Osteoporosis Meds Fosamax And Actonel May Be Harmful

[YankeeDB]

I have osteoporosis secondary to celiac disease and I know this is a common problem for us celiacs which is why I want to share this topic.

My neighbor has taken Fosamax orally for 10 years and appears to have osteonecrosis of the jaw (bone death of the jaw) following dental surgery.

Guess what--the lawyers are circling on this emerging finding. Is this the next HRT? The next Vioxx?

Try a search with these terms: bisphosphonates jaw osteonecrosis.

After researching this quite a bit (especially on Google Scholar where the scientific research articles can be found more easily), I decided to go off Actonel after 1.5 years. Here's why:

1. Bisphosphonate meds (Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, and some others administered intravenously) have not been studied long enough (over 10 years) for the long-term side effects to be determined. The jaw problem is currently deemed by many doctors to be "rare" but how do they know it will be rare after patients have been on it 12, 15 or 20 years? Some doctors say it is more common with the IV versions of the drug but there have been cases with the oral meds too, including cases where no invasive dental surgery was involved.

2. Osteoporosis diagnoses are now based on low bone density measurements, usually from a DEXA scan, not from the presence of or known likelihood of a fracture. People with high density bones can have low-impact fractures; people with low density bones sometimes don't have fractures. (I was in an ATV accident last December, at least a medium-impact event, and did NOT fracture after landing on my hip)

3. There is no universal standard of what bone density should be. Different DEXA machines yield different results.

4. Bisphosphonates work by inhibiting the resorption or normal breakdown of bone (via osteoclasts) not by stimulating the creation of new bone (via osteoblasts). Thus, as time goes on, yes, the bone may get denser but it is also OLDER tissue--that is, there is still no normal turnover of bone as happens in a younger person. Is this "old" bone resistant to fractures -- maybe for a while--FIVE years; after that, no one knows and some scientists think the bone is MORE prone to fracture, more brittle. Makes sense, doesn't it? Older cell, less flexible cell. After all, there's a reason bone is broken down and built up by the body in a healthy young adult. There is some indication that after taking these meds for a while, if the bone does break, the normal remodelling process the body goes through to heal the fracture not work.

5. Some doctors say that if you avoid dental surgery, you will be OK. But, who knows if you might need an extraction sometime in the future? Why do so many seniors wear dentures? If we live long enough, loss of teeth may be inevitable.

6. I've discovered some alternative treatments that may be worthwhile: electromagnetic therapy and supplements with strontium. (Try a search using: strontium osteoporosis.) Also, I'm going to get serious about exercising again....

See book: The Myth of Osteoporosis.

[Ursa Major]

I had read about these meds causing osteonecrosis, when just doing general medical research (a hobby of mine) a couple of years ago, and thought it looked very frightening. What you are saying is very interesting. I hadn't heard that different machines yield different results for bone density scans, I was assuming that there is a definite standard.

I will have to check out the book. My bone density scan claims that my bones are great. I hope it's true! I was tested to have somewhat low levels of vitamin D, and assumed that as a result my calcium and magnesium were likely to be low as well. So, I am supplementing all three now, in the hope that I will be fine.

Interesting, that you didn't break any bones with that fall you had. If you'd believe what doctors say, you should

have broken something for sure.

[plantime]

Another drug with horrible side effects. Any wonder that I have no interest in a drug to treat celiac disease?

[ravenwoodglass]

I have osteoporosis secondary to celiac disease and I know this is a common problem for us celiacs which is why I want to share this topic.

My neighbor has taken Fosamax orally for 10 years and appears to have osteonecrosis of the jaw (bone death of the jaw) following dental surgery.

Guess what--the lawyers are circling on this emerging finding. Is this the next HRT? The next Vioxx?

Try a search with these terms: bisphosphonates jaw osteonecrosis.

After researching this quite a bit (especially on Google Scholar where the scientific research articles can be found more easily), I decided to go off Actonel after 1.5 years. Here's why:

1. Bisphosphonate meds (Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, and some others administered intravenously) have not been studied long enough (over 10 years) for the long-term side effects to be determined. The jaw problem is currently deemed by many doctors to be "rare" but how do they know it will be rare after patients have been on it 12, 15 or 20 years? Some doctors say it is more common with the IV versions of the drug but there have been cases with the oral meds too, including cases where no invasive dental surgery was involved.

2. Osteoporosis diagnoses are now based on low bone density measurements, usually from a DEXA scan, not from the presence of or known likelihood of a fracture. People with high density bones can have low-impact fractures; people with low density bones sometimes don't have fractures. (I was in an ATV accident last December, at least a medium-impact event, and did NOT fracture after landing on my hip)

3. There is no universal standard of what bone density should be. Different DEXA machines yield different results.

4. Bisphosphonates work by inhibiting the resorption or normal breakdown of bone (via osteoclasts) not by stimulating the creation of new bone (via osteoblasts). Thus, as time goes on, yes, the bone may get denser but it is also OLDER tissue--that is, there is still no normal turnover of bone as happens in a younger person. Is this "old" bone resistant to fractures -- maybe for a while--FIVE years; after that, no one knows and some scientists think the bone is MORE prone to fracture, more brittle. Makes sense, doesn't it? Older cell, less flexible cell. After all, there's a reason bone is broken down and built up by the body in a healthy young adult. There is some indication that after taking these meds for a while, if the bone does break, the normal remodelling process the body goes through to heal the fracture not work.

