Icosapent User Reviews & Ratings (Page 4)

• San...
• September 18, 2021

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Taking this $100-a-month medicine to lower very high triglycerides. Not able to exercise effectively due to back pain from a car crash. Also have high ALT and AST from taking prednisone to shrink a post-radiation tumor. So very high triglycerides came down a few points into the 300s after 4 months. So in January 2021, I had my gallbladder removed via laparoscopic procedure. I kept taking Vascepa, same dosage, 2 pills with the first meal and 2 pills with dinner. Then I developed type II diabetes. Now, in September 2021, my triglycerides increased to the 600s. So I guess it does not work for everyone. The cost may not be worth it for me."

• Den...
• January 27, 2018

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Insurance made me switch from Lovaza to Vascepa. Lovaza effectively lowered my blood triglycerides and increased my HDL. Insurance co steps in and stated I should have been on Vascepa first as a step program. Went on it and found out my triglycerides went up dramatically, and HDL went down. All the benefits of Lovaza went out the window. Vascepa costs more than Lovaza marketed by Teva. Vascepa contains only EPA. Lovaza contains both EPA and DHA. Essentially, Big Pharma put me at risk for coronary heart disease. I am now on an older drug, Lopid, which for years has been shown to be effective in lowering triglycerides and increasing HDLs. Also, both Vascepa and Lovaza over time increase LDL, the “bad” cholesterol. Bottom line is that both products can produce potential harm. I am a nutritional scientist who received NIH grants to study blood lipids. Just a warning that patients need to be careful when their insurance company gets involved-it's all about the money."

• Hig...
• July 19, 2015

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I've been on Vascepa (2 pills daily) for about 7 months now. I went from 475 to 625 in three months. I don't know how my try spiked. Now I have stomach pain along with knee and back pain. I had back surgery 4 years ago unrelated to taking the drug, obviously. However, I do have some stomach pain when laying on my belly."

• Yan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 22, 2022

Icosapent for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "Not only does Vascepa lower my triglycerides, it works better than any antidepressant on the market. Maybe it's my body chemistry, but about 3-4 weeks after taking the medication, my mood has vastly improved and has remained positive for the last three years. Love it. It's not cheap ($60 for a 90-day supply with my insurance), but it's well worth it!"

• Swe...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 22, 2019

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Vascepa is not doing much for my triglyceride levels yet, but once I lower my sugar intake, I think it will help. It has done wonders for my mental health. Less negative thoughts, better attitude. I do think it is causing some type of skin condition. I am prone to a type of condition known as melasma, not sure of spelling, it’s gotten so bad I’m going to stop the medicine for a while and see what happens. Otherwise, I highly recommend it for slight depression."

• KMW...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 27, 2020

Icosapent for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "After having to do some back and forth with my insurance company, they finally approved Vascepa because I couldn't afford it otherwise. I've been taking just 2 pills once a day for about 6-7 weeks. I had blood work done in July and then again a couple weeks ago, and my triglycerides have dropped from 245 to 179. I don't remember the last time my number was that low. I don't have any other side effects, good or bad, but I'm glad my numbers are dropping. This may help me get off 2 other meds I'm on."

• Rob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2019

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I was taken off Lipitor and placed on 4 (2x a day) Vascepa. I know all the details in 3 of my bathrooms after getting up 4-5 times a night and have the 'urge to purge.' I felt like having a bowel movement, but I just end up with fissures. I currently have a carbuncle on my butt. Nothing but liquids come out for a few seconds, and then, if it does, it's not 'firm.' I go back to bed and need to 'go again' 2 hours later. I have also 'lost it' before getting to the bathroom. Going back to Lipitor."

• joh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 19, 2022

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "MD put me on Vascepa as an alternative to Gemfibrozil just to try it out. Did work well on overall triglycerides but triggered what appeared to be gout in my left big toe. I am already treated for gout, so when we did a uric acid level test, it was around 5 (which is good), indicating this was not a normal gout attack even though it feels exactly like it. Stopped Vascepa last week but am on vacation, so having to walk more than usual, so toe pain is taking forever to settle down. Optimistic from reading other comments it will resolve now off of Vascepa. One confusing thing is why this appears like gout but uric acid levels are low, so not sure how crystals are forming. Zero help from Vascepa online information."

• Sea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 2, 2021

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Vascepa had no effect whatsoever on my triglycerides. Super expensive and not efficient. Nothing seems to work for me to lower my cholesterol or triglycerides. Everything else causes terrible side effects. This one didn't, but did nothing good either, except costing me an arm and a leg."

• tit...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 13, 2021

Icosapent for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "I'm taking Vascepa to lower levels of triglycerides, 2 milligrams a day. After a few days, I developed a small rash on my face and also swelling under my big toes. I called the cardiologist, he said it's not gout, but recommended I stop taking it and consult with my primary doctor. So now I have a six-month supply that I paid $308 for, and it might be useless to me. Mind you, that's with insurance, without insurance, $1,174 is not cheap. As you can imagine, I'm not happy about the situation."

• Eri...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 28, 2021

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I was put on this back in May. It's Sept. 2021 now, and I've been to the hospital twice in two weeks with Afib, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. This is the only new thing I've been taking. I don't know if it's the culprit. It did its job as far as lowering my triglycerides. I took four pills a day, and it went from 1145 to 615 from May to Sept."

