Pravastatin sodium refers to a medication that blocks enzymes and is prescribed to lower triglycerides and high cholesterol. Available in generic form, it is under the drug category of statins, which inhibit the liver’s cholesterol production. A lot of side effects come with this drug and must be watched out for.

Licensed for the treatment of various conditions, pravastatin sodium can also be used to prevent heart-related problems like heart disease. This drug is perfect for people who are not able to lower their cholesterol though personal lifestyle changes as it can lower both kinds of cholesterol along with triglyceride levels, which are the primary fat storage of the human body.

Pravastatin sodium can also lower any chances of getting heart disease, if you have high cholesterol without coronary heart disease. If this is the case, your chances will lower of getting a heart attack, dying from heart-related problems and needing heart procedures. It can even lower the chances of getting certain conditions in those who suffer from heart disease, such as a stroke or a heart attack. It also lowers the rate in which atherosclerosis comes about in people who already have heart disease.

Within clinical research that focused on pravastatin, side effects came about in more than 5% of the participants and these effects included diarrhea, common cold, headache, vomiting and nausea. Side effects that were less common included fatigue, dizziness, gas, constipation, indigestion and heartburn.

Pravastatin also has several side effects sometimes that need immediate notifications to a doctor. These would include liver damage signs; muscle weakness, pain, or tenderness; muscle aches; memory loss; significant and unexplained changes in produced urine; as well as allergic reaction signs like rashes, hives, itching; difficulty breathing or wheezing; and throat, mouth, or tongue swelling.

As with every kind of statin, pravastatin sodium could bring about muscle aches, though they are usually only temporary and do not come with any more serious symptoms. However, such drugs could also bring about myopathy; this refers to when muscle fibers lose their function and get weak. Statins are also related to life-threatening conditions like rhabdomyolysis that could lead to kidney damage. Since pravastatin affects the liver to lower the production of cholesterol, it could produce side effects within the liver, too, and will show through jaundice, extreme fatigue, dark urine, persistent nausea and abdominal pain. Very rarely, people will suffer from memory loss, but this is extremely rare that researchers have not given the two a definite connection.

It would be possible for you to experience several of these side effects of pravastatin sodium or none at all. Sadly, doctors will not be able to tell beforehand if you will get these side effects unless you have taken the medicine in the past. So, make sure that your doctor knows if you experience any of them or if something seems wrong as you take the drug. Although it might not turn out to be side effects, your doctor can find out what the problem really is and treat it anyway.