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Date: | Wed, 31 Aug 2005 09:17:58 -0400 |
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Hi, Star: Amiodarone is a nasty drug. According to Hale, it can take
anywhere from 26-107 days for an adult to eliminate the drug, so who knows
how long it could hang around in baby's system. And there is potential for
the drug to accumulate in various body organs. There are also some other
kind of bizarre side effects - long term use causes the person's skin to
turn blue and it is recommended that one avoid sun exposure, even for short
periods of time. According to Hale, the chief concerns are hypothyroidism
in the baby as well as possible cardiovascular issues. In the adult, these
include further arrhythmias (amiodarone is an anti-arrhytmic) and
congestive heart failure.
I myself was on this drug for about a year-didn't work, probably because my
mind wouldn't let it, I was so concerned about these side effects.
So...for the last 2 and a half years I've been on an even more dangerous
drug dofetilide (Tikosyn) that does indeed work for me with virtually no
side effects (Yeah!). The danger lies in starting the drug. I was put in
the CCU for 4 days - the 1st dose is OK, but in the words of my
cardiologist "the 2nd dose could kill you". So, they prefer to very
closely monitor a person when starting them on this particular medication.
I did discuss Class III anti-arrhythmics with Tom Hale at the ILCA
conference (not that I'm planning on nursing any more babies). He had
heard of dofetilide but wasn't very familiar with it - he recommended in
these types of situations to work with a pharmicist who is willing and able
to titrate the exact amount of drug that will appear in the mother's milk,
so the most accurate decision can be made regarding breastfeeding.
Hope this helps. Sorry for the length but I have become known as the
Cardiac Queen in my circle of friends and colleagues because of my up close
and personal experiences.
Pam Hirsch, RN,BSN,CLC
Clinical Lead, Lactation Services
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Barrington, IL USA
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
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