• Mal...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 8, 2023

For Hypertriglyceridemia "I had taken a blood test and all my numbers were good. My cholesterol was 145, but my triglycerides have been at 169 for several years. My cardiologist prescribed Vascepa, two 1 gm capsules twice a day with meals. I combined this regimen with a 3-day per week light/medium free weight resistance exercise program while ingesting a 1,600 calorie high-protein diet for 6 months, which resulted in my triglycerides dropping from 169 to 91. I also lost 20 lbs and noticed a better muscle tone and a modest size increase. My cardiologist was very happy with the results, as was I. I would recommend this prescription to anyone with high triglycerides. Please note: I also had been taking Simvastatin 40 mg at bedtime, which I took along with Vascepa."

• Bar...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 13, 2023

For Hypertriglyceridemia "I started taking this drug because I could not get the triglycerides down. It did work VERY effectively, and I was happy with the low level. I did have diarrhea (as opposed to constipation, which is listed as a side effect). I did get a coupon from the company for a lower price."

• Rob...
• June 5, 2023

For Hypertriglyceridemia "My dosage is 2 capsules twice a day. Experienced no side effects other than my triglycerides went from 471 to 165 in 3 months. My HDL went to be in the safe range, and my LDL dropped to be within its recommended range. My understanding is that this medicine was FDA-approved. All I want to know is where my doctors were (and I have gone through many) as I had high triglycerides over 400 until I decided to go to an internal medicine resident at a very large teaching hospital in my area. Along with changing the other pills I have been taking for years and eliminating many of them, I have lost 36 pounds in the last 9 months. I'm 68 years old, with very bad knees, but I can still do yard work. I would recommend anyone give icosapent a try as I was always working on my high triglycerides but not anymore."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2017

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I went to see a physician at a clinic for sleep apnea. During this visit, he placed a prescription for Vascepa in my paperwork. He never even discussed it with me. He never did any blood work on me, and I wondered how he knew what my triglycerides were. Long story short. After filling the script and reading the brochure, I figured that it was simply like taking a vitamin. No harm done, right? Wrong. After taking this for about three weeks, I started having terrible backaches. I could barely walk, turn, etc. I told the doctor's nurse that I thought that it was the Vascepa, and she said that was impossible. She accused me of using abusive language and hung up the phone on me. This was a horrible experience. 1. Severe backache 2. Terrible staff."

• JKa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 9, 2018

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I've been taking Vascepa for high triglycerides for about 2 years now. After my first year, I had some joint pains in my left arm but didn't attribute it to Vascepa because I'd been on it for a year already. I spent about 2 months in physical therapy and am all better now, and I'm still currently on Vascepa. Amarin's website does say that joint pain is a side effect of Vascepa. My triglyceridemia levels were at about 750 when I was prescribed, and now it's about 500, so I think that it has helped me lower my trig level, although I haven't had a blood test done in about 8 months, so I'm not sure what it is currently, but I'm told that I might need to take Vascepa indefinitely, so that's that. I am also taking phenofibrate, but my doctor has said that Vascepa is a better option than phenofibrate because it's a natural fish oil, but I have read that Vascepa is really bad for the environment though."

• Ffc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 7, 2022

For Hypertriglyceridemia "38 yo recently graduated MD. Diagnosed with DM2 during my 4th year of med school. I was referred to a cardiologist (lipid specialist). At one point, triglycerides reached 3000, then after one week of treatment, they were tested again and decreased to 1300. Cholesterol was 400. I was started on a high dose statin and 4 g daily of EPA split between two meals. After 3 months, A1c went from 12.4 to 6.5 (taking metformin, Ozempic, Jardiance), cholesterol from 400 to 132, and triglycerides to 182 from 3000 initially and 1300 subsequently. I love Vascepa/Eicosapent Ethyl. My cardiologist takes it as well."

• TIR...
• August 4, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "Used icosapent for 5 years. Had to supplement it with fenofibrate. Was paying $30 with insurance, price doubled to $60. Went to pick it up today, and it jumped to $160. Left it at the pharmacy. I'm on a fixed income. Food, rent, and fuel first, can no longer support big pharma. Wonder how long I will last. Thanks, Brandon."

• Ron...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 25, 2023

For High Cholesterol "Have been taking it for 4 months with no side effects that I am aware of. Taken with Rosuvastatin 40 mg and Ezetimibe 10 mg, and my cholesterol went down below 200 to last blood test of 140. My doctor is very pleased."

• Duc...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 3, 2018

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I have never seen medication manufactured as poorly as this one. The capsules keep popping in the bottle, and the EPA oil gets all over everything. When I take the gelcaps out, I have to wipe the good one off one by one, then try to get the fishy smell off my hands -- which won't come off with just soap and water. Usually, I have to rub white vinegar into my hands, and sometimes more than once. That smell turns my stomach -- it's like rancid fish. Moreover, Express Scripts won't take the medication back after 60 days -- even though they fill the prescription for 90 days. On top of all that, I don't think Vascepa has done my triglycerides much good. And that's not even taking into consideration all the side effects people describe here. I don't see how this is any better than a good fish oil supplement, which is only a fraction of the cost -- and I've never had fish oil gelcaps pop in the bottle. Going to ask my doctor to take me off this garbage next time I see him."

• vin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 27, 2018

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "I think this drug thins your blood. After I started taking it, I had constant bleeding on my sclera of the eye. I didn't realize it was the medicine at first until I looked up the side effects. My knees also hurt."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 4, 2019

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Lowered triglycerides and plaque. No side effects."

• OEL...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 2, 2013

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Consistent reduction of triglycerides, I have been very happy with the initial results so far."

• wmb...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 3, 2013

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "Taking to lower LDL cholesterol effective, but many other benefits, chronic back pain gone, dry eyes from contacts gone, and mood elevation, pleasant to take."

• ZR9...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 4, 2019

Icosapent for Hypertriglyceridemia "This is awesome for me. Trigs are way down, memory is clearer. The memory thing is an unexpected added benefit."