Answer/Reply:

I'm a 77 year old male and I, too, have been taking Fosamax since around 2001. In direct answer to you question...does it still work after 5 years? You bet it does. As a matter of fact I have read that if you discontinue it, it will continue work for some period of time. How much exercise do you get? You might try a different calcium/vitamin D. I just had a DEXA and I passed. I work out 3 days a week at the local Y and
walk 15 to 20 miles a week. That helps build sturdy
bones.

78 year old Male

Posted: 2009-04-16 00:51:06

Answer/Reply:

I had heard that, too, so after taking Foxamax for 7 yrs. I asked my doctor and she said to stop taking it. I now take calcium 2x/day, walk often, and do weight bearing exercises. We'll see how this has worked when I have my next bone density test.

72 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-16 17:21:37

Answer/Reply:

i had to stop fosomax after 2 years, chest pains and was hospitalized. i have searched the internet for alternatives, attempt to keep my body ph balanced, eat the right foods, exercise, stop the blue sugars, use stevia (acme) havenot had updated dexascan

54 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-16 18:10:16

Answer/Reply:

i am 62 years old and i take fosamax,calcium and 400mg ui vitamin D 3 times a day.
my last scan seemed to show an improvement.
they now have an iv that last a year you could ask your dr about.

64 year old Male

Posted: 2009-04-16 18:31:26

Answer/Reply:

I was loosing bone density due to an over active parathyroid which has since been removed. My Endocrinologist told me to take Calcium Citrate plus D because it is more readyly absorbed by the system where you may be on other medications. This seems to be working fine for me, but I am a male, 66, 165#, so, this might no apply to you in the same way.

67 year old Male

Posted: 2009-04-20 16:16:44

Answer/Reply:

I, TOO, AM ON FOSAMAX BUT JUST RECENTLY MY CARDIOLOGIST RECOMMENDED THAT I TAKE OSTEOPRIME ULTRA AND LACTOFERRIN. IF YOU LOOK THEM UP IT WILL TELL YOU WHERE YOU MAY ORDER THEM.

71 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-20 18:46:09

Answer/Reply:

How often/much do you take of the calcium? My doctor has me on 600mg calcium with Vit. D twice a day (my mother takes it 3 times a day). You should talk to your doctor if HE suggests you take a higher dose or take what you have more often. As for the fosmaxin I am not at all familiar with that medication. If I have any questions about medication I ask my local pharmacist. Hoped this helped.

54 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-20 19:52:14

Answer/Reply:

My doctor took me off fosomax and calcium too. Instead I take 1000 Vitamin D twice a day instead. If you fill your diet with enough calcium foods he told me I would be OK.
They are finding that calcium isn't working like they thought. This is from an osteoporosis specialist in Portland, Oregon, Michael , MD

64 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-20 20:25:18

Answer/Reply:

I have been on fosomax with Calcit (calcium + vitamin D) for years, on account of Paget's disease and osteoporosis. I recently fell off my bike and suffered very painful groin-strain and bruised side-of-pelvis BUT BROKE NO BONE AT ALL !!
81year old male

83 year old Male

Posted: 2009-04-27 11:25:01

Answer/Reply:

I use to be on fosamax and I was told to get off of it because it will rob me of my calcium. now i have to take 50,000 units of D once a week, plus my calcium plus d pills and I take a supplement called Limbrel twice a day and I am only 52 years old. my blood work came back 4 days ago with all my arthritis, and fibromyalgia u can add Lupus ( not the skin disease)

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-22 11:44:23

Answer/Reply:

How do you take 50,000 units of vit. D? I have ms and take extra vit. d, but 50,000 units sounds excessive, to me. Am I wrong or can one od on vit. d?

67 year old female

69 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-25 16:01:06

Answer/Reply:

My physician just took me off Fosamax. I have been taking it over 5 years. She stated there is no added benefit after 5 years. My back pain disappeared after stopping Fosamax.

85 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-24 17:15:25

Answer/Reply:

I have had my second infusion of Reclast with no side effects. The infusion of Reclast is done once a year and was done at my infusion & arthritis center. I had very good results after only infusion and just recently had my second one.

Hope this helps

68 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-03 19:10:31

Answer/Reply:

Degenerative Disc Disease is a form of Arthritis in the spinal column. It may be in your family or can be caused by an injury. There are new surgerys to help some people with DDD but I wouldnt suggest them unless you get a very very good prognosis for recovery. My Dr. said 50% I would live and 50% I may not walk again after surgery. I can walk now (with pain, but I can walk) so I am taking my chances with Pain killers and muscle relaxers. Sometimes these dont work either, you can still be in alot of pain from inflamation at the site of your DDD. When this happens I take an herbal medication called Curamin (Curamin.com) You can check into it at this site and get a sample to try it also. It may not work for you, but it has been a miracle worker for me, although it is not cheap ($35.99) for a 60 count bottle, I will swear by it. I have not had this much freedom from my pain in 10 years. can't hurt to try a sample. Best of luck!

