Warning for Fosamax users - Page 2

b'smom · 07-15-2008, 08:31 PM

I took Fosamax willingly, but each time I took it I felt like I had swallowed glass-and was sick for a week. My doctor prescribed Boniva, but I have yet to take it-I'm scared of the GI distress-the women in my family all shrink down to nothing as they age-but these new risk factors scare me even more.

over30 · 07-15-2008, 10:17 PM

My gynecologist wanted me to start Actonel 2 years ago after my bone density test. But I already have jaw problems, dental problems, TMJ, and have had 2 bone grafts that didn't take. I may regret not taking it when I break something, but the risks just sounded too high for me. My oral surgeon/periodontist agrees. He has a big sign in his office saying to tell them if you have ever taken any of these drugs.
I've greatly increased my calcium/vitamin d and am walking a lot more. I just hope that's enough for my small frame.

Kathyc · 07-16-2008, 10:08 PM

I took Fosamax for three years, but my bone density improved, so my doctor took me off 6 mos ago. Hopefully I'll be able to stay off it for a long time!

calmom · 07-16-2008, 11:21 PM

Quote:

I plugged in my numbers to the calculator, too, but I've never had my density measured (I'm 45) and so left that part blank. I got a 0.2% chance of hip fracture and a little over 3.0% chance of general fracture. What confused me is that in the NYT article, the doc at the end said that Fosamax et. al should now only be prescribed for women with a 3% or greater risk... would that be me? That seems awfully low.

This doesn't make sense to me, either -- I got almost identical scores as Mercymom (7% chance of general fracture, under 0.6% chance of hip fracture- but I had absolutely no risk factors, BMI is 23.4. So it seems to me that age is the major factor influencing the score. (I tried keeping the same height/weight and just making myself 10 years younger, and sure enough the risk factor dropped to 3.4%).