hi deb,
joey, my husband, is the valver. he took betapace (sotolol) before his surgery 8 years ago, to control afib and was very successful.
four days after his surgery, joey went into afib. they administered a bolus of betapace, which did nothing. since he had, what they called, "breakthrough " afib, they ruled betapace out as a med for his afib.
he was put on amiodarone for several months after the surgery and it eliminated his afib entirely.
when he tried to wean off the amio. he would go into afib.
he has tried numerous times to wean off completely, but goes into afib.
we consulted with several doctors and surgeons, all who believe that a very small dose (100 every other day) that "keeps the afib away" is not harmful if monitored carefully.
joey has had a thyroid problem for over 12 years and that is monitored very closely anyway. in addition, he goes for lung - capacity tests regularly and has his eyes checked as well. he has developed some spots on his retina but the opthamologist says they are benign and will disappear once he stops the amio.
he _and all the doctors_ didn't seem very concerned and i have to trust them. as long as joey is proactive in his monitoring these conditions, there's not much else for me to do. i know the dangers and worry though. if i had a choice, i'd rather he take some other medication for the afib (there are others).
hope this helped.
be well,
sylvia
joey, my husband, is the valver. he took betapace (sotolol) before his surgery 8 years ago, to control afib and was very successful.
four days after his surgery, joey went into afib. they administered a bolus of betapace, which did nothing. since he had, what they called, "breakthrough " afib, they ruled betapace out as a med for his afib.
he was put on amiodarone for several months after the surgery and it eliminated his afib entirely.
when he tried to wean off the amio. he would go into afib.
he has tried numerous times to wean off completely, but goes into afib.
we consulted with several doctors and surgeons, all who believe that a very small dose (100 every other day) that "keeps the afib away" is not harmful if monitored carefully.
joey has had a thyroid problem for over 12 years and that is monitored very closely anyway. in addition, he goes for lung - capacity tests regularly and has his eyes checked as well. he has developed some spots on his retina but the opthamologist says they are benign and will disappear once he stops the amio.
he _and all the doctors_ didn't seem very concerned and i have to trust them. as long as joey is proactive in his monitoring these conditions, there's not much else for me to do. i know the dangers and worry though. if i had a choice, i'd rather he take some other medication for the afib (there are others).
hope this helped.
be well,
sylvia
