1. < Aging Well
Profile picture for gussie

Starting on Repatha

Posted by gussie @gussie, Dec 15, 2025

At the beginning of the year my cardio wants me to start the injectables of Repatha. I have tried every statin for the last 3 years and have had some sort of side effect with each one. I also suffer from IBS-D and the first side effect listed is diarrhea. Once it's in your body for a month you could have side effects for awhile. Is anyone on the alternative for cholesterol problems?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Aging Well Support Group.

Profile picture for kjoed53
kjoed53 | @kjoed53 | Apr 13 8:32am
In reply to @dacquistapace "@dacquistapace Thank you for asking. I have been on Repatha now for eight months now with..." + (show)
Profile picture for dacquistapace @dacquistapace

@dacquistapace Thank you for asking. I have been on Repatha now for eight months now with no side effects. I asked my cardiologist in February if it would be possible for my cholesterol to rise above his desired level for me (total < 150 and LDL< 70). His response was, "Possibly, if you ate bacon with every meal." I have kept my plant based diet as a main staple but have allowed myself one meal a day with animal protein. I have also included back into my diet olive oil, avocados, nuts, and hard Italian cheeses--pecorino Romano and parmesan reggiano. I had eliminated all of those along with animal protein when I was on the Ornish Reversal diet. I was able to get my total cholesterol down to 168 on that diet and my LDL down from the 150's to 108, however, that was not low enough given my familial hyperlipidemia. Also, it was very difficult to stay with such a limited diet for life. So, I am getting another blood test in the next month or two and will see what my cholesterol is doing at that time. If it has gone up, I would most likely choose to cut back to eating animal protein two to three times a week instead of once a day. I would prefer to keep the plant based fats from avocado, nuts, and olive oil because the health benefits are substantial.

Jump to this post

@dacquistapace
Do you have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol? How are your arteries? I have the genetic predisposition but my arteries are clear, minimal plaque for my age (73 yo male). I have no intention of depriving myself of the occasional bacon, cold cuts sandwich, hamburger, steak or anything else that I enjoy eating unless my arteries give me reason to do so. My cardiologist is open to discuss any of this and is being realistic with me. Worry is one of the biggest detriments to good health.

REPLY
Profile picture for dacquistapace
dacquistapace | @dacquistapace | Apr 13 9:21am

Yes, I have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol and had 4 stents put in at age 69. Have you had an angiogram? The reason I ask is that I passed a nuclear stress test and they did not see any signs of blockage at that time. When I had the angiogram was when they found three areas of blockage in my arteries of 60%, 70%, and 90%. Here is my previous post on that:

I was unlucky in the roll of the genetic dice in that my father was 100% Northern Italian and he had the apo A-I Milano gene. His cholesterol never went above 130 his entire life, and he exercised very little and ate whatever he liked. I have heterozygous hyperlipidemia inherited from my mother. Her cholesterol was 300+ most of her adult life, and like me, she could not tolerate statins.

As you can imagine, I am thrilled to be on Repatha and am only disappointed that it was not available when I was in my mid forties; it might have saved me from having four stents.

From my last lipid panel, Dec 15, 2025:
Cholesterol 108
Triglycerides 84
HDL 50
VLDL Calculated 17
LDL Calculated 41
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio 2.2
LDL/HDL Ratio 0.8

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for gcgc
gcgc | @gcgc | Apr 14 7:58am
In reply to @dacquistapace "Yes, I have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol and had 4 stents put in at..." + (show)
Profile picture for dacquistapace @dacquistapace

Yes, I have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol and had 4 stents put in at age 69. Have you had an angiogram? The reason I ask is that I passed a nuclear stress test and they did not see any signs of blockage at that time. When I had the angiogram was when they found three areas of blockage in my arteries of 60%, 70%, and 90%. Here is my previous post on that:

I was unlucky in the roll of the genetic dice in that my father was 100% Northern Italian and he had the apo A-I Milano gene. His cholesterol never went above 130 his entire life, and he exercised very little and ate whatever he liked. I have heterozygous hyperlipidemia inherited from my mother. Her cholesterol was 300+ most of her adult life, and like me, she could not tolerate statins.

As you can imagine, I am thrilled to be on Repatha and am only disappointed that it was not available when I was in my mid forties; it might have saved me from having four stents.

From my last lipid panel, Dec 15, 2025:
Cholesterol 108
Triglycerides 84
HDL 50
VLDL Calculated 17
LDL Calculated 41
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio 2.2
LDL/HDL Ratio 0.8

Jump to this post

@dacquistapace Thank you for sharing those are great numbers. Congrat's. I need to get on it asap but I am afraid of shots plus I have to do it myself so it's been a no go so far.

REPLY
Profile picture for dacquistapace
dacquistapace | @dacquistapace | Apr 14 9:27am

I completely understand about the shots issue. My neighbor across the street was given a prescription for Repatha and she left it in her refrigerator for 6 months because she was afraid of the shot. She ended up on a very high dose statin that is working for her, but her numbers are not near what I am seeing. I do not know if she has side effects from the statins. I tried my stomach in the beginning but had trouble getting a pinch of skin with enough fat to make it work comfortably. I have always been lean and muscular. So, I switched to my thighs, and even though they are muscular, I was able to find areas fatty enough on the insides and outsides to make it work. I do not pinch the skin on the thighs but rather press down and spread it between two fingers on my left hand. I give the shot with my right hand. You can see this demonstrated on multiple YouTube videos. I also have designated eight areas to inject so that there are 16 weeks between each shot on a single area to make sure it is totally healed. I put it on my calendar every two weeks: upper and lower, inner and outer, right and left, for a total of eight locations. As far as the shot the sting is less than a flu shot and very short and quick, I think about 3 seconds before the injector pen empties completely and clicks to indicate it is finished. The reason it does not sting as much as the flu shot is because it is not an intramuscular injection, it is a subcutaneous injection. So, you want to have a bit of fat directly under the needle to absorb the injection without getting it directly into the muscle. The only time it has stung like a flu shot was when I accidentally hit muscle. The shot will still work through muscle but it is more effective subcutaneously. Otherwise, it's always a light sting that usually goes away in 15 or 20 minutes. I hope this helps!

REPLY
Profile picture for gussie
gussie | @gussie | Apr 14 10:31am

I don't mind shots I have to give myself infusions once a week that are subcutaneous . I have a condition called CVID. Common Variable Immuno Depression. A lighter version of the Boy in the Bubble. My body doesn't make antibodies to viruses or bacteria infections so I do infusions of other peoples antibodies through blood plasma IgG gammaglobulin. I use my stomach for two little needles connected to tubes until it's all delivered which takes about two hours. I don't want to wear out my stomach so I will try my thighs first.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.