Greetings

Just had a pacemaker implant four days ago. An internet search on pacemakers turned up this site. I'm looking forward to interacting with the members as well as learning things that I do not know.

My surgery went well and I'm seeming to be recovering well. I go next Wednesday for my first appointment since getting out of the hospital.

I'm interested in finding anyone else who is also on sotalol.

5 Comments

Welcome!

by ohiolaura - 2012-09-22 06:09:53

Welcome to the Club!
I agree that finding this site is great,its helped me out tremendously,please remember to ask questions as they come,we all have them.
There are so many here who are knowlegeable.
Give yourself time to heal,be patient,and stop by here often.
Good luck and hope to talk to you someday...
Laura

Welcome to the Club

by Wannabe - 2012-09-22 11:09:30

Hello, PKite. Very glad to hear all's gone well with your surgery and your recovery's on the way. I hope everything's all right at your check-up on Wednesday.

I wanted to tell you that I've been taking Sotalol (80mgs twice daily) for three years. It's been a marvel at keeping A.Fib under control. I started off on Flecainide which didn't suit me at all - many side-effects. To be fair I've seen reports from Club members who've had quite the reverse experience - it depends on our particular physiology, I suppose. We've a American member named Smitty, who you'll certainly come across on the site - he claims that "All beta-blockers are the work of the Devil" I'd an ablation for A.Flutter in 2007 and up to then had been given Bisoprolol in an attempt to control it. That was ghastly stuff and I could only agree entirely with Smitty's assessment!

Take care of yourself and allow yourself to heal at your own pace. Give the Sotalol a fair trial (three months, say) and if it's not doing the job then tell your cardiologist and ask to try something else. Kind wishes. Sheila

G'Day & Welcome

by Acubarry - 2012-09-23 07:09:55

Hi PKite
You are doing well if you can get on line and post here after only four days! Four days after my surgery all I was good for was lying in bed resting - didn't even have the strength to read a book or listen to the radio, just lay there resting. The only reason I got up after five days was to see my GP, then straight back to bed. You ask about Sotalol, it works well for me, I'm on 80mg daily, 40mg in the morning & again in the evening. For the first month after my operation I was on Metoprolol which was a near disaster, my heart rhythms were all over the place, it was only after another hospitalisation that they changed medication and so far so good. I understand from my cardiologist though that eventually (after several years) their effectiveness wears off. But I guess we'll get over that when that happens.
Good luck & stay in touch
Baz

Welcome

by Cheryl B - 2012-09-23 09:09:02

I agree with Baz, you are doing well if you can get on-line after four days. I just wanted to lie in bed and feel sorry for myself. It was only after I started talking to people on this site that I realized I wasn't alone; that God didn't single me out for an ICD. I am also on Sotalol. I am on twice a day, too. I am also on Metroprolol, which, unlike Baz, I'm having no problems with, and a couple other medicines, too, which I really don't want to list because I'll spell them wrong. Great to have you here. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone is, and how much they care about helping each other. if you have a question, no matter how silly you think it is, ask away. Someone here has either had that same question or was too afraid to ask it and is glad someone else did.
Good luck!!
Cheryl B.

Thank You for the Encouragement

by PKite - 2012-09-23 10:09:27

Regarding sotalol -- how long does one continue to take sotalol? I've been given a six month prescription for the drug (80mg 2x/day). Is that an indication that at the end of six months the drug will be discontinued? It has done a good job bringing my ventricle(s) activity back to normal.

I don't mind taking a drug if it is doing the job without bad side effects. However, I've had my share of drug bad side effects. Like some, I had a bad experience with metoprolol -- seems it dropped my heart rate to low -- I had gotten to the point of near incapacitation.

Thanks again for your welcome.

RussM

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My pacemaker is intact and working great.