Evolocumab and Fatigue: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Nan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 14, 2019

For High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous "I have the gene for high cholesterol. I had bad side effects from statins. Livalo was tolerable. Somewhat. I took my first Repatha injection 2 weeks ago. Mild flu-like symptoms the first eve. General malaise after that. Back pain week two. Can't roll over in bed, due to back pain. My eyes are twitchy, blurry, and jiggly. I feel like I have lead in my arms and legs. After reading everyone’s comments, I’m stopping this drug. I’ve always been sensitive to meds. It’s not worth the side effects."

• Vic...
• October 8, 2018

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "I can't take statins. My doctor prescribed Repatha to me and confirmed to me that it has no side effects. I took 3 injections. I started feeling muscle pain and back pain. I felt very weak and fatigued. I checked with my doctor and pharmacist. They said that Repatha is causing these problems. I wish I never took Repatha. I wish someone could tell me how long I have to wait to feel better and get back to normal conditions. It has been 2 weeks since I took my 3rd injection. I recommend that you don't take this drug. It's dangerous. I don't know what to do now."

• B n...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 14, 2019

For High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous "I have been on Repatha since 12/18. Initially, I had no side effects. Then, after several injections, lower back pain, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms. After my last injection (3 weeks ago), I developed a sore throat with redness and sores. My mouth and tongue are sore as well. Has anyone else had the throat and mouth issues?"

• Mic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 10, 2018

For High Cholesterol, Familial Homozygous "Tried Repatha and suffered a number of side effects. There was a lot of pain and swelling at the injection site. Later that evening, suffered pretty severe abdominal and back muscle pain, headache, exacerbation of asthma symptoms, and general malaise. Most of these symptoms continued for 5-7 days. The symptoms were very similar to those I suffered after taking several flu shots. Figured there might be some connection and discovered they both contain polysorbate 80, an emulsifier. Will not be taking this drug again."

• jhm...
• August 11, 2017

For High Cholesterol "Was going in for a heart cath, put on Repatha because I can't take statins. Dose 1, some diarrhea, mild back pain, and feeling like a kidney stone was trying to move. Dose 2, same feeling as dose 1, seemed a bit worse, wrist, knees, and ankles slightly swollen. Dose 3, two hours after injection, felt like my teeth were 3 inches tall, lost the use of my legs for 5 hours, joints ache and low back pain, 7 on the pain scale. Three days later, upper right quadrant pain, muscle spasms, hurt to walk, knees and feet felt like they were on fire. Nipples are painful, short of breath, and can't get enough sleep, tired all the time. Been to the ER, advised to discontinue Repatha. Been 45 days, still having severe back pain and very short of breath."

• Gin...
• December 26, 2019

For High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous "82 years active female, history of mild stroke 8 years ago and heart event two years ago with placement of stent. 247 high cholesterol on plant-based diet, and unable to take statins. On injection 1, experienced severe back pains and exhaustion and fatigue... constant stomach upset... neck muscles ache and confusion improved some in three weeks, but now have muscle soreness and joint pain. Have history of myasthenia gravis in remission... feels like it is back."

• Ann...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 27, 2019

For High Cholesterol "Since starting on Repatha, I have had extreme fatigue. Had blood work, nothing showed up. Feels like my bones are going to cave in. No strength in overall body. Also have blurred vision and watery eyes. When I wake up, it takes forever to focus. Had an eye exam recently, and nothing shows. Also have back pain and have to lie down."

• Nan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 27, 2019

For High Cholesterol "My doctor put me on Repatha because I could not tolerate statins. A week after the 4th injection, the side effects hit. I got a urinary infection. I had not had one of those in 20 years. Then the chronic fatigue. I have fibromyalgia, and I know about fatigue. This intense fatigue has left me in bed most days these last two weeks. Finally, the back of my calves/knees felt like lead. By the 3rd day, I had to elevate them and could only walk by using my arms to push them. Thankfully, that eased after a week but has taken 2 weeks for the urinary infection meds to work and for my legs to feel normal again. The right one is still hurting. This fatigue is still ongoing. Hoping it will heal after Repatha leaves my system. I am 62 years old. My cholesterol is around 200. So, I will not be taking any more injections of any kind. I have taken Zetia for 5 years and have not had any problems with it."

• Lin...
• August 29, 2018

For High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous "Bad experience with Repatha, it has been six weeks and still going on. I have had every test possible since I started feeling sick with Repatha. Dizziness, felt nauseous, unbalanced, felt like I was very hot, then would turn ice cold. It was not vertigo or anything to do with my ears. Had an ENT doctor check me, MRI, all sorts of lab work done. Conclusion: reaction to Repatha. Wish I had never started the injections. Prior to this, I was in good health, high cholesterol was the only medication that I took, lived a very active life, have never had any surgeries for anything, very good health for a 74-year-old and not used to being sick. Very concerned. The excruciating headache wakes me up at 3 a.m., will last about 5 minutes, then I turn ice cold, feel fatigue, and then dizzy. Really bad experience. Wish I had never gotten started on Repatha."

• So ...
• December 3, 2019

For High Cholesterol "I started Repatha 1 month ago. This medicine has made me so sick, I can’t hardly function. Nausea, bad diarrhea, muscle aches, flu-like symptoms, overall, just fatigued. Please don’t take this medicine, it is terrible. I stopped taking it 1 week ago, and it’s still making me so sick."

• dre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 1, 2019

For High Cholesterol "Received 2nd dose on 14-day injection program, and 10 days after 2nd dose experienced severe reaction to Repatha. Adverse symptoms were dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, severe intestinal distress, body aches, burning skin sensation in upper body, pounding heartbeat, malaise, general weakness, chills, increased BP and heart rate. Adverse symptoms lasted 4 days before gradually subsiding to mild body ache and tiredness."

