Repatha as a treatment for high HDL Cholesterol

Posted by sue225 @sue225, May 7, 2019

Think I have posted this before but no feedback as of yet. Very interested in hearing from people who are on Repatha (evoculomab) to treat their high LDL levels. I am one of those patients.

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My cholesterol is ideal since i quit statins and added cinnamon to my diet. My regular doctor does not believe it. But it was a suggestion of another doctor. My arteries were all clear for my open heart surgery. My surgery was needed for removal of a benign tumor which was a once in 10years event for him personally. My experience supports the cinnamon recommendation. At my request during surgery the maze was performed which limited my AF from a frequent to a seldom visitor. The maze procedure was easier to perform because the arteries did not require any time. I swear that my spouse and i have managed to eliminate use of statins with cinnamon.

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@sue225

My doctor did suggest that but I keep hesitating. When the Repatha nurse from Amgen gave me an injection lesson it was with the thigh. Okay, maybe this week, I'll do the stomach. Thanks.

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Be sure to let the Repatha "warm up" a bit before injecting. I have found that upper leg is much better than pinching belly area. I was getting bruising and marks that lasted months in belly area. I have had limited success, and will be talking to my doctor soon to stop the medication. Ezetimibe has been a miracle drug for me with overnight success after years of fighting hereditary cholesterol.

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I had gi side effects from Ezetimibe. So, its been a godsend for me that Repatha came along. My high cholesterol had gone untreated for too long. I dont consider that not very long lasting pain from injecting a big deal. AndvI do leave the needle out of the frig for 30 min+ before administering. I am grateful that there is a drug I can take! Glad Ezetimibe works for you.
And have a feeling will be my right leg tomorrow!

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@sue225

Repatha is not a statin. It's other name is evolocumab. It is a biologic. It is given by injection every two weeks.

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I use Pushtronix, the once a month Repatha injection.

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I feel "wonky" and off for about 24 hours after I inject. I try to schedule nothing important on injection day. It has brought my LDL down 100 points. I do worry about side effects, and frequent UTIs may be attributed to Repatha.

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@sue225

Repatha is not a statin. It's other name is evolocumab. It is a biologic. It is given by injection every two weeks.

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I am in my third week of repatha. I cannot take statins. I’m 76 and been fighting this for many years.

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I read that repatha may actually clear out plaque, not just reduce numbers.

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@cepheid815

My cholesterol is ideal since i quit statins and added cinnamon to my diet. My regular doctor does not believe it. But it was a suggestion of another doctor. My arteries were all clear for my open heart surgery. My surgery was needed for removal of a benign tumor which was a once in 10years event for him personally. My experience supports the cinnamon recommendation. At my request during surgery the maze was performed which limited my AF from a frequent to a seldom visitor. The maze procedure was easier to perform because the arteries did not require any time. I swear that my spouse and i have managed to eliminate use of statins with cinnamon.

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How do you use the cinnamon, what kind, how much? You're not the first person I've heard use this successfully.

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I also take Repatha instead of traditional statins. I am glad there is another alternative except for the high cost of the drug. Even with a good Medicare plan it still costs me over $100 per month.
I have found that doing the injections in the thigh works the best for me to prevent bruising.

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@llynch17056

I read that repatha may actually clear out plaque, not just reduce numbers.

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I had an appointment with my cardiologist this week and asked whether it’s true that lowering the LDL below 70 would start to reverse arterial blockage and if so, how. Here’s what he said:

Yes, absolutely. When you have a cut, your body immediately goes into healing mode and in just a few days, the cut is usually well healed. If every day you beat on that cut, your body would be spending its effort to fix what you damaged by beating the wound and not the wound itself.

In a similar way, when you lower LDL, your body will stop fighting it and will start to smooth and harden the plaque in your arteries. This lowers the risk of a piece of soft plaque breaking off, causing a heart attack, stroke, or other event and overall, lowers the risk of a cardiac event. Over a very long time, at glacial speeds, the hardened plaque will actually get smaller, but he noted one might have to live to 150 to see the difference.

Lipitor has lowered my LDL from 252 to 109 and Repatha lowered that again to 27. Fingers crossed here

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