Has anyone been prescribed either of the above drugs for hypotension? This is the new combination that my dad’s dr. is trying–I have been reading up on florinef and thought that l-cartinine was an amino acid(?). Interested to know if this combination has been effective for anyone suffering from hypotension.
Thanks!
Eileen
Hi Eileen,
These two drugs have very different purposes. Florinef is a steroid that has effects on the balance of minerals in the body, including salt. It’s prescribed to people who lose too much salt (and therefore might have low blood pressure…). You can read about it here: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/fludro_ids.htm. Rxlist.com is a great place to look up prescription drugs of all kinds.
Is his carnitine oral? Carnitine is (according to Rxlist.com), “a carrier molecule in the transport of long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane.” It can help with energy in people on dialysis. http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/carnitor.htm. Here’s the website of the company that makes the form often used in dialysis: http://www.carnitor.com/.
Hi, Dori!!
Great to hear from you!!
Ok–my dad’s dr. said he was trying “something else” to treat my dad’s hypotension. The florinef and cartinine are the something else…Am I missing something here? From what you wrote and I read, I don’t see that florinef is a treatment for hypotension per se; his sodium level has been fine in his blood work and it seems that the main idea behind prescribing it for him is to balance out the sodium. Is florinef used specifically to treat hypotension? I had not been able to find it on the “list” previously. I’m concerned that it is a steroid…
Yes, the l-carnitine is oral (990 mg twice daily). To me, it seems that my dad’s low energy comes from the hypotension; if that is dealt with and resolved, it seems that the energy issue will be as well. Maybe I’m wrong.
Thank you for the links!!
Eileen
It looks like the doctor might think the Florinef is an “out of the box” solution for your dad’s blood pressure issues. It’s not a standard treatment. Some patients have found carnitine to be very helpful, though. Low blood pressure can cause fatigue, but so can low carnitine levels, anemia, depression, malnutrition, and drug side effects, among others…