What's new
What's new

OT Anybody using Repatha LDL lowering drug?

ratbldr427

Titanium
Joined
Mar 21, 2006
Location
jacksonville,fl.
I have just finished my 12th stent(on top of 5 bypasses in 2005).Frankly I'm tired of this crap.

I've been watching my diet,stay active(still working) and am probably more fit than most 73 year olds.
I just can't get my LDL's & triglicerides down which is what keeps blocking my arteries.I have been on high doses of statins,ezetimine.blood thinners.While they knocked my total cholesteral down it is not enough.

My Docs are trying to get me approved for Repatha(took my first sample inj. last week).If my ins co oks it the cost is $80 for 3 months.If not it cost about $12 hundred per month.

Looking at the mfgs website it sounds like it will work.It blocks PSK9 protein which stops liver receptors from absorbing LDL's.Some people produce excessive PSK9(Me) and some little to none.
The people that have small amounts don't have as much blocking of the arteries,so my Doc says.

Looking at comments on the net not so favorable.I'm going ahead with it as I don't have any options.
So anyone with experience with Repatha?
 
I have no experience with your drug, but have you tried a NO grain and NO sugar diet? I have one data point to suggest the diet works on triglycerides. Many others claim miracle results for everything from asthma to zoonotic diseases.
 
gbent, I have been on a LOW grain and sugar diet but it is apparently not enough.I am trying to use STEVIA sweetener in any thing that needs it.Very little red meat.

Hard to keep on track when you live with a couple of junk food artists.I have watched their health be affected by it.That's their problem,it's everyone for themselves.
 
What statins are you on? Are you also taking Niacin, or red yeast rice on top of your statins?

I second the no grain no sugar recommendation, as that is usually the culprit behind triglycerides.

And have you looked into chelation therapy? I know some people turn to that when other things haven't worked.
 
Yep...nothing worse than living around people who are bent on screwing up your diet. It's amazing how people are more than happy to encourage you to wreck your health.
 
I am taking a large dose of Lipitor and Zetia.I used take a large dose of Niaspan but my Docs pulled that a few years ago,can't remember the problem.
I wasn't aware of the mushroom benefits so I will start eating more of them.

I am fortunate in that I respond quickly to any change in meds & diet and have little to no side affects and so far not allergic to anything.

The thing I like about Repatha(like so many drugs including the new cancer drugs) is that it uses the tools that your body already has to control the problem by controlling whatever is interfering with them,like blocking the PSK9 protein which interferes with the receptors in your liver that remove LDL.

I had thought that there would be more people using Repatha,(there is another brand out there also)but I guess it is still fairly new.
 
Mark Rand,I weigh 180lbs,6'1". This has not changed in 50 years(although at one time I was over 200 lb for a short while). Except for this one serious problem I am fortunate that I havn't had any of the problems that most 73 year olds have,crash & bang physical damage aside(I've often wondered if a good crash every now and then keeps your healing & immune systems working in top shape?!)

Even if it does I don't recommend it.
 
Since this post I have been on Repatha until Oct of last year. My insurance decided not to cover it any more, so I had to switch to Praulent. Both medicines work the same. They bind with the PSK9 protine and stop it from interfering with the receptors in the liver that remove LDL. After my first couple of shots my LDL levels dropped from 40 to 13 and stayed that way until I had to switch to Praluent.I have had no symtoms of blockages and am in relative good health for a 76 year old, still working.
After switching my LDL went up to 29. I think it was simply because I was taking 140mg of Repatha and my doc prescribed 75mg of Praluent. So I had him put me on 150mg which was the next highest dose. I just got a 90 day supply (cost $100 for 6 shots,without insurance it would be $1400, which is about the same as Repatha).
I will have a blood test in a few weeks and hopefully my LDL levels will go back down.

There is a third drug out that works by destroying PSK9,I think. Requires 2 shots initally and then one every 6 months.

When Repatha came out in 2015 ? or so the predictions were that I was the major cure for people like me that keep having blockages and would save many lives each year. For some reason it has not been so widely used.There are several guys I work with that have been through by pass surgery since me and their docs have not told them about Repatha or Praulent. Repatha was down to $5 a shot with a commercial insurance policy.

There is plenty of info online about these drugs so if you are having continual blockages caused by high LDL levels ask your doc about them.

Repatha can be used without statins and results so far have shown that some patients build ups/blockages have been reduced. I think that is my case.

Praulent is recomended to be used with a statin. Both my docs recomended that I stay on the statins and Zetia.
If you have problems with taking statins then that is a reason to qualify for Repata / Praulent.

I was initially turned down for Repatha because my levels were actually below what is considered normal/ safe.
Both my docs went to bat for me and got me approved.

I honestly believe I wouldn't be here if not for these drugs.
This is a little long winded but I try to get the word out to any one suffering from blocked arteries. Remember stents and bypasses are not a permanent cure,they just buy you time until you find something to stop the plaque build up, either life style or diet changes. And if that dosn't work then the next blockage may be your last. I am very fortunate that I have never had a heart attack,been real close though. After a heart attack and your heart muscle gets damaged there is no repairing that, the tissue does not regenerate. So don't take chances when symtoms appear it won't go away.
Ernoby I just noticed you are from Australia, I was born in Charters Towers ,Queensland in 1944 . I haven't been back but have about 90 cousins on my mothers side there.
 
