Pulsating, Roaring Tinnitus

[Crazycat]

Hello and happy close-to-the-end-of-January everyone!

  My mission at the moment is to compain about that feeling of fullness in the deaf ear accompanied with pulsating blood and roaring tinnitus that never abates. This is also accompanied with spiking blood pressure. It's distressing and it's driving me crazy - especially at night when I'm trying to relax and sleep. Through-out my life I've always been thin and had low blood pressure with a high metabolism. It seems that my surgeries have short-circuited my biochemistry. I eat right: Whole grains, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, with the proper supplements every day. I've been religiously jogging for almost ten years. Now that I'm in a warmer climate, I'm cycling almost every day as well. I'm weight training as well and always have. I'll sit down with one of those portable, home blood pressure monitors and check myself : 173/99!!!! Yikes!!! And this is when I'm relaxed. I had to take a sleeping pill to put myself down last night. My blood pressure was 110/70 upon awakening - which was consoling.
   It's not the fullness, the deafness, or even the constant, roaring tinnitus that's bothering me. It's just that persistant, almost audible throbbing in my head - like Poe's "Telltale Heart" - that makes me feel like I'm going to blow a gasket that's plaguing me. I know we've discussed this subject in the past
but I think it's serious enough to warrant additional corroboration and discussion.

     Take care,  Paul

[Mark]

Bruce,

be careful  with the Prinivil. I went on it about a year ago ( AKA lisinopril) for mild hypertension after resisting it for years. It is a very well established ACE inhibitor but is also known to create an allergic reaction which usually manifests in a dry cough in about 20-25% of the folks taking it. I had no problems with it but started with a cough before the holidays and was accompanied by an intermittent sore throat. After toughing it about for a couple of weeks I went to my GP who treated it like a viral problem ( which was reasonable). It didn't get better for another two weeks and the throat problems got so bad at night I had trouble sleeping. Frustrated after 4 weeks, he took me off the lisinopril last Monday to see what would happen. Things did not improve for the first few days and the throat got worse. I actually had the air ducts in the house cleaned thinking it was allergens in the house. I started taking some Benadryl that Thursday and the throat problem disappeared almost right awayby Sunday I had stopped taking the benadryl and the coughing and everything was resolved. As he had projected after about a week for the Lisinopril to get out of my system, and there you go. I went to a PDR and read about Prinivil and discovered the answer for the sore throat, angioedema, a swelling of the larynx, tongue, etc which can occur at any time during treatment as an allergic reaction. Not only did I finally develop the cough, I got the angioedema bonus a year after starting it. I was only on a 10mg dose BTW. So now he wants me to go on Diovan which is an ARB. We'll see what happens with that.

Bottom line keep an eye on the prinivil  , drugs , you gotta love them 

Mark

[amymeri]

ACE cough is a side effect of the ACE inhibitors but they are still one of my favorite blood pressure medications.  Have they discussed putting either of you on a diuretic?  Blood pressure problems can increase tinnitus as can some medications.

I would keep a written record of your blood pressures and see your doctor soon.  I do think that neurosugery can change your body chemistry, affect your vagal nerve and as a result affect things like BP.

[Battyp]

Bruce I didn't read all of Marks post but will tell you that after my surgery they put me on 4 different bp meds once being lisinopril and it was keeping my throat aggravated.  The dry cough doens't go away or at least didn't for me. I went off the meds but was recently put back on a bp med...the doctor suggested lisinopril again and then went oh nope not with the throat stuff.  I've always had good bp paul until my surgery and was fine for a while after coming off the surgery meds but started creeping back up.  169/111  YIKES.  It took about two weeks on bp meds to bring it back in check.  I've been told a chinese doc can help with herbs and I know there are some other things you can do naturally to bring it down.  I'll double check what I read when I can read straight.

[Crazycat]

Yes BP,

   My Primary care doctor prescribed the Lisinopril as well as a dehydrating drug, hydro something or other. Both of which I initially had filled but refused to take. (Both of those scripts are filled, sitting on a bookshelf in my room back home in Massachusetts while I'm here in Florida) I thought the high blood pressure diagnosis was a bit premature for somebody like me. I dutifully went out and bought one of those Omron BP monitors to check it myself everyday and prove him wrong. I kept a log and obsessively kept tabs on my numbers, writing them down every day. I even brought the log book to appointments with my other doctors. One of them, Dr. McKenna, my ENT, even said, "They look like my numbers". My numbers were really good for the most part with occasional spikes brought on by stress or excitement, only to level off again right away. Eventually, My PCP looked at the book and said, "You can stop doing it now. You're okay in that area". I even remember last April when I went in for an upper endoscopy. I was laying there, waiting to go in for the procedure and they took my blood pressure. It came back 120/80. I couldn't believe it. Typically, people have high readings just visiting with a doctor. This is referred to as "white coat syndrome". And there I was about to have a rather distressing, invasive procedure done and my blood pressure was normal.

       Now here I am about a year later and I'm freaking out. I went cycling for ten miles this afternoon. I came back and we went out to eat. After dinner the distressing pulsing/whooshing is back in my head. I went out at 11:30 tonight and jogged for three miles; came back and did 50 pull-ups.
Guess what? It's gone away and I feel relaxed. Maybe I need a tranquilizer? Endorphins are a wonderful thing. I hate taking drugs of any kind, really.
The whining, whooshing tinnitus never stops though.

