Sunday, November 29, 2009
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Health
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In 2006 I was prescribed Avandia for my nascent diabetes. Avandia was a fairly new drug at that time, and my well-informed doctor felt that it was a promising treatment. I started taking Avandia on March 9th. Around March 16th or 17th I started hearing hissing in my ears (i.e., tinnitus). I also occasionally heard a chirping noise. My mother had had tinnitus for years and had described to me the horrors of it on more than one occasion. However, I assumed that the tinnitus I was having was a temporary side-effect of the drug, so I continued taking it. (I should add that, interestingly enough, I wasn't seeing a significant reduction in my blood sugar numbers while taking the Avandia.) By March 19th to 20th, I was definitely hearing the tinnitus quite a bit. Then, on March 25th, it occurred to me that the tinnitus might NOT be a temporary side-effect, and I stopped taking it immediately. Well, the tinnitus didn't go away. It has persisted at the same high level for the last 3-1/2 years, and I am certain that it is now permanent.
My opinion is that the Avandia gave me the tinnitus. Glaxo-SmithKline, the manufacturer, would undoubtedly say that this was simply a coincidence; but I have not been able to identify any other factor or change in my life that would have brought on tinnitus within ten days. One of the reasons I believe that Avandia caused the tinnitus was that my doctor had given me some free samples of Avandia the year before. I had taken the free samples for just three days. After that time, I noticed that I had a very slight hissing in my ears which I could hear only when it was very quiet, but which hadn't been there before. At that time, however, I didn't make the connection between the new hissing and the Avandia samples. But the hissing that I have in my ears now, since taking Avandia for that 17-day period, is anything but slight. There have been times when I have heard it over some very loud sounds, including jets flying over my apartment building. Almost every day I am bothered by it. At times it is maddening, like what I imagine the Chinese water torture would be like. I haven't, as some people said I would, gotten used to it and stopped noticing it. Fortunately, it isn't always very loud. It is loudest when I have been eating milk products.
Since 2006 Avandia has been implicated in increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack, and I believe that most doctors have stopped prescribing it. I should say also that I am the only person that I know who has -- again, in my opinion -- gotten tinnitus from Avandia, so it is obviously not a common reaction. Nonetheless, this episode is a good example of why it may be unwise to take a new drug. Three years later, another doctor prescribed Metformin for me, a drug which has been around for years and is thoroughly "vetted" (for lack of a better word). Although Metformin initially caused me some severe intestinal problems (which subsided), it immediately caused a 50-point drop in my blood sugar readings, and it has caused me no other problems.
So my advice to my readers is: (1) Avoid Avandia, and (2) stick to tried-and-true treatments, and don't demand the latest drugs from your doctor.
My opinion is that the Avandia gave me the tinnitus. Glaxo-SmithKline, the manufacturer, would undoubtedly say that this was simply a coincidence; but I have not been able to identify any other factor or change in my life that would have brought on tinnitus within ten days. One of the reasons I believe that Avandia caused the tinnitus was that my doctor had given me some free samples of Avandia the year before. I had taken the free samples for just three days. After that time, I noticed that I had a very slight hissing in my ears which I could hear only when it was very quiet, but which hadn't been there before. At that time, however, I didn't make the connection between the new hissing and the Avandia samples. But the hissing that I have in my ears now, since taking Avandia for that 17-day period, is anything but slight. There have been times when I have heard it over some very loud sounds, including jets flying over my apartment building. Almost every day I am bothered by it. At times it is maddening, like what I imagine the Chinese water torture would be like. I haven't, as some people said I would, gotten used to it and stopped noticing it. Fortunately, it isn't always very loud. It is loudest when I have been eating milk products.
Since 2006 Avandia has been implicated in increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack, and I believe that most doctors have stopped prescribing it. I should say also that I am the only person that I know who has -- again, in my opinion -- gotten tinnitus from Avandia, so it is obviously not a common reaction. Nonetheless, this episode is a good example of why it may be unwise to take a new drug. Three years later, another doctor prescribed Metformin for me, a drug which has been around for years and is thoroughly "vetted" (for lack of a better word). Although Metformin initially caused me some severe intestinal problems (which subsided), it immediately caused a 50-point drop in my blood sugar readings, and it has caused me no other problems.
So my advice to my readers is: (1) Avoid Avandia, and (2) stick to tried-and-true treatments, and don't demand the latest drugs from your doctor.
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