Evolocumab for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction User Reviews (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 20, 2019

"I have been taking Repatha for 3 and 1/2 months. At first, I was fine, my cholesterol went down, and by the third month, I was getting blurred vision, headaches, severe fatigue, burning in the feet, and muscle pain in the back of my neck. It's gotten to the point where I can't even work. I'm so, so tired, short of breath, wheezing, and urinating a lot. Although my cholesterol went down, it's not worth taking Repatha if there's no quality of life for me."

• igo...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 17, 2020

"I am 73. Had 1st heart attack and bypass surgery at age 47 and the second bypass at 69. I felt well after the first bypass, but not so after the second: heart pain, feeling of being unwell, sick, couldn't walk up a slope. LDL was about 140 with the use of Pravastatin. My wonderful cardiologist decided to try Repatha. Now, after 3 years, I feel way better, don't have heart pain, and can work up the hill, exercise 5 times a week. My LDL went to below 10, but HDL increased from 32 to 44. Repatha is a lifesaver for me. No detectable side effects."

• AMS...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 10, 2019

"One injection, and I am not going to take it again. First chills, then horrible muscle pain in upper chest and neck. Gained 6 lbs in two weeks. Put me on edge. Still suffering. Woke up in the middle of the night with more pains. Only a painkiller helped. I do not believe in the LDL theory anyway."

• JJa...
• September 19, 2019

"The day after taking Repatha, my blood sugar soared to 450, just days after a 6.2 A1C result. The worst part is that when I reported this to my cardiologist, the reaction was, 'Gee, we did not know that was a side effect.' The same response came from the Cardiology department. Hard to fathom that they didn't know about a side effect that is listed on the reaptha.com website in plain English. Tells you something about how informed the doctors are - and we rely on their knowledge. Funny, just after my experience, Repatha's price dropped... that pretty much tells the tale."

• Jod...
• June 3, 2019

"HORRIBLE DRUG. Took only 2 shots, 2 weeks apart and am having horrible side effects. Should never have taken the second shot as I already had side effects after 4 days but was told by my cardiologist that they weren't life-threatening and I should take the 2nd shot. Worst mistake! I have a burning sensation in the bones of my hands, knees, feet. It wakes me up from a sound sleep. Also have blurred vision, totally fatigued, brain confusion, itchy, and stomach problems. Was told by a nurse at Amgen that it can take up to 120 days to detox. Hopefully everything will go back to normal after that, but reading up on some other comments it may not be so!"

• Rcr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 12, 2019

"I took three doses of Repatha on a two-week regimen as instructed. Within several weeks, I began having severe right-side gastrointestinal issues. My liver enzymes shot up quickly. The doctor indicated that this was not from Repatha. However, after 69 years, I do not believe in coincidence. I stopped the drug, and to date, the enzymes are slowly declining. However, I have severe pain. Fourteen blood tests, an MRI, two ultrasounds, and a CT scan in a five-week period show a few cysts but nothing major. The pain is so rough that I will have an endoscopy next week. While I am thrilled that the tests have looked good, I remain quite concerned because of the constant pain. There is no way to determine if Repatha is the culprit. However, I will state again that this all started within days of starting this drug."

• Jam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 27, 2018

"I commented about 10 weeks back. First week, a few minor blips, but after the second week, a background flu thing going on. I also noticed exacerbation pain of many old injuries. After the second injection, I began to deteriorate. I noticed some mild difficulty swallowing and a feeling of fullness very quickly with meals. The flu feeling got much worse, and I started to get a general arthralgia. After the third injection, I was in trouble with backache, burning when urinating, diarrhea, back pain, tenderness in all muscle groups, and my heart was skipping beats. I felt absolutely dreadful, my consultant stopped Repatha immediately. He declared cogently (urgently) that this reaction was not common. I do have a rare genetic muscle disorder which is subtle. He is just not confident to say that Repatha had caused the problems, but did agree that it may be linked. I can only say that my experience with Repatha was dreadful. Will update second time around. Best, Jim."

• TIN...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 10, 2018

"I had 7 injections of Repatha because I could not tolerate oral statins. It lowered my cholesterol and LDL, and HDL went up. Developed stomach and intestinal pain so severe I had to go off of the necessary meds, e.g., Plavix and aspirin after 5 stents and had to go to the ER. The cardiologist asked me to stop Repatha."