49 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-05 16:41:13

Answer/Reply:

I also have Degenerative Disc Disease and have had 3 back surgeries, the latest being a disc fusion. I still have pain from the arthritis, but is much better than when I first had the problem. The fluid in my disc had leaked out (a lot) and was sitting on a nerve, so the pain was terrible. There really was no option. I still take Lortab daily and my pain management doctor tried putting me on morphine, but I could not tolerate it. My surgeon did not give me the same prognosis (50/50% chance of not walking) In fact, after my disc fusion my surgeon told me to walk as much as I could. It seemed to work for me.

68 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-04 19:31:05

Answer/Reply:

osteoporosis is what most loss calcium in your joints. Osteoarthritis is the pain from that loss.
when i was 6 weeks old i had a high fever the doctor told my mom i will have calcium loss problems. i have been taking calcium pills all my life, I have osteoarthritis and porosis. the doctors thought they were helping me when I was taking fosamax that made it worse. but now i take 50,000 units of D once a week, calcium plus D 1,000 mg 2 xs a day, and most of all Limbrel 250 mgs dietary Management of Osteoarthritis. in your case tho I have a friend that has had several operations when it came time to work on her back she talked to doctor to do a radio electronic disk . it is working it is stopping the pain and she is taking the calcium. Good Luck

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-22 12:06:43

Answer/Reply:

Actually, that's partly true. Osteoporosis is calcium loss in your Bones, not joints. Not sure if arthritis is the result of porosis or not. I'm a Certified Medical Assistant as well as osteopenia patient. Was taking weekly oral solution Foxamax but stopped due to minor esophagitis. Been on it a few years. But I need to know what kind of doctor I should see for severe osteopenia. Like I said in my previous question, I'm 48 yrs old. Thanks!

49 year old Female

Posted: 2009-07-06 17:14:13

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

There are different answers for the vitamin D and Bone Density tests. For vitamin D, most people in the general population probably don’t need a vitamin D level check ever, they just need to take the right amount of vitamin D, which for adults many experts believe is about 1,000 units a day. If you have reasons why you do not absorb vitamin D or are taking certain medications known to interfere with absorption, then you should have your vitamin D measured. If you are tested and you establish that your vitamin D level is fine, it would be unusual for you to have to keep rechecking that level. How often you should have your bone density checked is a tough question because there is not a single answer that fits every situation. In general, Medicare will cover one Bone Density test every 2 years. There are, however, situations where more frequent measurements are clinically warranted. One would be a patient on steroids (e.g., prednisone). People who are in a situation where they are likely to be losing rapidly should have their Bone Density tested every year. There’s little point in getting your Bone Density tested more frequently than once per year, because bone doesn’t change that fast.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:51:00

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

The circumstances surrounding the occurrence of osteonecrosis of the jaw are several fold: 1) the trauma of a tooth extraction, 2) the trauma to the jaw of an ill-fitting denture putting too much loading on a particular area of the jaw, and 3) an invasive procedure such as a dental implant. Patients on steroids, receiving chemotherapy, or taking an immunosuppressant are at higher risk. Length of time on a bisphosphonate and use of high, high bisphosphonate doses also increase risk. The bisphosphonate Reclast has been available for years under the brand name Zometa; Zometa is used to prevent the spread of cancer in bone. Its in those cancer patients who received several-fold higher doses of bisphosponate that this connection was originally made. Osteonecrosis is so rare for bisphosphonate doses in the osteoporosis dosage range that I’ve only seen two cases of it and that’s in a huge practice. Do we know whether if you stopped the bisphosphonate it lowers your chance of having a problem should you need a dental extraction or implant down the road? we have no data on that. However, if you want to make an educated guess, you would stop it and allow the bone regeneration capacity to resume. And that time interval is going to depend on which drug you’re taking. If you’re on Actonel you can escape from that suppression in a year, but if you’re on Fosamax it’s going to take several years. If you’re on Reclast, I don’t know how long, but a long time. So that’s a lot of talk without giving you a single specific answer because we don’t yet have the information needed to make that call.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:36:15

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I took Boniva for a year and a half, oral surgeon says I have to be off of it for 4 months before implants. He says it stays in your system that long.

Posted: 2008-10-31 17:58:12

Answer/Reply:

when i went to the pharmacy the pharmacist told me i couldn't take my vitamin calcium/d with the boniva for at least an hour before or after i take the boniva. i have severe osteoporosis and have never taken it because i'm afraid of the side effects. can anyone that has taken boniva for awhile let me know if the side effects are worse than you thought. especially about the teeth and the jaw and ulcers. please let me know if boniva works best/ with the least side effects. ty, paula

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-02-16 09:29:18

Answer/Reply:

I take a low daily dose of Actonel to treat my osteopenia (pre-osteoporosis) after trying the once-a-week dose. The once-a-week dose did upset my stomach, but the low-dose daily tablet does not bother me at all. Since I must take Synthroid (on an empty stomach) as well (following a total thyroidectomy for cancer), I take that in the middle of the night (I generally wake up once or twice). Then in the morning, I take my Actonel (which also must be taken on an empty stomach and not around any calcium or multi-vitamin). I generally take my vitamins after breakfast (which is about an hour after I take the Actonel). Hope this helps!

