Started Repatha - Side Effects

Posted by HomeAgainLA @llynch17056, Mar 21 5:42pm

I had terrible side effects with statins (any statin, any dosage). For about 30 years my doctors have pushed statins and
I have resisted. Finally I agreed to Repatha. The first week I had zero side effects. With my second dose, 2 weeks in, i woke up and my joints and muscles hurt a LOT.
1. Does this side effect go away?
2. What do you know about the recent information that the Repatha trials underreporting deaths from cardiac events while taking Repatha.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.

I'm approaching 6 months on Repatha with no side effects.

I saw something about the trials but have not seen enough on it to have an opinion.

Here's another way to look at this: we're all test subjects right now and it will take many years to know the long term effects from these new drugs. Around 20+ years ago, I was in the original niacin trial. Niacin raises HDL and lowers LDL; has to be good, right? We took 3000 mg daily of Niaspan, and after the trial, I took this for years. Just a few years ago, my doctor abruptly stopped me from taking it as it's now known that the long term effects are an increase in cardiovascular events, even though the HDL and LDL numbers looked better. Something else was going on.

Repatha has lowered my LDL to 27 (from 109) and my Lipoprotein B from 125 to 40, so short term, looks good. I'm hoping my taking this helps my kids, as they both have the inherited high cholesterol gene, and medicine will learn more as we go forward.

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I'd like to invite @manisham, @artistanne, @rdeel55, @cautiousoptimism, and @sue225 to this discussion to share their experiences with Repatha and any side-effects (short or long-term) they had. Many of them shared their experience in the "Repatha as a treatment for high cholesterol" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/repatha-as-a-treatment-for-high-hdl-cholesterol-1/, discussion.

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@agb

I'm approaching 6 months on Repatha with no side effects.

I saw something about the trials but have not seen enough on it to have an opinion.

Here's another way to look at this: we're all test subjects right now and it will take many years to know the long term effects from these new drugs. Around 20+ years ago, I was in the original niacin trial. Niacin raises HDL and lowers LDL; has to be good, right? We took 3000 mg daily of Niaspan, and after the trial, I took this for years. Just a few years ago, my doctor abruptly stopped me from taking it as it's now known that the long term effects are an increase in cardiovascular events, even though the HDL and LDL numbers looked better. Something else was going on.

Repatha has lowered my LDL to 27 (from 109) and my Lipoprotein B from 125 to 40, so short term, looks good. I'm hoping my taking this helps my kids, as they both have the inherited high cholesterol gene, and medicine will learn more as we go forward.

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3+ months on Pushtronix Repatha. No noticeable side effects. LDL down to 9, APOb 16, Trig 36, HDL 55, Lp(a) < 8. Hoping it will help my advanced CAD. Used Niacin 3g per day for many yrs based on Mayo prescription. No measurable effect on CAD.

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@agb

I'm approaching 6 months on Repatha with no side effects.

I saw something about the trials but have not seen enough on it to have an opinion.

Here's another way to look at this: we're all test subjects right now and it will take many years to know the long term effects from these new drugs. Around 20+ years ago, I was in the original niacin trial. Niacin raises HDL and lowers LDL; has to be good, right? We took 3000 mg daily of Niaspan, and after the trial, I took this for years. Just a few years ago, my doctor abruptly stopped me from taking it as it's now known that the long term effects are an increase in cardiovascular events, even though the HDL and LDL numbers looked better. Something else was going on.

Repatha has lowered my LDL to 27 (from 109) and my Lipoprotein B from 125 to 40, so short term, looks good. I'm hoping my taking this helps my kids, as they both have the inherited high cholesterol gene, and medicine will learn more as we go forward.

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Thank you for such a thought out response. You are right. After my hysterectomy over 30 years ago my doctor insisted that I take hormone replacement. He said it would be “good” for me. Then years later he said to get off of it right away due to the breast cancer revelation. I’ve been on Effexor for over 10 years only to recently find out it caused my rapid bone loss. After my second dose of Repatha I had strong side effects the next day (yesterday) today they aren’t as severe. I hope that’s a sign that it won’t keep being bad. i'm 76 i don't want to spend my last years feeling bad just to add a couple of years to my life, if it even will add a couple of years.

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@laketahoebob

3+ months on Pushtronix Repatha. No noticeable side effects. LDL down to 9, APOb 16, Trig 36, HDL 55, Lp(a) < 8. Hoping it will help my advanced CAD. Used Niacin 3g per day for many yrs based on Mayo prescription. No measurable effect on CAD.

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I read that Repatha might actually improve any blockage rather than just prevent it from getting worse like stations do.

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Hope so because my CAD is very advanced. However, unstable plaque is probably worse than stenosis. Hopefully Repatha also help reduce inflammation.

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@llynch17056

What is CAD stand for?

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Coronary Artery Disease, Atheroscerolis Plaque in the coronary arteries.

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I am still on Repatha with marvelous results after using it for over two years. My doctor is thrilled. The muscle cramps that I endured before being graced with Repatha are a thing of the past.

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Repatha caused my muscle and joint pain. I’m hoping it’s temporary. When I took statins I had to stop because the painful side effects did not go away.

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