Generic Name: Ezetimibe for High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous (ezetimibe)
Ezetimibe for High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous Reviews
Zetia (ezetimibe) "I started taking Zetia after taking a plethora of cholesterol-lowering meds that gave me dementia-like side effects. The longer I took them, the worse it got. So my doctor thought Zetia might help. The first couple of days were fine, but then in the middle of the night, I would get these strange and painful electrical charges up my left arm that lasted a good hour. I gave the med a couple more days thinking maybe the pain was caused by something else, but it kept happening. I stopped it immediately because frankly, it was unbearable. When I told my doctor, she told me 'But that is not one of the side effects'! But it was one of MY side effects. I perused all of the reviews here and did not see anything like what I encountered while taking this medication. As soon as I stopped taking it, it was gone."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "The ONLY medicine that has resulted in my numbers being normal after many years on Lipitor-Niacin regimen. Added Zetia to the mix every night. Effects - light-headed and loose stools in mornings every day. Small price to pay for good health, but, yes, BIG price for the medicine."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "It is January 2016 and I just had to pay $267.00 for a 30-day supply of Zetia at the pharmacy - the preferred pharmacy for my United prescription policy. I have never had to pay this much before. Whoever markets this drug is greedy and evil!"
Zetia (ezetimibe) "I have been on Zetia for a number of years. The retail price has now gone over the one thousand dollar amount for a three-month supply. $12 for each tiny capsule. What is the deal? My doctor has recently told me to take one every other day to cut the cost. I am on Social Security, but it still costs me over $5.50 in cash. That is prohibitive for a drug that has been on the market for years and years. I think the makers of it are out of their minds. My last refill, the retail was $899. Please tell WHY has it gone up almost $200."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "I have been taking Zetia off and on since it first came out in 2002. But now the price has gotten prohibitive. There is no generic for it because Merck is greedy and still holds the patent. There has been a generic drug available since 2015, but Merck wants to be the sole source for this drug, and it has not been allowed on the market. I've paid a co-pay of $25 per month due to a secondary card I got from my doctor's office, now my insurance has jacked the co-pay to $100 for 30 tabs. I went to the Merck site, and they no longer offer a discount card. They have a form for applying for a free prescription online, but apparently you must be destitute to get it. Since they're the only guy in town for this drug, this is just ridiculous..."
"Hey guys. I'm 26 years old, have severe familial hypercholesterolemia. Was on ezetimibe for only 4 days in addition to crestor 40mg. Urine became brown, had horrible fatigue and pain in my legs and feet, plus blocked nose. Have stopped taking it even though the benefit of this drug (in addition to statins) apparently outweighs the importance of my quality of life. Also dark urine suggests liver or kidney problems and I could tell the small amount of symptoms I had was only getting worse by the day. Will continue to search for an answer to my problem."
"I have been on medicine for familial heterozygous high cholesterol for 15 years, Rosuvastatin half the max dose 20 mg cut total cholesterol from 9.9 UK measuring system to 5.2, with no noticeable side effects. Ezetimibe reduced this by 0.6 to 4.6 monitored quarterly, side effects first diarrhea got worse and next resembled irritable bowel symptoms and then became like having severe gastroenteritis once a fortnight with, in the last 3 days, worsening nausea and delayed stomach emptying for up to 24 hours, followed by 2 days of extremely frequent and exhausting vomiting and diarrhea until only clear fluid was expelled, followed by 3 days recovery starting a new cycle. I endured this for 18 months with various negative tests. Stopping ezetimibe cured these side effects completely."
"After taking this drug for a week, I experienced severe joint and muscle pain, stomach pain, and headaches. Disappointing as I am unable to take statins for the same reason. Will just have to contend with high cholesterol."
"I started taking ezetimibe almost 2 years ago at age 67. I have been taking statins ever since they were available. I have taken Zocor, Lipitor, and Rosuvastatin in the last 5 years. I had minor side effects until the generic Zetia was added. First, I had a persistent cough, then I had neck pain that wouldn't go away. I also had Covid, so couldn't pinpoint the problem to this drug. Then I developed tendinitis and muscle pain in my arms. I had to have months of neck PT, and now I am getting PT for my arms. One of the doctors thought the combination of the drugs I am taking might cause tendon and muscle ruptures. The only reason I am not rating this medicine lower is because of the difficulty of tying the causes of my ailment to this drug. I certainly think it has something to do with it. While it further lowered my cholesterol, I don't think it is worth it."