• Fru...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2018

"49-year-old male that had STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) heart attack. Two stents placed in LAD and RCA arteries. Hypothyroid, diabetes, high cholesterol, HTN. Treated 2 years ago with statin drugs and had a serious reaction. Started with paranoia and mood disorder. Stopped the statin drug for 3 weeks and was placed on another statin drug and suffered from full-blown psychosis. As of this day, he still has to take antipsychotic meds. So my concern was starting Repatha and going through these same symptoms. The nurse assured me he should not have that type of reaction. Well, after the first dose of Repatha, I thought everything was good. Some paranoia returning but subsided as the drug began to wear off. For the second dose after two weeks, paranoia has returned. Will consult family practitioner and cardiologist before the next dose. If this drug has the same rare side effects as statin and not reversal, I will seek an attorney."

• Joe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 1, 2019

"I have to admit it definitely lowered my cholesterol. But the side effects were unbearable for me. I suffered from unbelievable back pain. I do have a bad back. But it doesn’t cause me many issues. But after my third injection, the back pain was unbelievable. So I didn’t do another injection and took about a month to get out of my system. The back pain was completely gone. So I decided to give it another shot. I did another injection, and within about four days, the back pain came on with a vengeance. I have read many other people complain about this. It seems to affect people with bad backs."

• Sun...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 27, 2024

"I'm having my doubts about Repatha. At first it was okay, but now I have to get lung function tests. I've had a constant cough for months. I think docs are considering a lung biopsy, and my labs came back high for an allergy in my blood. I also have cold-like symptoms, so even though cholesterol is down to 110, I might stop this for a couple of months. I take 140 twice a month."

• Pat...
• November 12, 2018

"I was one of the original people in the blind study. At the time, I was a caretaker, and I started getting terrible back pain, but I attributed it to lifting my husband. The pain continued. After a year, my husband passed, and my back pain got worse, and then the leg pain started. I went to many doctors, and no one could find a problem. I even had cortisone shots, which did not help. After researching all my medications, I finally came to the conclusion that it might be Repatha. I decided to stop it for a few months. It didn’t seem to stop, but it did get a little better, but not enough for me to stop it altogether. I decided to go back on. Two months later, after four shots, it is worse than ever. I can hardly walk. After reading some more, I realized that I didn’t give it enough time. I am going off it again. Hopefully, the pains will go away. I read that it could take up to a year to completely go away, if at all. When I was on the drug, the expense was covered by the study. I am still on it."

• Tom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 13, 2022

"It has been three years since I stopped taking Repatha injections. I started after receiving a stent. I have been a very active, athletic person until Repatha. This drug has stolen three years of my life. I am just now feeling I can get back to a semi-normal active life. This is a poison that will inflame, destroy, and alter your life for the worse. It will make you feel like you are dying. I am so sorry I agreed to take these shots."

• kei...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 16, 2022

"I'm from the UK. I wasn't tolerant to statin tablets. I had started on 80 mg atorvastatin, then my dose went down to 40 mg. I then got changed to pravastatin 10 mg - still no joy, joint pains all the time. I was then put on Repatha, and within 2 weeks, my cholesterol went from 5.3 down to 3.4, no side effects. That was early days, but then over the weeks, my joints started to hurt, I had constant headaches, UTI infections, collapsed lung, throat infections, post-nasal drip, severe low back pain. I can't walk from one end of the house to the other without pain. I have chest pain, but I also suffer musculoskeletal issues, so hard to say if it's Repatha causing that pain, but it probably is. I got blurry vision, now a tingling in my left arm and leg, and sometimes in the face. I've done urine tests that have shown my liver has issues. Now 16/7/2022, 3:28 am, and I haven't slept properly for months due to my anxiety and depression being at an all-time high. I just don't know which way to turn. I get no help from GP or hospital and don't know who to report it to."

• Joe...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 30, 2022

"In addition to all the negative side effects I've read here and experienced for myself, after taking Repatha for about 10 months, I'm feeling moderately depressed and tired. My get up and go has got up and went. Constant fatigue, brain fog, and zero desire to leave the house. In short, Repatha is ruining my life. While Repatha is very effective at lowering cholesterol (I'd give it a 10+ for effectiveness), however, it's not worth it to me to continue taking it."

