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Suggest Treatment For Headaches And Ringing Sensation In Ears While On Pravastatin
Question: I was taking Pravistatine for a period of a year for my cholesterol. Wow! at last. a statin that didn't attack my muscles. Then I began to get a drippy nose. OK, no big deal, carry a piece of paper towel and my nose. Then I began to get a chronic headache that gradually got worse, and I couldn't shut my jaws without popping my Eustachian tubes and that hurt like hell. I went to the doctor he gave me a penicillin course saying if it was viral it would not help. It didn't. He asked how long I'd taken Pravistatine I said about a year. He said it will probably take that long to kick the side effects. Then, I went to an eye ear nose and throat Guy. He ran a camera up my nose and said I had no infection. I'm so tired of having a headache 24 hours a day, and a sneeze or a cough makes my head explode. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, I would explain that your symptoms could be related to pravastatin adverse effects.
You should know that it is known that it can cause flu like symptoms (dripping nose, ear ringing) in up to 2% of the patients and also chronic headache, which has been observed in up to 6% of the patients.
Another option to exclude is a possible allergic reaction to pravastatine.
So, I would recommend stopping it for a short period of time (a month) and then try restarting it in low doses and increase slowly, in order to avoid the appearance of this adverse effect.
If your symptoms are improved by stopping pravastatin, it would indicate that all your troubles are related to its adverse effects.
Meanwhile, some lifestyle modifications would help maintain lower cholesterol level in the absence of pravastatin:
- reduce hypercaloric food (sweets, sugar) and fat (butter, red meat, pizza, etc.)
- take plenty of food rich in omega 3 fatty acids (fish, fish oil, almonds, cashew, olive oil, walnuts, etc)
- perform a lot of physical activity (aerobics, walking, etc.)
- try to lose some pounds if you are overweight.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, I would explain that your symptoms could be related to pravastatin adverse effects.
You should know that it is known that it can cause flu like symptoms (dripping nose, ear ringing) in up to 2% of the patients and also chronic headache, which has been observed in up to 6% of the patients.
Another option to exclude is a possible allergic reaction to pravastatine.
So, I would recommend stopping it for a short period of time (a month) and then try restarting it in low doses and increase slowly, in order to avoid the appearance of this adverse effect.
If your symptoms are improved by stopping pravastatin, it would indicate that all your troubles are related to its adverse effects.
Meanwhile, some lifestyle modifications would help maintain lower cholesterol level in the absence of pravastatin:
- reduce hypercaloric food (sweets, sugar) and fat (butter, red meat, pizza, etc.)
- take plenty of food rich in omega 3 fatty acids (fish, fish oil, almonds, cashew, olive oil, walnuts, etc)
- perform a lot of physical activity (aerobics, walking, etc.)
- try to lose some pounds if you are overweight.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I stopped taking it about 2&1/2 months ago, and it's still continueing. It's "cold turkey City" I guess. Also, now I eat oatmeal every morning.
Brief Answer:
My opinion as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello again!
Thank you for the additional information. Considering that you have been off pravastatin for such a long period, I don't think that your actual symptoms are related to this drug.
Coming to this point, I would recommend performing a sinus X ray study and a sinus discharge bacterial culture to exclude a possible chronic sinus infection.
If it results normal, I would recommend consulting with a neurologist for a careful physical examination and schedule for a brain MRI to exclude other possible causes of persistent headache.
I would also advise performing allergy tests, because a chronic allergic reaction could also mimic all this clinical scenario.
Hope to have been helpful!
Wishing all the best,
Dr. Iliri
My opinion as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello again!
Thank you for the additional information. Considering that you have been off pravastatin for such a long period, I don't think that your actual symptoms are related to this drug.
Coming to this point, I would recommend performing a sinus X ray study and a sinus discharge bacterial culture to exclude a possible chronic sinus infection.
If it results normal, I would recommend consulting with a neurologist for a careful physical examination and schedule for a brain MRI to exclude other possible causes of persistent headache.
I would also advise performing allergy tests, because a chronic allergic reaction could also mimic all this clinical scenario.
Hope to have been helpful!
Wishing all the best,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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