Norpace so far

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People,

First experiences on using Norpace a.k. disopyramide:

Dose: 2x100mg a day combined with 50mg Toprol XL

Effects: noticable less discomfort, easier with exercise, bending over, less reaction on food (full stomach), heart feels calmer, i assume the obstruction has less effect and the gradient will be somewhat lower. These are the effects i was looking for, maybe the dose should be upped a little in time.

Side effects: little dizzyness, dry mouth, at night a slight tendency to flutter as the Toprol XL wears off (maybe have to split the dose of Toprol XL to better cover during the night), bladder takes some thinking time whether its empty or not yet :P .

Overall result: worth trying, as it offers symptomatic relief and may postpone more invasive treatments.

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[vmcmahon]

Hi AD

Glad to hear that it is working for you!! :lol: . I for one could never have considered Surgrey untill I had tried every other possible solution

vinnie

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Let's 'bump' this tread up again :P

Well, 3 weeks now, and still noticible good results from the Norpace. One remarkable thing: i lost nearly 4 pounds of weight, and all around my belly :D Now that looks great, but it probably wasn't fat, i really think i was retaining fluid :twisted: there... and the better circulation afforded by the Norpace enabled my body to get rid of it. Oh, no doc ever looked at my stomach for signs of CHF :oops:

In 3 weeks, no bouts of AF, that's already something of a record (last year, i had AF every 2 weeks or so). My heart is really calm. I have more energy, yesterday took the bike for a ride without problem. Seems there are some on the board having late effects following ablation. I'm glad i've bougth myself time to very carefully reconsider this (proposed) treatment!

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[Lisa Salberg]

It sounds like it is working for you! I hope it keeps doing the job!

Best wishes,
Lisa

[Pam Alexson]

Ad,

Sounds like a great report , keep doing well !

pam

[joyce1961]

my husabnd, 45, also takes large doses of atenol and norpace. both have helped the symptoms greatly. Glad they re working for you!
joyce

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Yeah, but the anti choleric effect is increasing my GERD symptoms :roll: so i'm spending on meds to counter the side effects of the meds i take to countereffect the side effects of other meds i take that i take to increase the effects of the meds i have to take other meds for to counter effect the HEY...! i'm running circles how's that :shock: ? Gotta talk to somebody now and quick, or buy Pfizer stock (and i didn't need the blue ones yet :wink: ).

Anyone else getting or increasing GERD symptoms? It isn't listed as side effect, so of all people i'm the 'proud' discoverer i guess...

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[cynthia]

glad it is working for you! I have been on dofetilide for almost 6 weeks and feel good --- hope it keeps that afib under control for both of us!! :shock:

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Cynthia,

New med for you? Hope you get/stay out of Afib. Dofetilide: what group of meds does it fit into?

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[Sarah]

Dofetilide is a potassium channel blocker, just like Norpace and Betapace (disopyramide and amiodarone, respectively).

I was on it for two years. It worked great but it can tend to taper off and stop working like it did with me. I was on Norpace for 10 years without that problem.

If you can manage it, you may want to see what you can do with yoru diet and medication tweaking to find a good Norpace balance.

good luck,

S

[Cynaburst]

Ad,

I have increased my Norpace in the last week up to 550 mg. and I notice an increase in GERD symptoms. I have been having to take Zantac to ward off the feelings of heartburn.

I am now on 100 mg. of atenolol daily plus the Norpace. I started on 300 mg. of Norpace and have worked up to here. I notice that I have had a decrease in symptoms, but then I reach a point after a few months on a doseage where the symptoms increase, and I have to up the Norpace. I was on 400 mg. for a while, and that was ok for a couple of months. Then I was on 450 for another few months. Started to have symptoms again. Up to 500, and now to 550. The side effects which had lessened are starting to bug me. I also have a hoarse voice which is from my vocal chords drying out I think.

Drag.

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Well, lets update this one more time...

Still on Norpace 250 mg retard one time a day (morning). I supplement it with 25 mg Toprol XL around lunch, and that's it for the day. Only in the late evening I can feel the Norpace waning off, but there's not much to do late at night (oh well, :oops: not to disappoint my better half :P ).

I feel like I have more energy, concentration, stamina, so that's good. Since starting on Norpace, I didn't have one :!: single bout of AFib! Now that is remarkable, as I had it almost every week. If only for AFib I love Norpace :lol: .

Maybe in the future the meds will have to be upped. For now, I think it's going rather well and better then before. GERD seems to be unrelated to the Norpace, and somewhat related to the Toprol, but it's manageable (even without taking meds all the time).

So one happy customer (who without knowing Disopyramide through this forum would have followed his cardio's advice for ablation without reconsidering the options)!

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[Lisa Salberg]

Keep us posted!! so far..so good.... Good luck - I hope it continues to provide relief for you.

Best wishes,
Lisa