Since finding this site about 3 years ago i have found it to be a great source of information and gives me a lot of confidence in dealing with my AF. Since my first episode 4 years ago i have been taking anti-coagulants and bisoprolol. I had one episode per year for the first couple of years. Lasting approximately 6 days. Not very pleasant but i just waited for it to pass.
This has worked well ever since but over the past couple of years they have become more frequent but shorter, roughly every 3 months but for about 4 days. I've just had my regular check up with my cardiologist and we've agreed together to move onto Sotalol. I'm gradually moving over in the next couple of weeks.
I'm really just looking for any words of advice etc. from people that may have had a similar experience.
Thanks
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Alf69
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my cardiologist was talking about a move to sotalol from metoprolol if things didn’t settle. They have settled now… but from memory he has had patients on it for 10-20 years with little issues. It acts a bit similar to Bisoprolol but also has some anti arythmia effect as well
I've been on 2 x 40mg Sotalol for several years ,with very occasionally a 3rd tablet if I go into AF. It doesn't stop my episodes of AF which are approx every 3 weeks, but I feel unwell without it. All the other medications made me feel dreadful. i.e. bisoprolol , metaprolol and flecainide.
I was told that sotalol was slowly being replaced by the somewhat more modern drug, flecainide owing to fewer side effects. You might ask about this, but it seems it's down to the doctor's experience and preference. I can't take either, apparently, being to a wide QRS on my ECG.
I have been taking Sotalol for 2and a half years 120mg. am and 120mg. at night .So far it has controlled my rate and rhythm . It does slow down your ability to do some extreme exercise like running but still walk 4 miles away and bicycle 10 miles a day in the gym. I recommend you try it --you will have to spend a few days in the hospital get it titrated properly ---👍no big deal! rdj 507
Rich, happy that sotalol is working for you. I am 72; have had two ablations; hope that the increased dosage of sotalol works for me; really interested in the pulsed field ablation if sotalol fails; take care!
My heart hurts to hear of your troubles. I have suffered with arrhythmia for many years. Betapace(sotalol) was a literal life saver for me! When I went on it over 30 years ago I was so worried about the side effects and everything else you can imagine; but I am so thankful my doctor knew this was the best thing for me. The only thing that took me a bit to get used to was being tired. My body adjusted after a while though. And now I have to be careful not to get dehydrated or low on potassium because it can be fatal while taking this drug. Any time I have had a stomach virus or lost a lot of fluids I tell the er right away and they start the iv with fluids and test my potassium. Just something to watch. Also, it makes my bp pretty low but that’s nit bad.
I hope and pray you have the same success as I have had.
Don’t be afraid of starting Sotalol. I have been on it since 2016. It works well for me.
Watch for side effects and let the doctor know if you have any. For me the main one is feeling tired. I also had a low pulse rate at the time. They should be doing EKGs every 6 months to check on you as well.
After my ablation my dose was cut in half. I tried going off but was not able to. I still need it.
After a bad experience with Amiodarone following a cardioversion I was put on 80mg of Sotalol twice a day and have remained in NSR apart from a brief episode early on. The only side effect has been slight reddening of my feet.
I take just 2.5mg of Bisoprolol every morning which slows my heart rate down as my irregular heart beat got worse so I had pacemaker fitted and AV node ablation done. So my heart rate is now regular & heart rate down to 70 bpm from 140bpm at times. But I now have restless legs so take Pramipexole 4 times per day which works but makes me sleepy at times during the day and does help me sleep well. So at 83 i am still heart and coping ok. Plenty worse off than me 😊😊
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