Posted by Jack Clarke on January 26, 2004 at 14:04:42:
Here is a strange tale. I had a PVA done in July.2002 here in Chicago. I had the usual bouts with AF while recovering. On occasion, I would take 200mgs of amiodarone to get me back into NSR. This went on until October of 2002 ,at which time, it appeared that I lapsed into permanent AF. In November of 2002, Loyola (where I had the procedure done) dropped my insurer so I just gave up on the idea that a PVA was a cure.
I went back to my former EP (who recommended the procedure at Loyola) and he promptly put me on Toprol saying that the procedure for someone like me would only be about 30% successful and no oher EP would go back in to "touch-up" the work of another doctor. I stayed on Toprol until May of last year. 6 months on this medication left me gasping for air while walking up even the slightest incline. I feared that I developed pulmonary hypertension as a result of the PVA.
My EP suggested a cardioversion. I asked him if he could prescibe amiodarone for just 6 months while I sorted out my options instead of trying to get my INR up to a point where I could easily bleed to death. He reluctanly agreed. At first,I took a generic version called Pacerone for several months with no relief from the irregular heartbeat but it was heckeva lot better than Toprol. My breathing improved but I was still in AF.
In November , I switched over to my company's mail-order presciption service and received another generic for Cordorone. I took my normal dose of 200mgs and within 24 hours, I was back in NSR after nearly 15 months in AF!
Remarkably,I have been in NSR for close to 3 months with only a couple of AF episodes. I have reduced my amiodarone intake to 120mgs per day compared to 200mgs a day. I'm weaning myself off all medication except for the wafrin (I don't like to work without a net).
I return to my EP in a couple of weeks and I'm certain he'll be surprised by my "home grown" recovery. In the meantime,I'm finding all the stairways I can to run up and down. I can't wait for spring to get back on my bike and ride (the peddle kind) for hours on end . NSR is beautiful! Something I'll never take for granted again.
I figure I gave up too soon. Insurance or no insurance, I should have gone back to Loyola. I now think the PVA was might actually been a success because this NSR just"feels" different (those of you have have had AF for a while know what I'm talking about). More importantly, not all generics are equal in their effectivness.
I'll let you all know in a few months if this is real or just a brief respite. Regardless, I'm going to enjoy it everyday!
- Re: AF Mystery Allie 19:03:16 1/26/2004 (0)