<p>Seems like medical science hasn’t done well by us menopausal women. </p>
<p>ABC Nightly News has had, two nights in a row, stories about how some women who have taken Fosomax for more than five years had sudden fractures of their femur (thigh bone). The x-rays don’t just show some little crack; they show huge displacements and breaks through the entire bone. The FDA has not yet decided to send doctors a letter asking for reports of this event, and Merck, the manufacturer, hasn’t done anything either.</p>
<p>I feel like I was born 10 years too early. In ten years, they will have figured out all the HRT problems as well as the Fosomax problems.</p>
<p>I have osteoporosis, although not menopausal.
I am not taking anything for it- my Dr double checked for calcium loss ( like parathyroid), except extra calcium through this system [The</a> Vitamin Code | Grow Bone](<a href=“http://Growbone.com/]The”>http://Growbone.com/)</p>
<p>It’s looking more and more as though Fosamax is something people will only be able to take for 5 years.</p>
<p>I take it. I have been taking it for more than 2 years, and I have no jaw problems (which I believe are quite rare). I also had a measurable increase in bone density as I went through menopause, when bone density would be expected to decrease. But I suspect my doctor will discontinue the drug in a few more years, and she will be right.</p>
<p>Fosamax increases bone density, which helps prevent fractures. But it seems as though the structure of the rebuilt bone is somehow different – and that may increase fracture risk in the long run, as more and more of the bone becomes Fosamax-style bone rather than standard-style bone. </p>
<p>This is very disappointing, especially since HRT is no longer used for the same purpose. We need a better drug. Attention pharmaceutical industry: here’s a good business opportunity for you. Get us something better!</p>
<p>I took Actonel – same sort of stuff, although it hasn’t yet been implicated in this – for nine years. My gyn never told me to go off it; it wasn’t until I started seeing an endocrinologist for my osteoporosis that she told me to.</p>
<p>I don’t think my gyn knows all that much about osteoporosis. I think his treatment of it is very pro forma – “Bone density results less than optimal; prescribe biphosphates.”</p>
<p>The same gyn talked me into HRT back in the day – “It will help prevent heart disease! It will keep you young!” – and then later said, “Well, it was the standard of care at the time I prescribed it.”</p>
<p>I don’t blame my gyn; he was just doing what all gyns were at the time. But I do think medical science needs to run fast so women our age can get the proper treatments for these women-only ailments.</p>
<p>I think women in their forties will benefit, but it’s too late for us.</p>
<p>I am glad I opted out of the biophosphates. I know that the jaw necrosis is a rare side effect, but whenever I have anything done involving teeth, I always end up with the “that rarely happens” result. I just know that if I took those things, I would no longer have a jaw.</p>
<p>The problem is that it’s a good business opportunity whether the new drug is better or worse.</p>
<p>My gripe is about Advair, the steroid asthma drug.</p>
<p>“Now the Food and Drug Administration is warning about long-term use of the product… The FDA isn’t pulling Advair or AstraZeneca Plc’s rival Symbicort from the market, but the agency warns that these treatments may actually make asthma symptoms worse, leading to hospitalization and even death.”</p>
<p>Of course the docs pushed people off inhalers and on to this, whether their asthma was severe or not. Sheesh. My trust is nearly gone.</p>
<p>It’s not just “docs pushing” people off or onto particular drugs/treatments. How many times a day do you hear on TV, “Ask your doctor if Symbacort [or whatever drug] is right for you!”? With docs being squeezed to see more patients, and more patients self-prescribing based on what they read on the Net and these commercials, sometimes they just take the easy way out and write the scrip.</p>
<p>I really wish we could go back to the days when drug companies really relied on the “learned intermediaries” (pharmacists & docs) and couldn’t advertise prescription drugs on TV, radio or magazines (except of course medical journals).</p>
<p>I had exactly the same reaction, given that I always seem to end up with the “that’s very unusual - we’ve never seen that before” result whenever I have anything done involving anything!</p>
<p>I don’t have osteoporosis (just osteopenia, like everybody else around my age, it seems), but I am happy to rely on taking calcium supplements with vitamin D. Plus, of course, I’m on long term HRT anyway.</p>
<p>Chevda, I’m surprised that anyone would want to use any medication they see advertised on TV, because they always end with their list of gruesome side effects. </p>
<p>My son & I saw an ad for something, I don’t even remember what it was, but after they read off the long list of side effects, one of which was death, we looked at each other and started laughing, wondering why on earth anyone would want to take that particular drug after seeing that commercial.</p>
<p>^Abilify I think had a list like that. (I probably mauled the spelling.)</p>
<p>I’ve decided that, barring some unforeseen necessity, I’m avoiding any long-term drugs. I’m determined to keep BP, sugar, and cholesterol down (some familial tendency but not drastic), and rely mostly on good eating and exercise. I’m not even going to get a bone-density; I do weight-bearing exercise (and I bear a bit of weight :)), so I don’t anticipate bone issues. I’m trying to look at age and being a woman as normal things, not things that need treatment.</p>
<p>Obviously, there are cases that do, but my default position is avoidance of drugs. We get it wrong so often (Now the Vitamin D push is being questioned.)</p>
<p>There is not so much of an issue with Advair/Symbicort because they have both the long acting beta agonist and the steroid. The issue with the side effects is less when they are taken in combination. The big issue is taking an unopposed long acting beta agonist (LABA). You just have to balance benefits versus risk. Also, there is nothing wrong with starting with just a steroid inhaler before trying Advair/Symbicort.
