Osteoporosis Medication, Improvements in bone, side-effects?

I have osteopenia - I am considered NOT to need anything more than calcium/vit D supplements. There is a range of osteopenia, more than supplements are not needed until you are shown to be progressing towards and getting near to osteoporosis. Mine did not change in a period of 4 years taking pred at above 10mg/day for much of the time, sometimes considerably more.

It should all depend on an honest and objective view of the dexascan results.

I wish I could help but obviously not knowing your conditions I can only reply from my experience. I took alendronic acid for only 4 weeks and it has affected me badly. Not saying it would do this to you but please read up on it first so you can make an informed decision. Good luck

Hi Erika, just saw your post to me. Sorry. I totally agree with Eileen.  Why on earth would you need an OP  med. with just osteopenia??  I'd stay on my calcium and vit D and have a scan in a year (just to be sure!). Also, I'd thank my lucky stars that I don't have the dilemma of 'which, if any, med. is best for' me because side-effects, though rare, aren't to be wished for . ..  .  Kind regards, J

Hi angela, I'd stop it also if that was me !  What did the doc. say about other meds.?  Do you know your T score (if you've had a scan. . ).  J

Also intended to add Angela - I hope your jaw problem clears up fully. I know how awful even a toothache is and that would only be for a couple of days at most . ..  Kind thoughts, J

Thank you for your your reply. What I have suffered is rare, I only took 4,tablets, one a week but apparently they stay in your system for ten years. My Mum took them for years with no side effect. I have just been unfortunate suffering some bone death in my jaw. Only saying this so you can read up on it and make an informed choice. I wish you well

Hi Eileen, I know exactly what you mean. The risk/benefit aspect of OP meds. are a huge dilemma for those of us who, unfortunately, have this condition. This has been the cause of a number of heated discussions betwen myself, Allison and others (on the OP forum). I have 'severe OP', really needed some treatment before I collapsed inwards . !. Did a lot of research on all meds. available, their pros and cons. . And independent   well-controlled research studies over a number of decades show many side-effects but rarely extremely serious ones (but they DO happen).  People don't often speak on invaluable forums like this about how well they're doing but they do need to report problems,( esp. if their doc. won't listen), find out if anyone else has found this or that problem, and ask for advice etc. . My concern is that some (physically) extremely vulnerable people may be unduely  swayed by many scare stories and refuse any treatment -. thus maybe taking really serious risks with their own health. I'm sure you remember the work of Dr. Andrew Wakefield in the UK whose research appeared to show a link between the MMR vaccine and Autism. This caused panic in parents  who then refused to allow their children to be immunised - and for a few years children suffered these illnesses, and some were left with life-changing problems. As you know then, it was found that Dr Wakefield's research had some shakey foundations . . My conclusion with over 2 years of extensive reading is that, even if the very serious side-effects (eg. ONJ) of some of these meds. are underreported and, let's say, are in reality 10 times greater than claimed - the risk is still perhaps less than that of sustaining a serious fracture or fractures. It really worries me to hear of people who  have made a decision to instead 'choose natural methods' to restore bone density. Though an attractive option, it simply, has not been shown to work.  

The downside of alll this is that I seem to sound like a spokeswoman for the pharma industry!. Nothing could be further from the truth. But I am hugely interested in both mine and others' perception of risk, how quirkey it can be  - and how it can really affect our lives.

Kind thoughts,   J

Wakefield and shaky - hmm, that's the understatement of the week!

I've been accused of being an advocate for Big Pharma too! Again - really NOT! I have no objection to people who do have serious and proven bone density problems being given bisphosphonates or anything else - but the emphasis has to be on the proven. Do the bone density scan - and then you may debate the need for medication. But NOT "just in case" - I was offered it on that basis, I didn't need it then and I still didn't need it over 4 years later. Luckily I got the dexascan - in my husband's department so also got to see all the figures - and had good reason for not taking the stuff.

The problem remains that doctors/pharmacists/patients do not complete the reports which demonstrate the true figures for adverse events - it should be compulsory. It is only with informed discussion that any of the aspects can be really appreciated. And there are far too many GPs who dish it out with no regard for the contraindications that a given patient has. There was an example of that on this forum just last week.