Guest guest Posted December 19, 2000 Report Share Posted December 19, 2000 > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2000 12:32:38 -0500 > > Subject: Sotalol > > >GRAY: > > Interesting, because Sotalol is the latest in a series of about > >5 drugs I have taken for A-fib. The others, in order, were quinaglute, > >tambocor, and rythmol, each taken along with lanoxin, and each being > >effective for about 1-3 years. The total duration of my a-fib problem > >has been 11 years. I'm 66. > > When rythmol began to lose effectiveness, my cardiologist > >switched me to Sotalol, which after maybe a year is still working well. > >He prescribed 3 per day, which I changed to 2 per day for cost reasons. > > It's curious that the package insert assumes that users were > >all started on Sotalol in the hospital for constant monitoring. The > >cardio doc said nothing about this, and didn't warn of side effects. > > How many mg of sotalol are you taking? My tablets are 160mg and I > started taking 320mg a day when I had a mitral valve repair that > started my A-Fib in 1992. > > After 2 years the dose was reduced to 160mg a day as it was knocking me > out almost. The 160mg a day seem to be okay and I can operate normally. > > When I get A-Fib ( about twice a month for less than 12 hours) I double > up on the sotalol to 320mg a day till it stops. I have all the symptoms > of vagal A-Fib but the EP that my cardiologist referred me too doen't seem > to distinguish between the two different types of A-Fib??????? > > I would be willing to switch to something else but after reading all the > stuff in this group will just stay with my present routine until something > more reassuring comes along. Better the devil you know than the devil you > don't, so to speak. > > I am 66 now and have been following this routine since 1994 when I had my > dose reduced to 160mg a day. I was started on sotalol in hospital and no > one has mentioned any long term downside to sotalol to me. Does anyone > know if there are long term studies on the use of sotalol? GRAY: I take 80 mg, nominally 3x per day. But my case of AF seems to be pretty mild compared to many I read about here. It has no side effects that I'm aware of. Also my cardiologist, who's not the greatest communicator, has said nothing about vagal vs. other AF, and nothing about long-term effects of Sotalol. I'll stay with it until it loses effectiveness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.