Loss of appetite

August 22, 2001

In 1985 when after my heart surgeries, I was put on a number of meds, one of

which I think was procanbid. It was at that time that I not only had a loss

of appetite, but I constantly felt like I was going to throw up. (I might

be wrong about which med that was., however.) Meds were changed because

every waking moment was like that. My amiodarone, on the other hand has

given me a weight problem by increasing my naturally large appetite. Sigh!

Docs suggested back then that if appetite was a serious enough problem to

affect nutrition, then the beverage of choice with whatever meals I could

get down should be Ensure.

Bill

Loss of appetite

> My husband is on daily doses of 2000 mg Procanbid, 25 mg Toprol, 200 mg

> Amiodarone. He's been on Amiodarone for eight months, and never an

> eating problem with that. Has anyone had a problem with Procanbid or

> Toprol causing loss of appetite? He has a doctor's appointment in two

> days, but I thought before we go there I'd like to know if anyone else

> has had a problem with any of these drugs causing this side effect. His

> loss of appetite was gradual, not sudden. First he was just 'picky'

> about certain foods (unfortunately, chicken was first on the list to be

> avoided). Then, it was all his favorite foods. Now, he's just down to a

> tiny bit of food at each meal. This started to happen three weeks after

> an increased dosage of Procanbid to 1000mg twice a day, so I'm

> suspicious of that. Thanks for any assistance. PatP

August 23, 2001

Hi, Again-- I'm sure we have discussed something or other in the past, but

can't recall. My name is Al, and felt I owed you a note just to say I have

gone thru a variation of your hubby's present experience. Not once, not

twice, but

three times.First 2 times, lost 25 lbs and as I was drifting down in weight,

I had

set 140 lbs as the signal to see the Cardiologist, who also is an Internest.

I

can;t say we ever found any causes--it seems that things just reversed on

their own. No idea!! The last time, (#3), I eventually got to 135 lbs, and

part

of that was Edema, and Lasix cleared that up, and ate like a bird each time.

No major changes in the drug menu, BUT, I would wager that the lurking

forks in these 3 roads were somehow connected to some quirk inside the

heart, and never was really pin-pointed. Now, 2 yrs after the ICD, Amio

which

for me was magic, (dose-50 or 100 mgms/day), & I pick any amt I want, Keep

in mind your husband may be on 200 mgms because the PDR uses that no.

as the maintenance dose, and NO ONE KNOWS ENOUGH ABOUT AMIO

TO PRESCRIBE PROPERLY WITHOUT TESTING ON THE PATIENT!!!

Did you see 2 posts that were diametrically opposed-- one person was on a

dose of 100 mgms every other day, and the other was told by her Dr that

" less than 200 mgms/day would be totally useless " , and wouldn't work. I

average 75 mgms/day and none of my Medics dare argue with me-if they do

irk me, I just may stop informing them about what I do.

Whatever, I now weigh 175 lbs. That's the highest in my life,

feel better

but after about 6 M.I.s, 1 of those was a 7-8 on a scale of 1-5, And at 75

yrs

of age, things are about as good as I would expect. BUT, nobody, never,

was able to explain those lapses in appetite and weight loss. In my case, I

don't believe any of the drugs were at fault, unless one of them did affect

the

brain. That's where the controls are. Regards, Al Lidert

My wife and I vacationed in Egypt last month

and we flew free because of the wife's job.

She's a terrorist.