• Joh...
• August 8, 2017

For High Cholesterol "I have been taking Repatha for several years through a trial at Mt. Sinai in NYC. I have several problems, but I am not sure if the drug is causing them. Well, here goes anyway: 1) Soreness in lower back 2) Breathing problems (I feel like I'm not getting enough oxygen and I'm winded, especially when I walk any distance, carry something heavy, or walk up stairs quickly) 3) Sore joints in my knees and thumbs, I have been advised that I no longer have any cartilage in my joints. Go figure. 4) Loss of energy 5) My toes feel like there is too much blood in them? 6) My Achilles tendons in my feet in the morning seem to be two sizes too"

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

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "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."

• dix...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 22, 2022

For High Cholesterol "First, let’s discuss their autoinjector. I’ve given injections for years as a nurse and administered to myself with less pain and bruising. I would much prefer to draw up the medicine and do it myself. The autoinjector needs a complete redesign. It is terrible. Now for Repatha. I’ve been on this for four months every two weeks. According to my doctors, it’s the wonder drug for lowering cholesterol. Maybe so, but its side effects are so bad your life isn’t so wonderful. Seriously, the fatigue, muscle weakness, nausea, lack of appetite. About four days after the injection, the real fun hits. It starts with chills and drenching sweats. Fatigue. Muscle weakness so that you can barely function. This is not a life worth living. I’ll deal with the high cholesterol and not being sick three weeks out of each month. I also have ulcerative colitis, and this drug is a trigger for flares. Every two weeks on Day 2, it flares and gets better about three days before the next dose."

• Fri...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 17, 2020

For High Cholesterol "I was prescribed Repatha after trying and not being able to tolerate a multitude of different statins, which left me fatigued and with muscle pain. I have been on Repatha for over 3 years and, knock on wood, have not had any issues with it. It has been a great drug. I was surprised to read all the negative reports here and wondering if it is a self-selecting sample and fails to represent a balanced picture of this medication."

• Mel...
• February 20, 2017

For High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous "In September of 2012, I had triple bypass surgery, and in October of 2014, a stent to my left renal artery. I have coronary artery disease due to heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. I was on numerous statin medications, and they had nasty side effects. Additionally, they did not lower my LDLs to safe levels. My total cholesterol before my surgery was 300, with high triglycerides and LDL. Due to the high dosage of statin drugs, I had horrible myalgia, malaise, forgetfulness, protein in my urine, elevated blood sugar, and muscle weakness. After being on Repatha for 6 months, my cholesterol has been lowered by 70%. The only side effect from Repatha is stinging at the injection site. It is a miracle drug."

• Kar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 2, 2024

For High Cholesterol "About three to four days after injecting Repatha, I become very nauseous, dizzy, and extremely fatigued. I just want to lie down and sleep to feel better. I lose one or two days of my life. My cholesterol levels have never been so good, however. Going to discuss with my doctor. This is my third experience, and it’s always after the injection."

• Jod...
• June 3, 2019

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "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!"

• Eli...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 17, 2019

For High Cholesterol "After a heart attack and trying various statins, diet, and exercise, my cardiologist prescribed Repatha. The most serious side effect I experience is abdominal cramps that keep me in the bathroom for hours. This starts 3 days after the shot and lasts for 4 days. I had to stop taking this. I also experienced cold symptoms, sore throat, and fatigue."

• Gra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 18, 2018

For High Cholesterol "I am a 74-year-old female unable to take statins. I have been on Repatha for 5 months and have had constant lower back and neck pain and constant fatigue. I honestly thought that when I began to have tingling and burning feet it was because of a pinched nerve. Reality hit yesterday when several hours after my Repatha injection, my lower back pain was so severe I was in tears. I could not lift my legs to get in my car. Now, 24 hours later, the pain is subsiding. I had hoped this drug would be the answer for lowering my cholesterol, but with so many side effects, I have no choice but to stop taking these injections."

• mep...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 3, 2019

For High Cholesterol "Just started on Repatha and want to share an approach. Due to concerns over potential side effects (reading here + own experience with statins), I withdrew the Sureclick injector before it was fully emptied. Watched several YouTube injections and found it was about 6 seconds to fully auto-inject. Sat in my bathtub, withdrew the injector after 2 seconds. The rest of the medicine kept ejecting from the Sureclick injector and went into the tub. I estimate 1/3 of Repatha went in my body. The next day, I started to experience fatigue. Today, muscle pain in shoulders, back, and back of legs. I am sure I will be criticized here for wasting $. But after reading how severe some of these side effects are, I am completely at peace with my approach. Sharing in case others might think about."

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

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "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."

• Jen...
• April 22, 2021

For High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous "It has been 6 months since I took one injection of Repatha. I still experience flare-ups of muscle and joint pain, as well as muscle weakness and fatigue. I am a 65-year-old woman of smaller stature. My CRP was over 3 times normal after the one injection, gradually reducing to normal over many months. This medication can cause side effects that last a very long time and greatly affect quality of life. Beware!"

• bab...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 28, 2024

For High Cholesterol "I'm a 68-year-old female. LDL plummeted in 2 weeks from 298 to 45. No statins or other related medications. However, after 11 weeks on the every two-week injection, I ended up with a hiatal hernia and fatigue that had me falling asleep every time I sat down. I'm falling asleep now. Also, increased frequency of migraines from once a month to twice a week."

• Ira...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 4, 2022

For High Cholesterol "While Repatha did lower my cholesterol significantly, I suffered from severe fatigue, headaches, low backache, and an overall feeling of being not well. My symptoms slowly cleared up after about six weeks post my last dose."