Although things are changing, legally pharmacists are not considered to be a learned intermediary for medications.</p>
<p>I’m starting to wonder if I was born decades too late. Women have been going through menopause for eons-is a natural process really so dangerous? If we’ve been doing weight bearing exercise for years and years, eat right, take our vitamins, etc., are we still doomed to osteoporosis? I’m not being facetious-I’m approaching menopause, and I’m feeling really confused about what the right course of action is. For every drug we put in our bodies, there is a price to pay. HRT and now the bone building drugs seem to carry a pretty hefty price tag.</p>
<p>I recently asked my Mom if she got on HRT when she began to go through menopause. She said she didn’t. When I asked why not, she replied “because I never really had any symptoms.” For the FIRST time in my life, I hope I take after my mother, lol.</p>
<p>OK…I think these drugs are just money makers for the pharm companies and are likely doing more harm than good. Hard to believe about drugs that are promoted by a wholesome Sally Fields sitting by the water with her cute dog. I’m not denying that risk factors are there. When they are, the best approach would be to exercise, adjust your diet and ensure your getting the right nutrients. But then again, it’s easier just to take that easy pill once a month…</p>
<p>An excerpt:
In the name of prevention, millions of Americans have accepted the idea that it’s reasonable to treat a risk factor such as bone loss or high cholesterol as if it were a disease. Think back to the 1990s, when virtually all menopausal women were advised-pressured, according to accounts that came my way-by their gynecologists to go on hormone replacement therapy to prevent heart disease and hip fractures. Recall how the pressure let up abruptly in 2002, when the Women’s Health Initiative trial of estrogen plus progestin had to be halted three years short of its intended goal because participants taking the hormone combination showed an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer.</p>
<p>More people should question the wisdom of starting long-term drug therapy. Often the magnitude of the risk factor has been overestimated, or the danger of the disease itself exaggerated, by people trying to sell you something-like a drug you must take for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4, I never thought I would have osteoporosis, and especially not at age 50. I have always done weight bearing exercise, my whole life. When I had my bone density scan, I thought the doctor would marvel at the density of my bones, because I had been so active, and so vitamin conscious, and all the good things we are supposed to do. But no, my doctor called me personally to discuss the dismal state of my bones. :(</p>
<p>Ah, that’s why I’m not getting one.:). Seriously, I know they’re necessary for some things. But my mom has done fine bone-wise, and never took HRT or anything similar. And we’re built the same. So I’m going with exercise, eating well, and not falling down.</p>
<p>blankmind…did your doc say you had osteoporosis or osteopenia? The latter is the “new” disease which used to be treated as a risk factor. Now that everyone is screened, LOTS of women are being diagnosed with this and put on the drug (great for Pharma!). But bone density doesn’t measure bone strength…and going on the drug is not a good idea for everyone.
Just a side note, my BIL was measured with low bone density. He upped his calcium (a lot), changed his diet, and it took care of the problem. Not true of everyone, I know.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4, I never thought I would have osteoporosis, and especially not at age 50. I have always done weight bearing exercise, my whole life.</p>
<p>Me too although I am 52- not 50. Not menopausal, don’t take steroids or drink 5ths of liquor, not an astronaut- don’t lay around eating bon-bons either.
I hike, cross country ski, etc…
I think there is something else going on but wouldn’t know what.</p>
