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Relief from side effects of alendronic acid?

Posted , 10 users are following.

Mazjak
Mazjak

I am posting in desperation on behalf of my mother. She is 72 and was recently prescribed alendronic acid, as a preventative measure (her bone density is fine, she does not have osteoporosis) because she takes steroids for polymyalgia rheumatica.

Before taking the alendronic acid her mobility was fine, she was able to spend a day out walking around, do shopping etc. She took 3 tablets, one each week, and after the first she started experiencing pain deep in her buttock, which radiated down her leg. After the second the pain became more severe, and she was finding it hard to walk for any length of time. After the third she started using walking sticks to walk anywhere, even from room to room. She then stopped taking the alendronic acid, realising it must be this that caused the pain. She took her last one about a month ago and still has severe pain in one leg, so bad she is unable to sleep much at night, cannot stand up for any length of time, and is unable to walk very far. She is effectively housebound/wheelchair bound, after having been perfectly fine before.

None of the doctors she has seen have been able to help - she is on codeine and paracetemol 3x a day and gabapentin. The only other thing the docs have offered is sleeping tablets but she is reluctant to take them even though she is desperate to be able to escape the pain and sleep!

Can anyone offer us any hope at all? Any idea how long this poison takes to get out of the system? Anything she can do to help relieve the pain? Please help!

0 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • oddbiddy
    oddbiddy

    Posted

    Hi Raymond it seems it depends on which kind you are given. I think I was lucky to be on Advi as I never noticed a problem. I have, however, stopped taking it as I have been on it for 6 years and at 77 with severe COPD it seems a safe bet. I Also have two calcium tablets a day so should be alright. Very sorry to hear that your Mom suffered such a tragic effect of it. If they know so much about these drugs why do they give them to us? Best of luck. June, oddbiddy
  • Ian_R
    Ian_R Mazjak

    Posted

    This is an old thread, but my wife recently took 3 AA tablets over 3 weeks and now has pain up the side of her face, so I was wondering if anyone could follow up on how long it took for symtoms to clear?
    • Mazjak
      Mazjak Ian_R

      Posted

      Hi, sorry to hear of your wife's pain. Sorry to hear of your father's problems too Beulah, but glad he is doing well now.

      Unfortunately my mum still continues to suffer chronic pain, she has been to so many different doctors and had all kinds of scans and xrays but no one seems to be able to find the cause. She did fracture her pelvis last August, in 2 places (completely unaware that she had done it until revealed by an xray - probably done getting in or out of the car awkwardly) however the fractures are healing and shouldn't be causing pain now. She also has problems with her lower back but according to a back specialist it isn't bad enough to cause this amount of pain. She is unable to stand or walk for more than a few minutes without sitting down to rest, and is in constant pain in her lower back and legs. We still feel the AA must be to blame as none of the specialists she has paid privately (in desperation!) to see seem to have any idea what is causing the pain. 

      Sorry not to be able to give any hope in our case! 

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey Mazjak

      Posted

      Mazjak, your Mum doesn't have pain in her shoulders or arms as well as her lower back and legs does she?  Just wondering if an inflammatory/arthritis conditions affecting the large muscle areas has been ruled out.
    • Mazjak
      Mazjak MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Hi Mrs O, she sometimes gets pain in her shoulders but they say its the PMR for which she takes the steroids. Her arms are generally ok, left one worse than right!
    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey Mazjak

      Posted

      Mazjak, I'm sorry I missed your mention of your Mum having PMR in your original post, and that is what I had in mind when reading your latest reply to Ian.  I do hope her steroid reductions are going well and that at least the PMR is under control.  
  • beulah
    beulah Mazjak

