Digoxin- Information, Uses, Side Effects and Dosage

Drug Trade Name:  Lanoxin

Category: Cardiac glycoside

Generic Name: digoxin (Oral)

Introduction and Quick Information:

Digoxin is a cardiac glycoside which is extracted from the leaves of Digitalis lanata. Digoxin is an approved medicine used in the treatment of heart failure (congestive heart failure), atrial fibrillation (heart arrhythmia) and ventricular fibrillation (a heart rhythm disorder of the ventricles, or lower chambers of the heart that allow blood to flow out of the heart).

Is Digoxin Approved by U.S. FDA?

The U.S. FDA has approved digoxin to treat heart conditions in various dosage form like oral-solution, injectable-solution, and tablet.

Usage and Benefits:

Digoxin is generally prescribed to treat atrial fibrillation and heart failure. In congestive heart failure, the heart is unable to pump sufficient amount the blood throughout the body. Few common symptoms of heart-related condition are swelling of ankles, legs, feet, shortness of breath and weight gain.

Digoxin aids the heart to pump more powerfully in order to supply blood to the body. It helps to reduce the need for the emergency heart failure, hospitalization and improves exercise tolerance.

Digoxin is often prescribed with other heart failure treatments. It can only improve the symptoms and decrease complications caused by heart failure.

Digoxin Side Effects:

Some of the common side effects associated with this drug are:

• Blurred vision
  
• Unusual thoughts or behavior
• Bloody or black, tarry stools
• Fast, slow, or uneven heart rate
• Confusion, hallucinations
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Enlarged breasts in men
• Mild nausea
• Feeling weak or dizzy
• Headache
• Mild skin rash

General Recommended Dosage of Digoxin:

The dose of Digoxin varies from one person to another and depends on a number of factors, some of them have been mentioned below:

• weight
• age
• use of other medicines

Your dosages can be changed by your healthcare provider to increase the efficacy of the treatment. Digoxin injection is often prescribed to get an immediate or quick response.

In Case I Miss a Dose?

In case the dose is missed, take it as soon as you recall. If, it the time for the next dose then skip the missed dose. You may ask your doctor for further assistance.

In Case I Take Overdose?

Some of the common overdose symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite, severe skin rash, blurred vision, seeing halos around objects and lights, uneven heartbeats,. If you find any of these symptoms, seek medical help.

Digoxin Drug Interactions:

There are plenty of drugs that can interact with Digoxin such as:

• Supplements or medications that contain calcium
• A diuretic (water pill), such as spironolactone
• epinephrine (Adrenalin)
  
• amphotericin B (Fungizone)
  
• Cancer medications
• clonidine (Catapres)
  
• metoclopramide (Reglan)
  
• cholestyramine (Prevalite)
  
• itraconazole (Onmel)
  
• indomethacin (Indocin)
  
• levothyroxine (Levoxyl)
  
• Decongestant cold or allergy medicine, or nasal sprays such Tysine Nasal, Neo-Synephrine, Duramist, Afrin
• A beta-blocker such as metoprolol, carvedilol,
• A heart rhythm medication such as nisoldipine, propafenone, quinidine, amiodarone
• An antibiotic clarithromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline,
• A calcium channel blocker such as felodipine, verapamil, diltiazem, amlodipine,
• steroids mometasone, dexamethasone, fluticasone, prednisone

Lifestyle and Food Habits You Must Follow When on Digoxin:

Digoxin is prescribed to improve symptoms of heart failure hence you should take a good care of your food and lifestyle habits particularly if you have an eating disorder and drug abuse or addiction.

Talk to your doctor about lifestyle and food habits and get every essential detail related to digoxin. Only your healthcare provider can tell you what sort of lifestyle and food habits you should follow during the treatment. This will decrease risk factor from your treatment which is all related to your treatment.

How Safe Is Digoxin for Pregnant Women or Nursing Mothers?

Pregnancy category: C (Use with caution if benefits outweigh risks)

Lactation: Drug enters breast milk; use with caution (American Academy of Pediatrics committee states, “compatible with nursing”)

Complications and Conditions Possible due to prolonged use of Digoxin:

Do not take Digoxin longer than recommended as it can cause some other health discomforts. Talk to your doctor about risks and adverse reactions if you take this medicine longer than prescribed.

Availability of Digoxin:

This drug is available only by prescription.