Sotolol nightmare

[johnthompson]

I was diagnosed 4 years ago with A FIB during a time when I was on a strong antibiotic for a severe leg infection. After an attempt at conversion I was put on sotolol and warfarin. These were added to the metoprolol I was on for Hocum. Lisinopril was added for blood pressure and things went fine to outward appearances. over the next few years I began to loose body hair, lost interest in sex, had decreased energy levels, and increasing confusion. over the last 6 months the doctors tried lots of tests and never came to any conclusions. 3 months ago I started decreasing the sotolol and felt less foggy and slightly more energetic. 4 months ago I was in a fib at the cardiologists office. I quit caffeine and leveled out. last month I saw him again and he said I had an irregular heartbeat but to quit the sotolol altogether. Since I cut down and quit sotolol my hair started filling back in and my energy level is up. I am actually re-roofing my house. I may be a little slow but I'm 61 not 41 or 21. is there anything bad about sotolol that they are not telling us?

[Japaholic]

Mmmm, good question, it served me well for about 6 months then it slowly became less and less effective until I was in AF 4 days out of 7. I have seen how it was quietly removed from the NICE guidelines in the UK. No one knows why seemingly. Over here in Japan they simply say "Sotalol is a very unusual drug" which in the Japanese way of understatement means its horrifically shocking. My cardiologist was happy to take me off it.

[BobD Volunteer]

Sotalol has been removed from the suggested drugs for AF under the latest NICE guidelines. No reasons given but I know some doctors still use it.

Bob

[jossikins]

Funny you should say that! I, too, was on sotalol, amongst other things, for AF and I found myself getting more sluggish proportionate to increases in the dose when my heart failed to properly respond. Last Monday, with a pacemaker already in place (I got that last March) I had an ablation

[jossikins]

Funny you should say that! I, too, was on sotalol, amongst other things, for AF and I found myself getting more sluggish proportionate to increases in the dose when my heart failed to properly respond. Last Monday, with a pacemaker already in place (I got that last March) I had an ablation

[jossikins]

Funny you should say that! I, too, was on sotalol, amongst other things, for AF and I found myself getting more sluggish proportionate to increases in the dose when my heart failed to properly respond. Last Monday, with a pacemaker already in place (I got that last March) I had an ablation

[jossikins]

Hi, John,

I, too was on Sotalol, then Dygoxin was added, after Amniodorone and Bisoprolol were cast aside in their failure to deal with the AF. After 4 failed cardioversions, last Monday, I had an ablation and have been taken off all drugs except for Warfarin. Although I am experiencing significant shortness of breath when going up an incline or stairs and my fingers are quite shaky (not good for an artisan!), I gather from this site that this is not uncommon and the heart needs time to heal and adjust after what was, after all, quite invasive. \more importantly, I do find my energy level is rising. I observed, before, that as the dosage of sotalol was increased, so did my sluggishness. It is interesting that NICE doesn't approve of it. I, too, wonder why! Anyway, I have now, hopefully, relegated it to my past and maybe my creativity and productivity will continue to increase as the days go by. Good luck to you.

Jos.

[jennydog]

I was taken off Soltolol because they said that it made my heart rest between beats.

[Offcut]

I have been on1 x 125mg digoxin plus 2 x 80mg sotalol, I was on 3 x 80mg but went a little blue! But I have an average HR of 125 BPM but that can drop once I have slept (always broken sleep) to 40/45 but will rise to the average very quickly. This is an improvement on the 150 average but not a lot. I have multi conditions and had many changes in my tablets for my heart conditions. 3 ablations and at least 10 cardioversions plus a cancelled Pace and Ablate with a footnote that they do not think I would survive anything more complex?

When I have mentioned the nice guidelines my GP has said that the EP has not got an alternative for me?

Be Well