• 82n...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 11, 2019

"The Repatha SureClick autoinjector appears to have injected the medication directly into my muscle. Ouch! The pain was extreme. I have experience self-administering subcutaneous injections for over 15 years with biologics for rheumatoid arthritis. In over 500 self-injections, I never experienced anything like this. The other problem was Amgen was completely unhelpful. They could only read from a script and tell me only to administer the drug subcutaneously. Unfortunately, if you follow the instructions of stretching the skin and firmly pressing down, it appears enough subcutaneous tissue is pushed away, exposing the muscle. Use the pinch method. The company was not helpful and only made me feel worse. They could only read from a script and could not tell me if an intramuscular injection posed any danger or potential problems. Thanks, Amgen."

• Old...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 19, 2019

"Mechanical problems are common with the SureClick injector. The pressure leaks out after the button is pushed, and the medicine is not delivered. Two of the last 26 have been defective. Make sure your pharmacy will replace defective ones. Not all will do so since there is no written Repatha warranty."

• Dan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 18, 2024

"Have only taken 3 doses, but so far it has dropped my total and LDL cholesterol through the floor, and no side effects. Hoping to be able to reduce my statin and stop Zetia and keep taking the Repatha. Very happy with it so far."

• Bak...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 16, 2018

"Have attempted to use Repatha as I am unable to take any other statin drugs. Have been attempting to use the drug for over a year now, having suspended use a couple of times first due to a serious gastric event and then due to the flu. Have now determined that it is the Repatha that is giving me flu symptoms even if I only inject once a month. 7 to 10 days after the injection I develop a severe sore throat followed by two weeks of sinus congestion and sometimes laryngitis."

• Dou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 16, 2018

"Injected Repatha for the first time this past Tuesday. Despite all the trouble I have had with statins and blood pressure meds in general, I naively thought the new, blazing headaches waking me at night were sugar bonks. I have also lost both energy and focus, and have low-grade body aches the lifelong day. And forgive me, I almost forgot the tapping noise in one ear that comes and goes. Maybe I'll have the tree decorated by next Christmas, assuming I don't stay away from this stuff!"

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2019

"My husband has been off the Repatha for 9 months. He is still feeling the numbness in his feet. Also, feels like his feet are freezing. His legs don't want to work all the time. Pains up and down his legs. He had a heart attack last year, and right before he was put on the Repatha, he was up to a mile walking. He can barely walk 1/4 mile without still being in pain and exhausted. Only took the shot 3 times. By the 3rd shot, he couldn't walk."

• Big...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 4, 2018

"I have taken my second shot of Repatha today, Sunday, November 4, 2018. I had a lot of negative issues after my first shot, including inability to focus, vision issues, malaise, and back pain. I have contracted some type of chest cold and am now on an antibiotic. I do not know if it was Repatha-related. I will report back after another week to update you."

• THB...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 11, 2023

"I am allergic to statins. After a heart attack, I was prescribed Repatha. Within 3 weeks, I started having muscle pain in both upper arms. It was similar to the pain I had in my thighs when taking Lipitor and then Crestor. I stayed on it for 3 months. I wrote to my doctor and told him I was going off of it. For some reason, doctors don't want to believe it causes the above symptoms. Repatha dramatically reduced my cholesterol numbers. I was very sorry I had to go off of it."

• Kin...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 9, 2019

"This drug is a lifesaver for me. Vegetarian for over 20 years and still had blockages in heart and carotid artery and had a heart attack. Statins were not tolerable at all as I suffered from severe cramps in my entire legs and hands, which were so severe I had to stop. Now on Repatha, lipid profile is fantastic. I stay hydrated and have had zero side effects on Repatha."

• lol...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 1, 2022

"First of all, I just retired as a Clinical Nurse Educator of 35 years. I have a family history of high cholesterol and blood pressure. My dad died at 55, my mother had quadruple bypass at age 70 due to untreated high cholesterol over 400 (she survived and is 90 in May). Neither were overweight nor had high blood pressure. My brother, 58, just died in February 2022 from CHF and a nonfunctional aortic valve due to untreated high blood pressure. My concern was to do everything possible to live longer, healthier, and I am the oldest sibling. In January 2021, a new cardiologist did a heart CT scan to check for calcium blockages in the coronary veins of the heart. The test was free as UH Hospital of Cleveland was doing heart research. My LAD (widow maker) had a moderate blockage, so I started on Repatha. Fifteen months later, brain fog, muscle aches/weakness, lethargy, forgetting where I am in stores! On Crestor 5mg now and symptoms resolving."