More about alendronic acid
Posted , 14 users are following.
Hi all,
Rather than repeat things I have posted before - which anyway would miss the contributions from others - I thought I'd put this under a new heading so you can look for yourselves.
If you type \"alendonic acid side effects\" into the search box at the top of the page and then choose the \"arthritic/bone/muscle\" selection which says there are 12 hits (I think) you will find all the posts we've had mentioning alendronic acid and problems with it. I have discussed the reasons why doctors are so keen we should take it (in my opinion, pressure from big pharma) and several people have reported having muscle and joint pain when taking it which has resolved once they stopped taking it.
I feel the bottom line has to be that, whatever the average GP (or rheumatologist) says, it has become a controversial drug which can be of use in certain circumstances (established osteoporosis) but which has been introduced as something which can be used to prevent something without any thought of the wider picture when used in very large numbers of people over a long period of time. Whilst uncomplicated and proven osteoporosis may well be a field where it should be used, in the presence of certain other diseases the situation can be very different. There is a parallel situation with statins. There is no doubt that very high cholesterol levels pose a risk - but the widespread use of statins to lower cholesterol levels that are only slightly raised may also have other effects where specific concommitant diseases are present. They too may cause muscle problems and some have been associated with the subsequent appearance of PMR.
As far as I know, there are no long term, large scale trials looking for interactions with other ailments - and whilst the clinical trials usually pick up the most serious side-effects, the numbers are relatively small. There is a scheme in place for reporting what are called \"adverse events\" after a drug has been approved but it is well known that 1) doctors don't go to the lengths of filling in the reports and sending them in and 2) all too often the patient is not taken seriously when they say \"this medicine is making me ill\". Just think how difficult some of us have found it to find anyone to take them seriously about PMR!
Enjoy your reading ladies (and gents if that applies) - I hope it answers a few of the questions that have surfaced over the last few days. If not - ask again and I'll go away and look for specifics :lol:
EileenH
1 like, 103 replies
BettyE
Posted
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Cynical sceptic that I am, I have decided to believe this but who knows?
BettyE
Posted
EileenH
Posted
I think, though, you may find the packs go quite solid as they cool which might affect movement in them! Perhaps I should go to Lidl and see if we have them this week too.
Mrs_G
Posted
Have just been to physio re my muscle problems with my knee Has improved with specific exercises and she said my joints were very flexable no clicks and creaks at all !! So all that money i spend on Glucosomine CLO and Omega 3 must be worth it !!
Hope everyone has had a good day
Mrs G
Lizzie_Ellen
Posted
Lizzie
Mrs_G
Posted
Re a Canadian study The heading is \"Osteoporosis drugs raise the risk of thigh fractures \"
They do seem to say overall that there are more benefits for taking it than not but have a look for yourselves
Mrs G
EileenH
Posted
fiftiesgirl
Posted
Problem is no one is ever going to know exactly what is causing their pain etc Giving steroids and AA muddies the waters as Eileen H so rightly says so difficult to see the wood for the trees and decide what is causing what!
Sometimes we have to take things which might make some things worse in order to make some things better! I think in this case no...... well that is my take on it at this moment in time. Might change my mind after having had the discussion with my doc next week.
Bad pain 24 hours and I am on 20mg so is it the PMR not being controlled or the AA????? Answers on a postcard please! :lol: :lol: :lol:
EileenH
Posted
You've had rain, rain and more rain haven't you? yuk! But today I also took some ibuprofen as well as the steroids and the difference has been palpable.
EileenH
Mrs_G
Posted
I think if I knew then what I know now I wouldnt have taken AA Im glad Im off it now but even with a few missed doses i have taken it for 2 years so I dont know how long before it leaves my system
I hope you have some relief from your pain soon
Mrs G
fiftiesgirl
Posted
Glad to hear you are out on the slopes! Go girl :lol:
fiftiesgirl
Posted
What irritates me about this whole AA thing is that my rheumy did NOT discuss this with me and just prescribed with no recourse to me and did not tell me about it/side effects or ask me if I was happy to take it :roll:
This is MY body and MY disease and I should be given the power to decide, with correct information, what I will and won't do in order to have a quality of life..... why don't these people understand this?