5. Some doctors say that if you avoid dental surgery, you will be OK. But, who knows if you might need an extraction sometime in the future? Why do so many seniors wear dentures? If we live long enough, loss of teeth may be inevitable.

6. I've discovered some alternative treatments that may be worthwhile: electromagnetic therapy and supplements with strontium. (Try a search using: strontium osteoporosis.) Also, I'm going to get serious about exercising again....

See book: The Myth of Osteoporosis.

Thanks for posting this, I knew I was making the right choice when I refused these meds. If they would just diagnose us in childhood like they should we wouldn't have to worry about bone loss let alone take a toxic drug to counteract it.

[Deej]

I tried this stuff for a few days and it made me so terribly ill I quit. Now I'm glad I did.

[jerseyangel]

Thanks for posting this, I knew I was making the right choice when I refused these meds. If they would just diagnose us in childhood like they should we wouldn't have to worry about bone loss let alone take a toxic drug to counteract it.

Amen Ravenwood!

[YankeeDB]

Thank you for replying to my post. For those of you with osteoporosis, what treatment measures are you following now?

[Jnkmnky]

Also, get your calcium from a source other than dairy! Too much protien makes absorption of calcium impossible. We are dairy free and eat lg dark green salads made with spinach every night. You will absorb MORE calcium by going dairy free.

[jerseyangel]

Jnkmnky is right--also, almonds are a good source! I eat no dairy, but get my calcium from foods. I also take calcium lactate. Despite the name, it has no dairy in it!

[Deej]

Weight bearing exercise is what my doc prescribed. Yeah, right, with my health..

[mamaw]

I stopped also!!!

mamaw

[Ursa Major]

Weight bearing exercise is what my doc prescribed. Yeah, right, with my health..

Try the exercises in this site, they are for seniors and people with disabilities, and easy but effective. Open Original Shared Link

[bluestar]

Also, celiacs often are osteoporotic because they don't absorb calcium and/or vit d. So, the bifosphonates don't have the "tools to work with"! That is different from an osteoporotic individual who has calcium and vit d but does not assimilate it into the bone matrix!

Bluestar

[ravenwoodglass]

Weight bearing exercise is what my doc prescribed. Yeah, right, with my health..

Is there any place close to you that has a pool? Also did your doctor give you a referral to a physical therapist? I had many similar problems before I was diagnosed celiac and the PT was able to give me excercises I could actually do. I consider myself very lucky to have had my neuropathies and fibro resolve with extreme strictness on the diet but before they did I felt like you do. Yea excercise, right I can barely move. If you can do it swimming or the PT might help at least a bit.

[helixwnc]

This is very interesting. I have been exploring the issue of calcium deficiency over the last several months, and have an order to go for a DEXA scan, but hadn't yet. The only treatment they would give at this point would be one of those meds and weight bearing exercise. I have set a goal of exercising daily. Forget the pills! What a horrible thing to have happen to someone! Thank you again for this thread!

[mar4ela]

I have osteoporosis secondary to celiac disease and I know this is a common problem for us celiacs which is why I want to share this topic.

My neighbor has taken Open Original Shared Link orally for 10 years and appears to have osteonecrosis of the jaw (bone death of the jaw) following dental surgery.

Guess what--the lawyers are circling on this emerging finding. Is this the next HRT? The next Vioxx?

Try a search with these terms: bisphosphonates jaw osteonecrosis.

After researching this quite a bit (especially on Google Scholar where the scientific research articles can be found more easily), I decided to go off Actonel after 1.5 years. Here's why:

1. Bisphosphonate meds (Open Original Shared Link, Open Original Shared Link, Open Original Shared Link, and some others administered intravenously) have not been studied long enough (over 10 years) for the long-term side effects to be determined. The jaw problem is currently deemed by many doctors to be "rare" but how do they know it will be rare after patients have been on it 12, 15 or 20 years? Some doctors say it is more common with the IV versions of the drug but there have been cases with the oral meds too, including cases where no invasive dental surgery was involved.

2. Osteoporosis diagnoses are now based on low bone density measurements, usually from a DEXA scan, not from the presence of or known likelihood of a fracture. People with high density bones can have low-impact fractures; people with low density bones sometimes don't have fractures. (I was in an ATV accident last December, at least a medium-impact event, and did NOT fracture after landing on my hip)

3. There is no universal standard of what bone density should be. Different DEXA machines yield different results.

4. Bisphosphonates work by inhibiting the resorption or normal breakdown of bone (via osteoclasts) not by stimulating the creation of new bone (via osteoblasts). Thus, as time goes on, yes, the bone may get denser but it is also OLDER tissue--that is, there is still no normal turnover of bone as happens in a younger person. Is this "old" bone resistant to fractures -- maybe for a while--FIVE years; after that, no one knows and some scientists think the bone is MORE prone to fracture, more brittle. Makes sense, doesn't it? Older cell, less flexible cell. After all, there's a reason bone is broken down and built up by the body in a healthy young adult. There is some indication that after taking these meds for a while, if the bone does break, the normal remodelling process the body goes through to heal the fracture not work.

5. Some doctors say that if you avoid dental surgery, you will be OK. But, who knows if you might need an extraction sometime in the future? Why do so many seniors wear dentures? If we live long enough, loss of teeth may be inevitable.

6. I've discovered some alternative treatments that may be worthwhile: electromagnetic therapy and supplements with strontium. (Try a search using: strontium osteoporosis.) Also, I'm going to get serious about exercising again....

See book: The Myth of Osteoporosis.

Thanks for this post, my mother searched such info abou fosamax