ive been diagnosed with osteoporosis, have a problem deciding whether to take alendronic acid

I am with you Allison. 

My sister tried AA with drastic results as she already had oesophageal issues. So then she had the bright idea to try prolia which she was stuck with for six months. I think she is cured from sampling other osteoporosis drugs. 

When an American newspaper put a front page piece on how people were starting to resist taking osteoporosis drugs and that that they were effective and safe and people should not be swayed from taking the drugs the response was not what they were expecting. Thousands of people wrote saying that they had been adversely affected and that they did not believe the side effects were rare.

I always appreciate your input.

 Thank you Alison. 

I agree Elaine. I take risedronate and have had no side effects. My latest scan shows an massive increase in  my bone density and my hips are no longer in the osteoperosis band. Since my spine still is, but again a big improvement, I have decided to continue for another year, then review. I suffered 2 vertebrae fractures before I was diagnosed, but I am back running and doing on average 15,000 steps per day. Best wishes to you for a continued improvement.

Hi everyone, I also take risedronate now (having taken Forteo first) and will continue taking it for apx. 3 further years. I have had no problems or side-effects with it whatsoever. My bone density had improved by 11% which was due to Forteo, and another scan is scheduled later this year while now on risedronate. I'm very pleased to be making progress as my initial scan results were pretty woeful. I cannot understand how people whould decline takiing medication for A DEFINED PERIOD (research findings mean that doctors are wiser now) - which could significantly reduce the possibility of a major fracture. People have written that they are terrified about some of the side-effects of taking some OP medications. Well, for myself,  I was absolutely terrified of FRACTURING while turning over in the bed or sneezing or stepping awkwardly off a step . . . where such a fracture could have life-altering consequences. I have no desire to end up in a wheelchair until I'm at least 90! Preferably never.

Yes, some people can experience side-effects from meds. such as alendronate or risedronate -  but most don't. 

J

My sister has a reaction to bananas and that is something very natural. Not everyone reacts the same way to meds, food stuffs, even cosmetics. After suffering spinal fractures and having the extremely frightning experience of not being able to breathe, not to mention the pain, I know I made the correct decision and I feel great.

That's a very good point indeed, didn't think of that. I've said so often here that I worry about people with significant OP and a number of fractures who, having read here  people's genuinely held beliefs and some of their experience, coupled with their own fears, then decide to decline meds. Why not see and discuss with your doctor -  and if necessary getting a second or third opinion. . . ? . Then decide.  J

 

Exactly. Keep an open mind and don't dismiss facts just because they don't fit in with what you "want " to believe. I think it's called confirmation bias.

I am a bit puzzled why this has turned into a debate on K2 when the real issue is the awful drug AA. People on here have not decided lightly not to take it. Side effects are not rare as we are led to believe.

Putting aside the side effects with AA and all the other drugs they make the bones brittle so what's the point?

Anhaga and others are doing it naturally. I will check mine later this year but I am not as good as Anhaga with the exercise part.

Always good to hear from you though Alison with one l and also Allison with with two L's. 

People should try to do it naturally especially if they have throat issues.

All discussions are valid but many posts here only appear to make out that AA should be avoided at all costs. People should do what they think is correct for them, with the advice of their medical praticoners. Anhaga has never had osteoperosis and, in my opinion should never have taken meds and tried to do it naturally, as she has done. If you remember, when I started contributing to this forum, you and I had exactly the same t-scores. You choose not to take the advice of your Dr and I choose to do as I was advised. You are not wrong and I am not wrong. We did what was best for us as individuals. Often one discussion naturally leads to another and someone asked what dosage of K2 they should take long before I joined it. Only time will tell if our decisions were correct.

If I ever decided to take any of the awful drugs it would never because I thought they were safe it would be because I became very desperate. 

I take drugs for other things so I am not anti drugs.

But this one made me pause and research.

I hope I never get so desperate but you never know.

K2 has no issues but AA does.

Oh dear. I certainly am not pro drug. I would never take meds for type 2 diabeties for example. I controled my fathers in his 80s so he did not need to take any meds and his ulcerations cleared and his energy levels rocketed. I am only desperate to live a normal life, preferably without pain and continue my activities as normal. Don't close your mind to side effects of so called natural remedys. I take K2 and have no side effects but some people will. This debate needs to listen to others, even if they dont agree with each and every post.I wish you all the best, but now, its time for my run

Hi everyone,  let's have a bit of an overview here. This discussion was started by Stephie who was trying to decide whether or not she should take Alendronate (AA) for her OP.

 Then there were replies from1) those who said they would never take AA because of their fear of side-effects, and 2) those who were already taking a similiar medication (including myself), whose bone density was improving well and who had no problems whatsoever with the medicaton.

In other words, we have here - fear of the drug  versus actual experience of people taking them.

