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Heart Medications.

(30 Posts)
beautybumble Tue 27-May-25 16:37:02

Hello. My friend who is 75, has just been told he should start taking Dapagliflozin. He had a valve replacement operation over a year ago and has been feeling very well since . He feels afraid because the side effects are a concern. He will take these if he is told he should, but we wondered if any of you had any experience of this medication? The reviews don't look very encouraging so I thought I would ask all of you. Thank you.

CariadAgain Thu 29-May-25 09:28:33

growstuff

CariadAgain

argymargy

Why on earth would you look at drug "reviews"?! Drugs are given licences and prescribed because they have been subjected to extensive clinical trials on thousands of patients. They're not something you "review". Jeez whatever next?

For people that think that way - I've got a good book written by a woman recently that was one of the people Astra Zeneca was tried out on - and how suddenly and how badly she got ill because of it. Finishing with how many more people in the same position she met. As at the closing of her book - neither she nor any of the other guineapigs got the compensation they'd had down in writing they'd be legally due for from Astra Zeneca - despite chasing and chasing them for it.

For anyone else - if they are prepared to take conventional medical drugs - it makes sense to check out anything that is listed re possible side-effects. It also makes sense to see if there are any substitute drugs for the one prescribed and then make one's own decision on whether to take drug a, drug b (something else) or try and find out if there are any complementary remedies instead. My mother was prone to ringing and asking me to check out for any possible side-effects for any drugs the doctor prescribed and then she'd either take nothing or ask for a substitute instead if she didn't like the sound of it.

AstraZeneca produce hundreds of drugs. Which one do you mean?

Sorry - I guess it's so obvious to people normally - ie "that" drug - the "Covid jab".

I feel I had a very lucky escape there from that one personally - as I rang up and asked where they would have wanted me to have "that" jab and which one they would have used "If I was going to allow you - which I'm not...". It was Astra Zeneca - and I'm from a heart attack family! Cue for they were all informed firmly never to contact me in any fashion ever to offer me that jab and it mostly worked - through they did try a couple of times and were told very firmly that I had said never to contact me and so "Why are you - when I said not to. Don't do it again - I don't want to be hassled" and their final attempt was "We have made an appointment for you to have a flu jab and btw ...whilst you're there you could have a Covid jab straight afterwards" and they got told again "I said not to contact me about this!!!!!!" and that worked/ they finally "heard" me that time and havent done so since about that.

Whiff Thu 29-May-25 11:36:14

beautybumble on BHF website there is a link to a forum for people with heart problems. I am on there under a different user name . And people there are the experts because they are coping with their own heart problems but I know they have helped me and hopefully I have helped others as well.

If you could tell your friend to join it there are men and women on there of all ages who will share their journeys and experiences of various medications and procedures.

Plus he can always phone a BHF nurses who are very helpful and knowledgeable.

Wishing him well and he's lucky to have a friend like you who cares so much to try and help him . ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน

growstuff Thu 29-May-25 16:39:36

Why would it be obvious CariadAgain? AstraZeneca make Dapagliflozin, which is the topic of this thread and the company's highest earner.

Ktsmum Fri 30-May-25 16:52:26

I take empagliflozin, which is likely in the same category, for heart disease and T2 diabetes, I have no problems with it