Amiodarone questions

[NHone]

Originally Posted by Lindsay:-)

Hi,

I spoke to the lady at the hospital yesterday, she does the waiting lists for pacemakers and procedures and she said I am at the top of the list and should have it done on April so I should be able to come off the amiodarone soon as well. Finally something might be going right!

Lindsay

If your still interested in the amiodarone, i accidently found that it is one of the 12 compounds (medications) that can cause SEVERE lipid lisorders. It can/and does cause symptoms of Niemann Pick disease (which is genitic). It acts on the same protein NPC1 as that of Niemann Pick. Also the half life of this medication is absolutely awful....26-107 DAYS!!!!!!. It is not eliminated through the feces and urine, but through the shedding of skin and intestinal cells. No wonder my mother is having a horrible time.

[lane413]

Finres, is this the brand name of the drug? Is it used for hbp or what disease. I did some research today and discovered the same thing applies to verapamil. it also stated that verapamil depresses insulin. My mom has been on verapamil for eight yrs.

Is this drug amiadorone(sp?) a ccb?

[ace8484]

Originally Posted by lane413

Finres, is this the brand name of the drug? Is it used for hbp or what disease. I did some research today and discovered the same thing applies to verapamil. it also stated that verapamil depresses insulin. My mom has been on verapamil for eight yrs.

Is this drug amiadorone(sp?) a ccb?

Amiodarone is a Class III antiarrythimic drug. It's brand names in the US are cordarone and pacerone. It is used to treat ventricular arrythmias such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker used to treat hypertension, angina, and arrythmias(atrial flutter/atrial fibrillation). In the US its brand names are Calan, Verelan, Isoptin and Covera HS.

[squonk123]

How long before this drug is out of your system? My dad has been on it for 13 months, finally removed, and suffering incredible side effects (no lung damage thankfully). When will his condition improve?

[sweetsurrender1]

Originally Posted by NHone

Usually don't get to this board, but i saw your post. My mother recently had by-pass surgery. I requested a list of the medicines that she was on and was OUTRAGED that her doctor put her on amiodarone. Your symptoms are real and they are VERY SERIOUS!!!!!!. The FDA issued an alert for amiodarone in 5/2005. "AMiodarone may cause potentially fatal toxicities, including pulmonary toxicity, hepatic injury, and worsened arrhythmia" Also according to FDA med watch there were 452 deaths attributed to amiodarone between 1997 and 2002, also 58 cases of blindness (non-reversible) also lung damage that could be permanent, with shortness of breath. THis medication is listed by the FDA as a medication that should only be given as a last resort. WHen you started on the medicine you HAD to be in the hospital according to the FDA and monitered very carefully. IT is required that you were given the warning information sheet on amiodarone when it was given to you. In fact now there are quite a few law firms who deal in lawsuits involving the adverse effects from amiodarone. I don't know your doctor...whether he is arrogant (as most) or willing to listen. But my mother's surgeon ,who is one of the most arrogant people put on this planet...said i could find anything on the internet and I was wrong. I said fine, I suggest you look up the name of your mal-practice insurer. He shut up and refused to talk to me , ...but took mother off of the amiodarone... Guess that is all i wanted. also you could be low in magnesium. That could be some of your problem..you need to have an intracellular magnesium test..not the regular serum test, because magnesium is mostly intracellular. If you doctor says I'm wrong...tell him to prove it. HE CAN"T Note: food tasted awful to mother while on this medication. She said she couldn't describe it but food just didn't taste right. Also her fingers were starting to tingle, and she was very depressed. Hope this helps, and good luck.