Digoxin question

[Debster]

Hello all! My mom went to her cardio today-he said her heart rate is elevated and wants her on digoxin. A low dose I guess because she has kidney issues. Anything I should pass on to her about this med? Have a lot of you been on it? Any help is mucho appreciated! Thanks-Deb ps-Mom is on Coreg, Plavix,Lipitor,and Altace-she was SO delighted to add another to the bunchbut hey-her kidney deals are stable for now so I will take any good news I can get!!!

 

[gijanet]

Hopefully some adults will come along soon..........

Hopefully some adults will come along soon..........

but Katie was on it a year from birth until her second surgery at 12 months of age, so I don't have much to give ya, except we do think it made her nauseous. She always had severe reflux anyway, but it always seemed much worse after her dig. Hugs to you both. J.

 

[Kathleen]

Digoxin

Digoxin

Hi
I took Digoxin for 20 plus years without an issue. After both nodes were ablated and a defib implanted to take over the workings of my heart they took me off it. If there is ever a concern about this med they can do a simple dig level blood test to check the amount in your system. The plus is it is cheap to buy. Hopefully she will have no problems with it.
Kathleen

 

[Georgia]

Have been on it since surgery, and was on it for @ 15 years previously. I recently cut the dosage in half because it was making me so nauseous. Feel fine now. Elderly people have more trouble with toxicity, so let the doc know if she has any problems.

 

[sue943]

I am afraid that I had bad experiences with it in the sense that it caused complete heart block two weeks after my OHS. I had felt very nauseous and couldn't eat so the levels went very high, my INR shot up to 8.9 as I was unable to eat. My mother also had a bad experience, she was on it for quite a while and ended up with toxicity too, heart block and had a pacemaker fitted. Perhaps our family were just very sensitive, I was told that most people tolerate it very well.

 

[afraidofsurgery]

Digoxin

Digoxin

Digoxin helps your heart beat stronger, so I suspect the doc's strategy is to lower your mom's heart rate by helping it beat more blood in each stroke. I was on it for a year or so to help me stay on 'the waiting list' longer, but I discontinued when I became pregnant just to be on the safe side, although it has no published risks to a fetus.

If you're not sure about drug-drug interactions, your pharmacist is an excellent resource! I've found them to be much better informed than a MD since after all, this is what they went to school for 4-6 years for. Just a suggestion.

Hope things go well with Mom.
Patty