Well, I guess my dad would really understand you as he has also faced the same issue and has been keeping a really rough diet throughout the last couple of years, and you know what, he is looking better and fresher than any 25 years old boy.
 
No statins here, but Trilipix / Fenofibric Acid works pretty well on my triglycerides. I've been taking it for about 5 years now with no detectable side effects, it seems a lot safer than most statins.

It is definitely difficult keeping the diet you want when you are the main cook for the family. It was super easy when I was single since I like everything and can make good meals on almost any diet.
 
I don’t have any answers.
I did a pretty through review of the literature.

I say don’t watch you diet- totally change it.
Simple blood level of LDL’s don’t seem to be whole story as diet changes which hardly lower LDL improve outcomes by high degree.

I am flying without a net these days as the statins attacked my liver so the docs pulled them.
They also attacked my muscle and I tore a ligament and was constantly weak and boy a dour mood.

They wanted to rechallenge with very low dose but I’m not having it.

I’d say watch carbs- eat fats but stick to the right ones.
Eat almonds- about 2oz /day.

There are several moving parts to the problems- the most important seems control of site inflammation and enforcement of stability of plaque.
If the site is inflamed and continues to rupture that accelerates accretion.

TOTALLY change your diet.
Don’t backslide ever.

Don’t drink outside of a very small amount.
Do everything you can to keep a healthy BP.
Stay hydrated get enough sleep and enough to eat.

The reduction of existing plaque deposits seems unlikely.
Stopping their growth may be possible.

Large cohort studies were done in Europe after the war- the near starvation of countries with strict rations caused a disappearance of sclerosis.
These returned with greater abundance.
Eat only when you are hungry.

Don’t ask non specialists what to do.
Start by going to the literature with simple questions and keep at it till you get a feel for what works for large groups of patients.

Like one of mine today-
“Should I avoid whole grain bread”:

Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic

Etc etc et al..

Remember- a literature review is based on reading everything you can find published on the topic such as the above for whole grains.
You have to gain an understanding of the state of knowledge on the topic- don’t stop with the first paper you find.
 
I have just finished my 12th stent(on top of 5 bypasses in 2005).Frankly I'm tired of this crap.

I've been watching my diet,stay active(still working) and am probably more fit than most 73 year olds.
I just can't get my LDL's & triglicerides down which is what keeps blocking my arteries.I have been on high doses of statins,ezetimine.blood thinners.While they knocked my total cholesteral down it is not enough.

My Docs are trying to get me approved for Repatha(took my first sample inj. last week).If my ins co oks it the cost is $80 for 3 months.If not it cost about $12 hundred per month.

Looking at the mfgs website it sounds like it will work.It blocks PSK9 protein which stops liver receptors from absorbing LDL's.Some people produce excessive PSK9(Me) and some little to none.
The people that have small amounts don't have as much blocking of the arteries,so my Doc says.

Looking at comments on the net not so favorable.I'm going ahead with it as I don't have any options.
So anyone with experience with Repatha?


First things first. You need to reeducate yourself on how the body (heart) actually works. Even most doctors do not understand this, or don't want to understand, in fear of revenue loss. Watch this:

The Heart Is Not A Pump! - YouTube

Then ask yourself a question: Do you want to waste time on researching dead end topics (like machining), or things that can extent your life?
 
LDL levels are not the whole story,but for the majority of people it is the most important number to gauge weather you are making improvements by lifestyle changes. There are some groups of people that have high LDL levels and have no sign of blockages, however I'm not one of them. It is confusing when talking about this since LDL levels are not directly measured anyway. They are computed. LDLs are made up of many different kinds of fats but they are mostly smaller particles than HDLs and seem to be the particles that stick to the arteries and they also stick to HDLs which carry them through the system to the liver to be expelled. That is why a high HDL to LDL ratio is a benefit.

I read a while ago that an experiment was done where high doses of HDLs were injected in subjects and they did have an effect on reducing plaques.

Most of us here are not scientists with first hand knowledge of the subject. We only know what we read. It is up to you to know what sounds truthful or not.

There are plenty of phisically fit people with active lifestyles that die from heart attacks every year just like there people with bad diets and lifestyles that live longer than normal.

Trboatworks since you cannot tolerate statins than something like Repatha is something to consider. Did you have problems that required you to take statins or was it just as a preventitive? Statins can cause a liver wasting disorder and part of the annual blood tests check for that.
 
"I read a while ago that an experiment was done where high doses of HDLs were injected in subjects and they did have an effect on reducing plaques."

I read that research- I believe the bottom line was it didn't work or had problems which make it an unusable approach.
I forget the details but will look up paper and post.

One of the points I came across is mortality is not a simple reflection of degree of occlusion.
Thrombosis events are "killers" in veins with high retained patency.

We need twenty years more advancement in this field and I am betting a better understanding and treatment regimes will be present..
 
No statins here, but Trilipix / Fenofibric Acid works pretty well on my triglycerides. I've been taking it for about 5 years now with no detectable side effects, it seems a lot safer than most statins.

It is definitely difficult keeping the diet you want when you are the main cook for the family. It was super easy when I was single since I like everything and can make good meals on almost any diet.

My interist (t2 diabeetus) prescribed the fenofibrate a few months ago I get my first blood test results in a few weeks.
 








 
Back
Top