I have this kind of relationship with my doc and she knows exactly where I am coming from and what I will and won't do........ we work together.
Sorry, have had a bad pain day and not in a mood to suffer fools gladly!!! ( not you I hasten to add :roll: )
Mrs_G
Posted
One thing I had with this bout of PMR which I never had with the last has been rib pain which several people mentioned on the side effects web site I also had night sweats ( also mentioned ) never had them with first bout ( menopause long gone !)
I have some bone loss in my jaw so Hygenist told me I didnt really pick up on this then as I hadnt read this could be an AA side effect I have just gone into a cleaning frenzy she mentioned Next time I go to the dentist I shall want to know if this normal bone loss I had changed Dentist so this is why they did Xrays
It is a bit strange to me you are given something that can give you muscle aches if thats what you have already ??
I am trying to think of all the things that are different this time round as I wasnt given AA then certainly I had perfect BP then I was very proud of my 120/70 !! but it has been very borderline this time and some people mentioned that also on the side effects
I will read them again tomorrow and think about it some more Whatever they are I have 2 years of this in my body so it wont go overnight !! I think what shocked me most was some people having long term side effects after only taking a few tablets !! and I was just grateful that the only side effects from steroids was weight gain so ignored this little once a week tablet perhaps that is the effect that the dreaded word steroid has on us makes us blinkered !!
With the wet weather and PMR all I know is I feel a lot better the warmer and sunnier it is and not just mentally Anyone I know who has Rheumatoid Arthrtitis suffers in this weather and this PM Rheumatica A friend i saw yesterday who has RA showed me all the swollen joints on her fingers
Best wishes
Mrs G
Green_Granny
Posted
My overall impression is that I've had fewer aches and pains, but it's so hard to know what's what in this game :!: This period has covered a lot of bad weather (Yes fifties girl, most of us find cold and wet really bad), a fairly lengthy period when I had what I'm sure is an unrelated back problem etc. SO I wouldn't have expected to feel better overall. But I did.
I am still waiting an appt. to have an extraction at the hospital, and reading about the possible effect of AA on this doesn't make happy reading
The bone doesn't renew/heal itself after the extraction and is very prone to infection, hence the hospital referral. Of course this doesn't happen to everyone and is most likely for those who've been on AA the longest. Cancer patients who are given AA also suffer this way too.
As regards general dental health - we've all heard the expression \"long in the tooth\" so gum loss could be that rather than AA, but it's so hard to prove anything.
I still haven't told my GP that I've stopped taking AA after he refused to suggest anything else last summer. I will wait until I've sorted the tooth business and then go and tell him what's what. I can get by with repeat prescriptions until then.
I hear we are due some sun today in this country so hopefully that should help us feel a bit brighter in all ways![color=green:a58fed9004] Green Granny[/color:a58fed9004]
EileenH
Posted
If you think back to your younger years when you were surrounded by elderly relatives complaining about their \"rheumatics\", I'm sure they used to mention weather connections. I can tell you there is a change coming in the type of weather we have a good 36 hours in advance. This year has been bad - we've only had a long stable central European high pressure about twice and for the Christmas one I was in the south of Italy and it didn't reach that far. Most of the time we've had a few days of one, a couple of the other, rinse and repeat! Damp I find bad, cold is not a problem as long as it is dry so yesterday's -16C was OK as humidity was about 20% (that's a dream for the UK!). I have a favourite weather programme on German TV (has won all sorts of awards for its presentation of weather matters) and every day they have a chart of the bio-weather - who should take care/is likely to be affected by tomorrow's weather situation. It can have considerable effects on migraine sufferers, heart and stroke patients (including BP) as well as arthritis etc - plus other ailments. Needless to say, since the idea isn't a British one and usually doesn't speak English it is pooh-poohed by the UK establishment! :wink:
EileenH