Sotalol

[BaileyC57]

Sotalol - has anyone taken this medication before? Does anyone know how many years a person can take this medication?

[CDreamer]

Depends upon - how effective it is, how a person copes with side effects, presumably you are monitored? I would have thought those would be the criteria.

[BenHall1]

Pretty much the same thoughts as CDreamer actually. I'd been on Bisoprolol for 13 years without any side effects apart from the initial few months when even those issues were resolved when changing from taking it in morning to taking it at night. THEN ....... about 11 months ago all of a sudden I developed side effects that I'd not experienced before .... feeling like the Zombie from the Land of the Living Dead. Really affected me, so asked my GP to change from Bisoprolol to Nebivolol ...... no problems since except a very slight increase in BP and HR.

[Nezzera]

I have been on Sotalol for 4 years. It was increased this year due to breakthrough FAST AFIB.

After increase to 120mg HR was too slow, many times under 60. Side affects increased also; fatigue, breathlessness, etc.

Cryoablation July 24, 2023. Still in blanking period but hoping for some long term relief.

All I can say is that, for me, it worked well for a time but the goal is to get off of it.

[Pommylump]

I have been on it for 5 or 6 years, just 40mg in morning and 40 at night, my max heart rate dropped from about 180 to 150 when I cycle or run.

I did do a Ironman in 2019 while taking it, I pretty much had to walk the whole of the 42km's, then in the recovery area, my blood pressure dropped super low and I ended up in the hospital.

When I mentioned this to my cardiologist, he said what did you expect, you are on Sotalol, but that is about the only side effects I have had. I have had only one instance of Afib since I have been on it and I doubled my dose for a couple of days and it went back in to rhythm.

[dedeottie]

I have been on it for 4/5 years. Now back on 120 mg x2. On the whole it has been a good drug for me. I had to stop flecanide due to flecanide induced pro arrhythmia. Unfortunately it has become less effective . I have never had any side effects other than being out of breath if I have to run quickly without warning eg to cross the road or if my dog is running away! Fortunately I rarely need to run without warning . Hope this helps. X

[oscarfox49]

I have been taking Sotalol almost continuously, 80mg in two 40mg doses, since 1995. That will soon be thirty years! All I can say is apart from the usual betablocker symptoms as you get used to it, it has more or less controlled by AF for all that time, although I had a stroke three years ago due to the absence of an effect anticoagulant. Sotalol is tried and tested and there seem to be far fewer long term effects than with many other medications.

[Nan1]

hello Bailey. I’ve been taking Sotalol 40 mg morning and night since 2014. No problems at all till I tried to increase the dose and it upset my stomach and made me feel lightheaded. However it’s never really stopped the AF and I am currently awaiting an ablation.

[dedeottie in reply to Nan1]

The therapeutic dose for use as an anti arrhythmic starts at 80 mg x2 a day. At 40 x2 it is only has beta blocking effects so will only control the rate. X

[Nan1 in reply to dedeottie]

Thanks for reply. Hopefully I will be able to come off it (fingers crossed)

[BaileyC57 in reply to dedeottie]

Do you take 40 mg twice daily?

[dedeottie in reply to BaileyC57]

I wish! No, I take 120 mg twice a day. X

[Dudtbin]

i take sotalol x3 daily with no side effects that i know of and have been in nsr since January.

[BaileyC57 in reply to Dudtbin]

You take Sotalol 3 times a day, what is your dose? I take 80 mg twice a day , I started a week ago because I have AFIB for a week at a time!

[Dudtbin in reply to BaileyC57]

I take 40 mg 3 x daily. I have forgotten the lunchtime one occasionally but doesn’t seem to make any difference!.i have persistent af.

[MrsSuzuki]

My husband has been taking sotalol for nearly 10 years and has had no problems at all.

Lily

[BaileyC57 in reply to MrsSuzuki]

does he take 80mg two times a day?

[MrsSuzuki in reply to BaileyC57]

He used to take 40mg twice a day, but when he lost a bit of weight (around 2 stone) he found it was too much as his heartbeat dropped too low, around 40bpm. He's now on 40mg just once a day, but if he ever needs to, he can take an extra 40mg occasionally.

