Pravastatin Sodium

[franceslee]

I was recently prescribed this medication for cholesterol, doc said my good was low and bad was high.  Does anyone know much about this medication? Side effects? Or things to expect while taking it?  Thanks for any advice!!

[erijon]

She wants you on meds because your TGL is too high, your LDL is way too high and your HDL is way too low. She has determined that medical intervention is necessary to get your numbers to a safe level. She has weighed the benefits to the risk and determined it is the best course of treatment for you.

You have classic metabolic X syndrome and you need treatment. The pills alone won't necessarily get you where you need to be, you will also need to change your lifestyle to include diet and exercise. It is very important that you get this under control before it does any damage to your arteries. If you could control it with diet and exercise, my guess is you would have by now. Have you discussed your concern with her?

Jon

[franceslee]

im confused as to why she wants me to go on meds.....my cholesterol has always been good but the last test I had my total cholesterol was 227; triglyerides 163; hdl 38; vldl 33 and ldl 161.

I would think I could improve that with proper diet and exercise, what is your advice on that??!!

Thanks for the help!!

[erijon]

This is a simple statin, it is very safe with a risk of side effects between 2% and 4% depending who you listen too and only .02% of serious side effects. These numbers make this a very safe drug.

Look here for more;

"Pravastatin is generally well tolerated; adverse reactions have usually been mild and transient. In 4 month-long placebo-controlled trials, 1.7% of Pravastatin-treated patients and 1.2% of placebo-treated patients were discontinued from treatment because of adverse experiences attributed to study drug therapy; this difference was not statistically significant.

6.1 Adverse Clinical Events

Short-Term Controlled Trials

In the Pravastatin sodium placebo-controlled clinical trials database of 1313 patients (age range 20 to 76 years, 32.4% women, 93.5% Caucasians, 5% Blacks, 0.9% Hispanics, 0.4% Asians, 0.2% Others) with a median treatment duration of 14 weeks, 3.3% of patients on Pravastatin sodium and 1.2% patients on placebo discontinued due to adverse events regardless of causality. The most common adverse reactions that led to treatment discontinuation and occurred at an incidence greater than placebo were: liver function test increased, nausea, anxiety/depression, and dizziness."

Hope this helps.............

Jon