Hi,

I have congenital heart disease, it is quite a complicated problem and I have developed atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia :rolleyes:
When I just had the a-fib my heart used to feel like it was fluttering in the upper part of my chest and it used to beat irreguarly and my eyes would make everthing look fuzzy and my hearing would go funny and I would feel like I was going to faint. I was on sotalol for that.
Then I got ventricular tachycardia as well. I had loads of ectopic beats which the hospital weren't worried about but I could tell something wasn't right as I don't normally get that many and I was feeling constantly weak whenever I did anything and also felt very sick when it raced or did anthing it shouldn't, anyway I was put on amiodarone as the sotalol wasn't working with the v tach. It worked great but then I got loads of side effects, eyes became sensitive to light, feeling sick, shaking etc...I basically felt awful so the hospital said I could reduce the dose which has got rid of some of the side effects but then I got some of the arrhythmias back.
I had this quite fast really hard heartbeat coming from the bottom of my heart, in the middle of my chest just below the ribs and it really really hurt and I felt very weak and sick and dizzy. Could this have been another episode of v tach? I have had this a few times and it lasts anything from 30secs to a couple of minutes.

I can't seem to win, if I take the amiodarone I feel awful because of the side effects and if I reduce it I get the arrhythmias back :-(
I am also worried that the amiodarone will damage my eyes, thyroid or something else as I know it can do this.

Anybody help me, I could really do with the advice.

Lindsay

[QUOTE=Lindsay:-)]Hi,

I have congenital heart disease, it is quite a complicated problem and I have developed atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia :rolleyes:

Once the heart is damaged it is common for the heart's timing to be knocked out of whack. I've get heart failure, among other heart problems, and I've been fighting heart rhythm problems for decades. What has helped me is taking medicine that best controls my rhythm problems, and learning and avoiding the things that tend to aggravate my rhythm problems.

[QUOTE]I had loads of ectopic beats which the hospital weren't worried about but I could tell something wasn't right as I don't normally get that many and I was feeling constantly weak whenever I did anything and also felt very sick when it raced or did anthing it shouldn't ...

I've fought the same battles with the lack of concern by medical professionals to my heart rhythm problems. They are not concerned about the weakness or the sick feeling because the heart rhythm problems and symptoms are not immediately life threatening. But, just because the rhythm problems are not immediately life threatening does not mean that they aren't a threat to one's health and quality of life. Heart rhythm problems, if not treated properly, will cause the heart to get worse over time, IMHO.

[QUOTE]I can't seem to win, if I take the amiodarone I feel awful because of the side effects and if I reduce it I get the arrhythmias back :-(
I am also worried that the amiodarone will damage my eyes, thyroid or something else as I know it can do this.

Anybody help me, I could really do with the advice.

Lindsay

Have you ever tried Digoxin? It is supposed to treat both atrial fibrillation and ventricular rhythm problems. I've been on it for decades with only a few tolerable side effects. It is inexpensive and has been used to treat heart disease for over 200 years, so it has an excellent track record.