In between these 2 positions we have Anhaga's documented experience of using diet, exercise and vitamins. Yes, to her credit, after a couple of years of precise and intensive attention to an exercise programme, etc. she did demonstrate an improvement in her T-scores - improving from a score 

of -2 to one of -1.6. Not a big improvement really but perhaps one to be proud of after all that effort. Anhaga has never had a fracture (happily). 

Now my concern is - given Anhaga's positive experience, should this be offered on this forum as a 'real' alternative to other people?  Should it be used as a paradigm for those of us who have just been diagnosed with 

T-scores of - 3.5 or -4.5 who may have already had a number of fractures?  Or, can it be assumed that a person with THIS degree of severity of OP could improve with a similiar regime to Anhaga and not actually put themselves at real risk?? 

I think NOT -  and no doctor would.  And I seriously worry that newly-diagnosed people will read of her results and, coupled with the overwhelmingly fearful approach to meds.on this forum, would see an alternative and decide to tell the doc. that they're 'going to do it themselves'. Of course I know Anhaga has never advised anyone to do this, always maintaining that she's not a doctor, and urges people to talk it over with their own doc.

Perhaps people like myself and others should speak up more often to try and inject some balance into any argument re. taking meds. or not - but not everyone has the time on hand to do this. I have some real worries of my own at present and I guess others may do also.

Well, there you are - there's a load off my chest anyway.

Better and stronger bones to all, with or without medication!!

J.

 

You don't know if you would take meds for type 2 diabetes as you have not been faced with that. I have and I do after many years of struggling with diet and exercise. When I had one of my babies I drank a whole jug of water and they rushed and checked my sugar level but the water had diluted the sugar level. My husband eventually told me to start some medication as the struggle was getting too much after 20 years. My sister also has diabetes and she was underweight when she got hers. Both our parents were diabetics and that makes it genetic. I also have Crohns and take medication for that. My specialist says two are necessary for maintenance but additional ones are necessary when there are symptoms.

Yet I baulked at taking AA or any of the other drugs for osteoporosis. The more I researched and read other people's experiences the more I resisted taking them.

 

You have summed it up perfectly Juno. This forum needs a balance and yours and my experience, and a few others, have indeed had a positive result, without problems when taking the precribed meds.New members must feel free to research and ask questions to those of us who have had experience taking these meds. It is vital to look at the whole picture and not just dismiss other peoples ideas because they don't fit in with what we think.

I am sorry to hear so many people in your family have diabeties Kathleen. I certainly do not condem people who take meds for this condition but I know I would not. I have a lot of experience with diabeties even although I do not have the condition myself.Time and again I notice so many of us have other medical issues, me included. We have to do what is right for ourselves and accept others may have reasons for doing what they do. 

Juno and Alison, please note this is what I said in my reply to the original post: "...even people taking meds should follow the natural regimen as well as that gives one a head start when the drugs have to be discontinued.  The recommended length of time one can take them is getting shorter and shorter as more serious side effects come to light.."  I believe this is far from saying that people shouldn't take them.  Although I do believe that the medical profession has an obligation to help people improve their health, not just throw medicines at them.

When I was first given the DXA scan one of several reasons they recommended bisphosphonate treatment was because I had suffered a broken leg the previous year - although I then and still question it was a "fragility" fracture.

When I was in considerable pain for many months before my PMR diagnosis the doctor I had at the time kept prescribing celebrex.  I would look it up each time, wonder why that med was still on the market, and not fill the prescription.  On the other hand, when finally diagnosed I took the prescribed steroid treatment.  So I'm not against medication either if that is the final and best option.  But I have also done absolutely everything else I can think of to improve my health, no thanks to any doctor's advice, and unlike many people my age and in my position I take no medication except what is now a vanishingly small dose of prednisone, thanks to careful tapering.  

You have done what I would have done in your position. You have improved your t-score and so have I. My score was -3.5 and it is now -2.9 and -2.4. I believe we must take responsability for our own health, but, when you have done everything correctly, or if you can't exercise for example other options are available and do work for some of us. We all must support each other in our decisions and discuss our findings. But most of all, we should not ignore other peoples experiences. ( I do not mean that you do this) Your contributions are as vital as someone who takes the meds. Keep up the good work. By the way, I forget. How old were you when you discovered you had low bone mass?

I just turned 70, and the first DXA scan was about 20 months ago.  I was on prednisone at a dose high enough to affect bones for more than half the year between my two scans.  I've also had some problems getting a healthy Vitamin D level as I have sarcoidosis and this can cause high vitamin D levels.  Had to nearly give up Vitamin D supplements all winter to get my level down to optimum from very high.  So my journey has not been as straightforward as it might appear at first glance.  I've worked very hard to get where I am.  

I think that Alison has said all that needs to be said here. Well done. 

And I especially appreciate her reference to Anhaga's "good work" because her willingness to be helpful and supportive to everyone, her mastery of research material both on this forum and the PMR one, and, above all, her generousity with her time is truly exceptional. Well done to you also.

J

 

At least you have an idea as to why your bones were not as strong as they should be. I have never discovered the reason why mine were so bad. Might start a new post on that one. Hope you contribute