their experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Ron

4 Comments

Pulmonary Function Test

by Nicole33 - 2013-04-11 09:04:12

Hello Ron. I have been on amiodarone for 2 years now (started off with the dose you are on now and I am on 200 mg).
I had a PFT done and it isn't the best thing to go through. Basically, they put you in a little booth (reminds me of a London phone booth) and have you put this thing in your mouth that is attached to a hose. They will tell you to do certain breathing actions such as blowing hard until they say stop, hold your breath and then blow, etc. Nothing painful but uncomfortable because you start to feel as if you are going to pass out (at least I did!). At the end of it they will give you a breathing treatment and send you on your way!

I hope this gives at least a little insight to what the PFT entails.

Nicole33

Nicole33

by Ronniecolorado - 2013-04-11 09:04:48

Nicole33,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience...it was very helpful.

All the best to you,

Ron

Pulmonary function

by golden_snitch - 2013-04-12 03:04:42

Hi!

I have had several pulmonary function tests due to being on Amiodarone for a while, and I would say it's a pretty easy thing to go through. Never made me feel uncomfortable. Takes probably 10-15 minutes. The first pulmonary specialist I saw was laughing because I was worried about Amiodarone damaging my lungs. He said, it doesn't happen often, and especially with the low dosage I'm taking. Well, about eight months later my "diffusion capacity" (make sure they measure this, it's the most important parameter when you take Amiodarone, but in a normal lung function test it's normally not measured) had decreased from 86% to 48%! We repeated the test on the following day, but same result. Although the Amiodarone worked great for my arrhythmias, and I had no real problems with my lungs at that time, I had to get off of it immediatly. Doctor said I might not have any problems with my lungs at the moment, but if the diffusion capacity decreases even more, I'll be in real and bad trouble. So, I got off of it. Six to eight weeks later, my diffusion capacity was back at more than 80%.

On a different note: With Amiodarone you need a high loading dose for the first one or two weeks (1000mg per day), and then a maintenance dose. It's effect won't kick in before you're loaded up. In my case it took almost four weeks, until I was loaded up. So, it's typically not a drug that's prescribed for a couple of weeks only. It's interesting that after just 6-7 weeks, your cardio is already talking about reducing and then getting off of it.

Good luck!

Inga

Amiodarone

by Ronniecolorado - 2013-04-13 12:04:04

Inga...

Thanks so much for your feedback...it's incredibly helpful knowing I'm not alone.

I'm beginning to have some side effects from the Amiodarone and am looking forward to my first PFT on April 23rd.

All the best and thanks again.

Ron

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