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Recovery from PAF??

Posted , 4 users are following.

rudders
rudders

I was diagnosed with PAF four years ago. Since then I have had three episodes that I am aware of - each one causing heart rates of up to 200 and putting me in hospital. Each time Amiodorone was used to treat and it has taken 3/4 days. After the last one two weeks ago I am having a lot of breathlessness - does anyone else take time to recover? It seems to be worse this time than before.

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • jay7196
    jay7196 rudders

    Posted

    Hi, each time Amiodarone was used ?  How was it used ? They say I have AF and I take ine Amiodarone daily, for the past year. For me, its a side effect that you get breathless but I dont mind as the heart rattle has stopped. Good Luck - -jay
    • rudders
      rudders jay7196

      Posted

      It was an IV drip and moved to tablets after a day or two when it caused irritation by getting into the tissue. I have been prescribed it now (I take bisoprolo, ramipril, dabigatron, eplerenone and frusimide as well). I get breathless after about 10 paces but if that is a side effect other people experience I'll keep that in mind.

      Cheers,

      Sam

    • jay7196
      jay7196 rudders

      Posted

      WHOA !!    You are a mobile chemist shop -  have you ever looked up the side effects on Drugs.com ???  I cannot believe you really take that list of drugs and are still here   - -

       

    • rudders
      rudders jay7196

      Posted

      I have dilated cardiomyopathy as well as AF and an ejection fraction of only 27. I'm having an ICD fitted this week. I had appendicitis earlier this year and definitely felt worse when they stopped my meds in case they needed to operate. I've had a few cardiologists review them - my main concern was the increased breathlessness after the recent AF but they put me on 600mg a day of Amiodorone a day - in two weeks I'll be down to 200mg a day.
  • simon56380
    simon56380 rudders

    Posted

    I was struggling to walk 10-20 paces this time last year when my wife called an ambulance for me.

    i was diagnosed with atrial Afib and severe cardiomyopathy (EF 25%).

    Was cardioverted mid Jan after med failed to put me back in rhythm but only stayed in for a few days.

    Was then put on Amioderone and cardioverted again mid Feb, once Amioderone levels had built up.

    After being in rhythm for a month my EF increased to 54% and mid year was 58%.

    I switched from Amioderone to Sotolol at my last cardiologist appt.

    I'm currently on Sotolol, perindoprol and eliquis/Apixaban.

    I have Frusemide, and used it early days when I had a fairly salty meal and retained fluid as a result, but found being very rigorous with my sodium intake that I didn't need to take it (and haven't done for 9 moths or so).

    I still find that I get quite light handed or dizzy if I stand up too quickly.

    I now find that I don't need to worry so much about my sodium intake as much(presumably because my EF is quite good). In the early days, I could gain a couple a couple of kilos (fluid retention) from having a salty meal (Chinese etc.).

    Am off to the cardiologist this morning for an ECG and a follow appt. am hoping he'll say he doesn't want to see mee again for another 12months.

     

  • simon56380
    simon56380 rudders

    Posted

    Sorry, forgot to mention that I'm a 49 yo male, living in Australia.
    • rudders
      rudders simon56380

      Posted

      Hope the appointment goes well and thank you for the open reply. I have found it hard to find people to talk with and swap experiences - I also didn't know EF could improve so that has been incredibly good to know.

      Thanks for responding - I've been feeling quite nervous about the ICD operation this week and it's good to hear about a positive story.

      Thanks,

      Sam (38 in the UK)

    • simon56380
      simon56380 rudders

      Posted

      Also forgot to mention what I believe was a major contributing factor.

      I did a sleep study last January and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea

      I was having an average of 58 apneas per hour (less than 5 is normal, more than 30 is considered severe)and not breathing for up to 35 seconds at a time! 

      I was shocked to to find out about the major health implications that untreated sleep apnea can cause!

      Looking back at it all now with the benefit of hindsight, I suspect that I used to experience short bouts of Afib that would resolve themselves on a semi-regular basis over the last couple of decades. I would get what I'd consider 'palpitations', usually when smoked, drank or used illicit substances. I never really thought too much of it as it was usually fairly short lived and always went went away after a while. I kind of thought this was more or les par for the course, given what I was doing.

      Although I've been pretty 'clean living for the last five or so years

      I suspect what sent me into Unresolving Afib was a really big night on the booze in Nov. 2014. 

      I think I was in undiagnosed Afib(and tachycardia) for a couple of weeks. I was feeling lousy and put it down to having the flu or a virus. I was admitted with a 'tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy' (and I was also in Afib).

      I attribute my EF improvements to 

      1. being able to stay in rhythm (thanks to the short-ish term use of Amioderone - long term use can have some potentially very nasty side effects)

      2.using a CPAP machine to treat my sleep apnea every night without fail

      3.making major dietary changes to really minimise my sodium intake  To the point where I rarely needed to take Frusimide.

      4. A daily walk around the neighbourhood as felt comfortable with (just a very slow 'waddle' around the block to start with, but increasing as I began to feel better.

      The cardiologist was considering putting an ICD on me if my EF didn't get above 35% ( fortunately it did!).

      I completely understand you feeling anxious about it, but if you need it you need it. It's gotta be better than the alternative (a fatal heart rhythm with no ICD fitted) right.

      Best of luck with it all,

      Simon smile

       

    • simon56380
      simon56380

      Posted

      P.S. Thanks for you kind wishes re. Appt.  It went really well. Echo cardiograph showed an EF still in the high 50s. Cardiologist doesn't want to see me for another 12 months.

       

    • rudders
      rudders simon56380

      Posted

      Nice! I had my ICD fitted on Wednesday - damn my shoulders sore! They did it while I was awake so in and out the same day. Now to hope the wires stay in place....
  • simon56380
    simon56380 rudders

    Posted

    I hope it all settles down soon and wish you all the best with it. It only has to once to be worth all the discomfort!

    Wishing you all the best with it, keep in touch and let us know how it's going for you.

    Kind regards, 

    Simon

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