Re: Rythmol Again, Kathy in CT

[Guest guest]

> Hello,

> That was me asking about the rythmol on demand, presently I am

only on

> atenelol, but I think that I would feel more comfortable having

something that could

> convert me at home. > Kathy in CT.

Hi Kathy,

Is there a particular reason that you would not take rythmol on a

daily basis? I personally have found it to be a benign drug. It may

not prevent me from getting episodes of AFIB but it has not caused

me any ill effects either. In fact I can't imagine what my life

would have been like without it over the last two and a half years.

I think my AFIB may have been chronic without it. As I stated in my

last e-mail my EP thinks it is all about getting the Rythmol to a

therapeutic safe level in the blood and keeping it there. I don't

think the magic bullet oral drug, that you can take at home on an as

needed basis and zaps you out of AFIB, exists at the moment. So good

luck in your choices, I know they can be very difficult to make.

Regards,

Germaine

Canada

rythmol, atenolol, warfarin

[Guest guest]

> Kathy:

> I just started on rythmol SR (extended release version) twice a day

> at 225 mg a month ago. The EPs at UCSF confirmed that it takes 5

> days for the drug to reach " steady state " - a point I believe it

> takes effect. It seems rather unlikely that it can work on demand.

>

> Do you know what is the underlying cause of your afib? I too have

> only had 3 episodes in 6 years. My 2nd was in Jan. this year. I was

> told that more would follow shortly and frequency wld increase.

Sure

> enough, 2nd one was a few months later.

Hi, ,

A lot of things take awhile to build up in the blood, including the

beta blocker I'm on, but also have an effect while they're in the

process of doing that. When my doc talked to me about going on

flecainide possibly, I asked about the pill in the pocket approach of

only taking it when an attack came on, and he said in that case he'd

recommend a different med. I am 95% sure he said rhythmol for that.

I am not happy that your docs predicted more and more frequent afib

attacks. That would guarantee more attacks for me :-) There is no

way they can accurately predict that unless you have an underlying

heart problem other than afib, and it is contrary to the experiences

of many of us here.

[Guest guest]

> Kathy:

> I just started on rythmol SR (extended release version) twice a day

> at 225 mg a month ago. The EPs at UCSF confirmed that it takes 5

> days for the drug to reach " steady state " - a point I believe it

> takes effect. It seems rather unlikely that it can work on demand.

>

> Do you know what is the underlying cause of your afib? I too have

> only had 3 episodes in 6 years. My 2nd was in Jan. this year. I was

> told that more would follow shortly and frequency wld increase.

Sure

> enough, 2nd one was a few months later.

Hi, ,

A lot of things take awhile to build up in the blood, including the

beta blocker I'm on, but also have an effect while they're in the

process of doing that. When my doc talked to me about going on

flecainide possibly, I asked about the pill in the pocket approach of

only taking it when an attack came on, and he said in that case he'd

recommend a different med. I am 95% sure he said rhythmol for that.

I am not happy that your docs predicted more and more frequent afib

attacks. That would guarantee more attacks for me :-) There is no

way they can accurately predict that unless you have an underlying

heart problem other than afib, and it is contrary to the experiences

of many of us here.