Lily

[Woodymet]

I have taken sotalol for about 5 years, before this I was on bisoprol which only worked for a short time. I now take 80mgs in the morning and 80mgs at night, my heart rate is usually steady at 62/65 beats per minute. Last year I had hip replacement surgery and apart from a little episode of a fib when I arrive home, which I put down to the sporadic doses of my regular medication whilst in hospital everything was fine.

[Hatten28]

I have been taking sotalol for 20 years, now my cardiologist wants me to change as she thinks that the newer ones are more effective.

Had no problems taking sotalol apart from breathlessness which I now know it was a more serious heart problems that I was unaware of but am under constant monitoring.

Good luck

[mav7 in reply to Hatten28]

the newer ones are more effective.

Newer drugs, if so did he mention names ?

[Hatten28 in reply to mav7]

Yes , but I have forgotten, will ask asap as had other difficulties to contend with which has delayed my change over.

[DKBX]

I asked the same question last month when I was considering it. Only been on it for about four weeks (after a three day stay in hospital while they started me on it). It replaced both metoprolol and diltiazem.

I take 80mg 2x per day. Controls flutter/fib well but may need to lower dose as resting hr is in the 40s. I’m a bit lethargic on it but not enough that I can’t get my farm work done. BP is also controlled well.

[MarkS]

I was on it for 2 years. It was pretty ghastly and took all my energy and I felt puffed out when exercising. I got on much better with diltiazem.

[mav7]

BaileyC57 If you use the search bar above there is alot of info on Sotalol besides the replies you will receive.

How long one can take it would likely depend on the doctor's evaluation of its effectiveness and any affect on your system.

[BaileyC57 in reply to mav7]

Thank you!

[watten1]

I took Sotalol for 7 months without any issues and now use it as a pill in the pocket. I had an ablation in February and don't think I had any adverse side effects whilst on it. Difficult to say, as I was recovering from the ablation for most of this time. However, when I stopped taking it I didn't notice any difference in how I felt although my heart rate started to go up to its pre ablation rates when exercising. It had previously held it down somewhat. Prior to sotalol I was prescribed two other beta blockers but for different reasons I could not get on with them.

[listerines]

My father-in-law was on it for 5+ years and worked well at managing afib (80mg 2x a day). No real side effectsI took the same dose for my afib and if dropped my heart rate to low 40s and basically made me feel like a zombie. Could only stay on it for a couple of weeks and then had to change meds (on flecainide now and much better outcomes).

All this to say is that outcomes from any medication can differ quite a bit from person to person. Raise your questions with your health team. Keep safe

[bonnie54]

Hi, I started Sotalol in 2008 and had awful side effects, many different effects perhaps the worst that I only slept about 2 hours at a time. I had a very successful ablation in Sept 2009 and came off all meds. But I have never got back to normal sleep patterns. Sometimes manage to sleep though about 6 hours now but not regularly. Other side effects went off more quickly.

Does not answer your question as a year was bad enough for me. Did try Flecainide for a couple of weeks but that gave me heartblock so I hardly dared to drive, practically housebound. I do not do well on medications!

Hope you are doing better than I did. But also thanks to my EP Dr Tim Betts at Oxford for successful ablation. Regards, Bronwen.

[OzJames in reply to bonnie54]

Just curious Bonnie since your ablation in 2009 have you had any AF since?

[BaileyC57 in reply to bonnie54]

I do not do good on medications either , now I am off Sotalol and taken Metropolo 25mg twice and day , see how this goes! I always have side effects on meds and I ALSO stay home a lot ! I am in AFIB all the time and sometimes I GET dizzy from that , so when I DO go out I have someone with me !

[bonnie54]

No, but I do get occasional flutters in my chest related to any stress around. In 2012, when redundancy was looming again, I had a lot of this and went back to Dr Betts. A monitor for a week showed this to be runs of ectopics not AF which was a relief. Since I retired with that third redundancy I have had less stress and been much better. Though I still get the odd thump or flutter it is rare now.