"Doctor prescribed 10 mg of ezetimibe (Zetia), 1 dose a day. After 1 mo was feeling tired, with sore muscles. I thought I was working out too much, walking yoga, jazzercise, jogging, so I slowed downed. By 6th wk, the muscle pain and weakness was so bad I could barely lift my arms, I was extremely tired, the muscle and joint pain from my chest up is excruciating! It's in my jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, and hands. I've been off the drug for just over a month and now the muscle pain and weakness is moving down to my hips and legs. Blood work showed severe liver and muscle damage. Extreme high CK 1182 even after being off the drug for a month. I was an active, fully functional middle-aged female, now I feel like a 90 year old with RA! 5 years ago was on a statin. I ended up in the hospital with a stroke. Took 6 mo to get statin out of body. Cardiologist and neuro said I had no cardio problems and it was the statin that caused the stroke and TIAs. Cholesterol drugs are bad for you"
"Ezitimibe has replaced previous statins. Over 17 years I had tried most common brands of statin following 95% blocked LAD (left anterior descending artery) . Similar side effects to others , back pain , leg ache , not sleeping well , Cholesterol reduced to half previous level . Ezitimibe however I have no problem at all tolerating . My brother who has similar condition is exactly the opposite!"
"I took Ezetimiba for 3 days and felt dizzy and sick with headaches. I had a dry mouth and it felt like I had a lump in my throat when swallowing. I left it for a couple of weeks thinking I would try again when they were 'out of my system'. Two weeks later after doing a walk (which I usually do most days) which involved steps, I had so much pain in my thigh muscles I could hardly walk the next day. I tried two more tablets after that, this time taking them at bedtime, but had, and are still having two weeks later, muscle pains and weird dreams. I woke up screaming one night after a nightmare."
"My cholesterol ran high, then spiked to 350 despite strict diet. Started statins they helped but not enough. Started Ezetimibe and cholesterol down in 150s after 6 weeks. My body aches terribly at times, my hands and hips are the worst- but that’s from the statins. Probably got a little worse with adding this drug. However, I already have a 70% blockage so I am sticking with it. I also had loose stool issues with starting Ezetimibe, for about 4 weeks, but that has greatly improved."
"I can’t take statins due to late onset muscular dystrophy. Cardiologist prescribed Ezetimibe. After being on it for several weeks I had severe upper abdominal pain to where I thought I should go to the ER. I’m still experiencing a lot of pain every time I eat even though I stopped this drug over a month ago. Saw the GI doc and have an endoscopy scheduled but he didn’t even check my liver enzymes or do any blood tests. I’m thinking I should ask for these tests based on other reviews."
"I have Familia cholesterol and take Repatha twice a month but the cholesterol is still too high. I cannot take statins at all. My doctor suggested this nonstandard and I only took 1 pill and that was too much. I am an avid walker-12-16 miles a day. Was walking my dog one morning and felt itching start on both lower legs. Then my right foot felt like I was walking on glass! It was so bad if my dog had not been with me, I would have hitched a ride home. When I took off my shoes, both feet top and bottom were completely blood red and both legs were broken out and very red and itchy. Will not take this again."
"On it 3 months. Sinusitis, some muscle tenderness.. however, Only works half as good as atorvostatin. Was on Atorvostatin 3 years 10mg (3 days a week) but caused leg cramps and muscle weakness. Going to try atorvostatin again to see if night leg cramps come back."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "I didn't get on with statins - muscle aches. I have been taking this for several years with absolutely no side effects, and my cholesterol level keeps my doctor happy."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "Taken for two weeks and have back pain. Stopped taking medicine."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "Exacerbation of neck pain, fatigue, dizziness, extreme weakness in legs to the point of having difficulty walking. Took it for 4-5 months. Stopped it 4 days ago, mild improvement in leg weakness."
Zetia (ezetimibe) "Took for a week but had to stop because of painful gas!"
Zetia (ezetimibe) "This caused flatulence and diarrhea which don't make a good mix"
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Related treatment guides
- High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous
- High Cholesterol
- Sitosterolemia