    Posted

    Hi,  this is actually "beulah",  but I'd forgotten my password and have had to reset it!   I am sorry to hear that your wife is suffering side effects.  Am not sure that what I am going to say helps,  but thought you might like to know that from the first day my father took AA he never had any painful side effects until they swapped his tablets for a generic brand.  (Read the Beulah thread with his saga).   He was taken  off them immediately and symptoms subsided.  He was not put back on them.  The GP still will not say that all of his problems had anything to do with the AA as "generic" drugs are the same,  apparently.  Strange though, that when he reacted to another medication which had been switched to a generic drug they wrote all over his notes that he must have  only the branded one .  Maybe they could try your wife on a different brand,  although  my father would suggest she does not take it all,  and I am inclined to agree.   Off the back of last summers reaction to AA,  although he improved somewhat he began having "funny turns" and eventually,  the week before Christmas,   he ended up in hospital with four arterial blockages,  critical limb ischaemia and underwent a massive op to insert an arterial graft from his shoulder to his thigh. They also discovered that the GP had "missed" a form of chronic leukaemia.  He is doing very well,  now,  but they have not put him back on AA in spite of him still taking the steroids and having osteoporosis.  You may also be interested to know that he lost most of his teeth within a couple of years of taking AA.  Please,  do your research on this drug.  In the meanwhile,  I do hope and pray that the pain subsides and some kind of effective treatment can be found.  All the best.
    • sandra25196
      sandra25196 beulah

      Posted

      hi beulah, I'm sitting here in tears reading all the posts on this thread. I too am desperate and so afraid for my husbands future. my husband ( a previously very fit, active, healthy 59yr old) took just 1 dose of 70mg alendronic acid and 15hrs later suddenly developed such severe back muscle pain and spasms that he collapsed screaming and crying in pain. Paramedic said he had seen 1 case of same reaction in 5 years.Completely incapacitated and bed bound for 3 days on tramadol and diazepam before able to begin mobilising with crutches.  Now day 6 feels so unwell he is in despair and feels that his life has been ruined by this drug! I have since found so many terrifying stories about the lasting effects of this drug, i can't tell him as he's already saying he'd be better off dead!

      how can the GP say it's unuusual/rare whilst agreeing that there can be no other cause for my husbands conditon.

      Did you ever find or hear of anything that might help him?

    • beulah
      beulah sandra25196

      Posted

      Hi Sandra25196,  I am sorry it has taken me a while to reply,  looking at my emails I think you have tried twice this afternoon.  I am so very,  very sorry for the situation you are in and even more so for your husband.  Although this is little comfort,  at least your GP agrees it must be the medication - believe me that is progress!  We are still sitting with GP's who are in denial.  On the plus side,  the effects should wear off so long as he does not take anymore.  How long it will take seems to vary from patient to patient. For what I am about to suggest next you have to understand this is instinct and gut,  and I have no medical proof,  I am merely going on what subsequently happened to my father,  BUT every person is different and reacts differently.  If your GP is amenable to the suggestion,  I wouuld recommend that they just do a check that there are no blockages which have occurred in his arteries as a result of the drug.  My father bounced back to an extent during the ensuing five months,  but developed strange dizzy spells and kept passing out.  It turned out he had serious blockages in the arteries in his abdomen.  Please understand that nobody suggested a link with the alendronic acid (it will take a miracle before the medical profession see this as a dangerous drug),  but he never had these symproms before,  ever.  As a result he got to the stage of nearly losing his feet due to reduced blood flwo to his legs.  Thanks to a very good vascular surgeon he is with us still and doing very well.  I and my father totally understand,  but seriously,   I would get a vascular/artery check,  just to be safe.  I am out for the next few hours,  but can chat tomorrow at length if yous wish.  Meanwhile,  keep strong and God bless;
    • sandra25196
      sandra25196 beulah

      Posted

      Thanks for your kindness beulah, the only problem is that he's refusing to see any Drs as 'they did this to me ' he'd only got a small bone chipped after a motorcycle accident but met the criteria for a dexa scan which resulted in the osteoporosis diagnosis and prescribed evil drug! I'm just praying for some miraculous improvement. I will let you know what happens. Hope your dad's doing better
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