Repatha Giving Statin LIke Side Effects
Hi,
M60 from Ireland. I have a long history of intolerance to statins and other cholesterol lowering drugs. I started statin treatment (Lipitor) about 25 years ago gradually increasing the dosage. I noticed over time that I was experiencing escalating fatigue and muscle weakness. I put it down to age. I read up on statin side effects about 10 years ago and decided to stop the Lipitor and there was a very significant improvement. While the strength and fatigue improved, my cholesterol increased. significantly.
Around that time I had a CAC scan and it was zero so not an immediate concern. I was referred to a cardiologist 4 years ago who convinced me to give statins another try. He put me on 20mg of Rosuvastatin. Within a couple of weeks, the fatigue returned. As soon as I stopped them, it improved. Then we tried Ezetimibe. This was fine for about 4 months and then the fatigue returned. I persevered for a few weeks, but had to stop. A couple of weeks after stopping, all was back to normal.
Fast forward to early last year and I was put on Bempedoic Acid. This was fine for about six months and then the fatigue hit. Again, I persevered, but it didn't improve until I stopped.
I also had a more recent Angio scan that gave me a score of 28. It shows modest plaque, but not significant. I had a carotid artery scan a couple of months ago and it shows a very modest calcification deemed "good for my age".
After a bit of toing and froing with the Irish health system, I was approved for Repahta. I took the first dose 3 weeks ago. For the following 3 days I was very fatigued which concerned me. However this improved returning to normal. After the second does, I felt fine for a day and then the fatigue hit again. A week later and it hasn't improved. It's hard to describe, but it doesn't improve with sleep and impacts my ability to work, exercise and basically function. It's like playing life on hard mode.
Obviously I'm concerned that cholesterol lowering drugs just aren't for me, but I am bought into their long term benefits. It's very frustrating that every drug I try seems to end in the same way.
I'll persevere with Repatha for another few weeks, but I can't continue with these side effects long term especially when I'm still working full time.
Has anyone found a way to deal with fatigue as a side effect? Does it improve over time?