Ranexa

[LindaSo]

Anyone have any first hand experience with Ranexa? I will return to my HCM cardio and we will make some decisions re: Ranexa vs. Norpace. I had previously asked about Norpace experience. If you responded, thank you.

It's sort of a throw of the dice in my opinion. Both prolong the QT, which I already have. (I do have a zapper :D). Norpace may not be well tolerated per my MD, will need a hospitalization which will have out of pocket $$ expense. It has a moderate drug interaction with Verapamil, but is a covered med on my insurance plan. Ranexa, on the other hand, is not used for HCM, although some HCM specialists are beginning to prescribe it. It has a major drug interaction with Verapamil, is very pricey, although I can get generic through a Canadian Pharmacy for about $50-60/month, and it comes from India. I have been assured that many generics come from India..........I just remember going to Tijuana to get my Rx's filled, but I was much younger and braver back then. Non generic from Canada will cost about $220/month, still cheaper than here in the states. Ouch.

I do not know how well Ranexa is tolerated, and hence my question, do you have any experience that you can share? Obviously I will let my MD make the decision and pray that my wallet can tolerate either one.

Thanks in advance

[shirleymahoney]

Linda

I take Ranexa daily for chest pain and it does keep it under control, I take 1000mg twice daily, I get samples allot from the doctors office, if not it cost me about 50.00 a month, my doctor told me it was first given to patients that had had a heart attack, but they have found it is working for HCM patients for angina, but I get frequent EKG's, because it interferes with something I forgot but after a year and a half I'm fine. Hope this helps.

Shirley

[THW]

Linda,
If you're going to Dr. Lever, I think he'll have pretty strong opinions about where the drugs come from. I'll be interested to see what he says. Keep us updated.
Theresa

[Toogoofy317]

I took Ranexa for awhile for the cp and it helped unfortunately my insurance didn't cover it! Kinda bummed out.

I'm at the point I think it is time to give Dr. Maron a call.

Mary

[LindaSo]

Neither does my insurance pay for it. We decided to wait a bit longer to see if things improved with more time, and then we will give it a go. It is a big out of pocket expense, since he doesn't want to do the generic.

[shirleymahoney]

You know my doctor gives me samples because I told him I can not afford them even though I have Insurance I also take 16 meds a day, you might try and see if your doctor has samples you can take, the med works great for me.

Shirley

[Chris_in_shed]

Just wondering if anyone has any more comments on ranexa/ranolazine? As I will be starting on it soon for chest pain

Thanks,

Chris

[LindaSo]

I asked one of the Centers of Excellence at the May conference if they had any experience with this drug as it was being considered to become part of my regimen. The answer was no, they were not using Ranexa for chest pain. I ended up switching from Verapamil to Dilitiazem and it worked. My chest pain is far less frequent.
L

[Cynaburst]

A cardiologist friend of mine was one of the docs involved in the clinical trials of Ranexa before it was FDA approved. He was very high on the drug and told me that he thought that it would be a great drug for HCM.

I have asked Dr. Ommen his thoughts on Ranexa, and he thought that in the future it might also show promise for HCM patients, but that because it was a new drug, he would certainly not consider it as an alternative until he had exhausted the more traditionally used HCM drugs like beta blockers, verapamil and diltiazem which have been proven safe over time.

[mtlieb]

A cardiologist friend of mine was one of the docs involved in the clinical trials of Ranexa before it was FDA approved. He was very high on the drug and told me that he thought that it would be a great drug for HCM.
LOL... where do I sign up? :cool:

[Cynaburst]

Jim you are a regular riot!