      Paul

[Joef]

The "T" is our own build in BP monitor!! .. you can always tell the BP is up with the T spikes.. 

Paul I agree the first course of action should NOT be pills but good diet and exersize .. and you have that!
I get tired just reading you exersizes  , but when the BP spikes -- I would not discount taking the meds for
a short time to bring the BP back in line ..

poor thing, jogging in sunny florida in short and t shirts --- while we are up here in 10 degree weather!!

I tring to cut down on the coffee to bring my own T a little lower (and BP).. so far it has not worked .. but at least I'm down
to 1-2 cups in the morning ... (I used to drink it all day like water) I'll give it another month like this .. and come March I'll
give coffee and caffene up totally ..

[nancyann]

Hi everyone:

I get the pulsating tinnitus lately & it seems to run dead center at the back of my head.  At the same time I've got the tinnitus going constantly
in the right ear (AN side).

I also started on Lisinopril 20 mg daily post op - my BP was way high (168/118, consistently in the hospital). Never had BP problems before. I've got the dry cough
usually once a day I'll start coughing uncontrollably (i also smoke - I know, bad girl, but this cough is different).
Been on the Lisinopril for about 6 months.  Still thinking about if I want to change to another med.   A doctor I work with had the same
problem, she finally switched from Lisinopril to Avapro. 

[MLB57]

Hi Paul--we met at Fall NE brunch--sorry to hear about the pulsating--that would unnerve me as well. I know right after I had my surgery at UMassMed ctr Jan 2001 (1 cm rt AN) I had elevated BP (didn't before to my knowledge) and my PCP Nurse practitioner struggled with me thru all the BP meds (I seem to have side-effects from them all) until now I am taking Norvasc (calcium channel blocker) amd can tolerate it and like you I have a good BP monitor. I never had the pulsating noise, though. In fact until I got dizzy a few times and went to ER finally I realized this BP needed meds--wouldn't go away simply with diet/exercise. Anyway, my AN is re-growing and Dr Lee at UMassMed Ctr wants me to see Dr Barker at Mass Genral before I decide on treatment--(I was all set for Gamma and I still probably will have that). Anything you can tell me about Dr Barker would be appreciated... Take care, Mary from MA  (looking forward to our spring Maxwell's get-together)...

[Crazycat]

Hello Mary!

  Yes, I remember you well! Sorry to hear of the regrowth.
 All I can tell you of Dr. Barker is that he's considered one of the best neurosurgeons around. I can tell you the course of action he may recommend for you if you do see him: Gamma or radiation. This what he told me to expect in the event of regrowth. So, if your regrowth is still small - under 1 cm -
I'm sure that this will be the treatment he may prescribe.

                                              Paul

[krbonner]

Anyway, my AN is re-growing and Dr Lee at UMassMed Ctr wants me to see Dr Barker at Mass Genral before I decide on treatment--(I was all set for Gamma and I still probably will have that). Anything you can tell me about Dr Barker would be appreciated... Take care, Mary from MA  (looking forward to our spring Maxwell's get-together)...

Hi, Mary!

As Paul said, Dr. Barker is an excellent neurosurgeon with tons of AN experience.  Definitely an expert.  When meeting with him, I've found him willing to take his time and answer all my questions (though he's always running at least an hour late).  He doesn't present a warm, fuzzy personality but he knows what he's doing.  His assistant/organizer/secretary (Milli), however, has a problem with follow-through.  If you need her to do anything (send paperwork, make appts, etc.) you need to stay on her until it gets done or it tends to get lost in the shuffle.

Katie

[MLB57]

Hi Paul and Katie--Thanks for your info--My son's bride to be's mother, Kathy, will accompany me to Mass Gen to see Dr Barker (what a wonderful family my son David is marrying in to!!). I am thankful also for all the caring folks who regularly share their experiences and knowledge in this ANA forum--and am looking forwrd to our NE brunch again!!!  Take care now!!!  Regards, Mary...

[Crazycat]

Thanks and good luck with everything Mary!! Say hi to Dr. Barker for me if you remember!
See you at the brunch!


    Paul

[Crazycat]

Horrible tinnitus tonight. Thought I'd move this one up for discussion.


Paul

[nancyann]

Hi Paul: I know the feeling - sometimes I feel like there's a tinnitus symphony going on in my head,
           hear it in my ear, dead center at the back of my head (that's where it pulsates).
           Can't pinpoint it to doing/not doing something, it just comes on like gangbusters !

[Boppie]

Hi tinnitus sufferers,  I just returned from a week in Rockport, Texas.  The weather there is unique, very damp, muggy, and smooshie every morning this week.  Also, we had a huge storm, lightening and wind and stuff blowing around.  The tinnitus has been awful for me for the past three days.  I had to ask my husband to turn down the tv a whole bunch of times.  Too bad.  The only remedy I had was wearing an orange ear plug for a break.  I count my blessings, the eyes haven't rebelled, I still enjoy meals, tinnitus or not.