58 year old Female

Posted: 2009-02-26 12:23:40

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

We have a little bit of information on the potential for drug holidays, but not wonderful information. I can tell you about a study of Fosomax where it was taken for at least 5 years, and then it was stopped for 5 years. In the study, the number of fractures occurring in the trials during the Fosomax on and during the Fosomax off period were calculated. It turned out that it was only after about 3-4 years off the Fosomax that the spine fracture rate started to rise again. It raises the possibility that one could take a drug like Fosomax for some number of years, have an off-period, and then get back on. We really do need more research to identify the optimum schedule for use of these drugs. So what I (and many doctors) will do in the case of patients who have been on a bisphosphonate for a long time is to take them off for a one-year holiday. And you can actually measure the bone turnover markers and once they start to go back up, you can decide whether to get back on that treatment or some other treatment. So I’d likely start patients with a year holiday and then decide from there whether we can extend the so called holiday. I would do that in people who are not in dire trouble in terms of bone density and who are not actively fracturing. If a patient were actively fracturing I would by no means entertain a holiday.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:44:17

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I have been on Fosamax for 7 years, now. People tell me that the drug doesnt do any good after that amount of years ???

Posted: 2008-08-25 16:42:42

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

It is pretty common practice to use a loading regimen in clinics. In my practice, we use 50,000 units a week for 8 weeks, and then drop down to a maintenance level of 1,000 units per day. So yes, that is commonly done, and is a good idea for really deficient people so that it does not take months to get their vitamin D levels corrected. If you were to just go straight to maintenance it would be 3 months before you would bring the blood level up to the desired level.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:25:30

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Both forms of calcium, carbonate and citrate, are very good supplements. Calcium carbonate is used more often because it has a higher proportion of calcium for a given size pill, so a person would have to take fewer pills. If you’re going to use calcium carbonate, it should be taken with meals because research has shown that calcium carbonate is absorbed well when taken with food. If taken on an empty stomach, especially by an individual who does not produce sufficient acid in their stomach (and there are a lot of these people), it will not be absorbed very well. So for calcium carbonate, its best to take it with meals. On the other hand, calcium citrate is highly absorbed regardless of whether its taken with food. As a result, a person doesn’t need to take it at mealtime; one can take it as they wish. Many physicians will recommend a dose at bedtime because it will have a favorable affect on the hormone changes and bone turnover changes that occur at night. The amount of calcium that one takes at one time is also very important. If a person were to take more than 500-600 milligrams as a single dose, they would absorb no more than if they had taken 500-600 milligrams. So the point is that if you need to get 1,000mg each day from supplements, take half of it at one time, and then wait at least several hours before taking the other half (i.e., split the dose).

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:45:44

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

There has been an increasing amount of research into this question over the past few years. It started with some evidence a few years ago that vitamin D3 might be better absorbed than vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is of animal source and it’s also the variety our bodies make when we are exposed to sun. While vitamin D2 is chemically similar, it comes from plant sources. More recent evidence has cast a question about whether it really matters whether a person takes vitamin D2 or vitamin D2, but its probably best to stay with vitamin D3. In fact, it is getting harder and harder to find vitamin D2 in supplements and multivitamins; almost all of the companies are now using vitamin D3. The place where we do have vitamin D2 as our only option here in the US is for the high dose pills. When patients are prescribed 50,000 units either once a week or once a month, it is always vitamin D2. There is no comparable form of vitamin D3 for the high dose.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:46:34

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

The new National Osteoporosis Foundation’s Guideline for Clinicians has a long list of risk factors including the following medications: anti-coagulants (heparin, warfarin/coumadin); anticonvulsants (used in epilepsy, bipolar disorder, pain); aromatase inhibitors (e.g., Arimidex used in breast cancer chemotherapy); barbiturates; many cancer chemotherapy drugs; depo-medroxyprogesterone; glucocorticoids (e.g., prednisone); gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (used in prostate cancer treatment); Lithium and organ transplant medications (cyclosporine A, tacrolimus).

Posted: 2008-07-29 09:41:33

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

There has been a lot of study about milk and supplements. There is one study in which reconstituted powdered milk was compared with calcium carbonate supplements to see which one would have a better effect over a several year period on changes in bone density in postmenopausal women. They were both compared with a placebo. The result was that the calcium carbonate and the milk were both effective and equally effective in not only preventing bone loss but also in giving a little bit of bone gain, and that is the best evidence that we have regarding milk. So, I think that it is perfectly safe. How much? For age 50 and older, the total calcium intake for the day should reach 1,200mg. I do not think it is wise, and many do not believe it is very smart to go up above 1,600mg per day for fear that there might be some increased risk of kidney stones, although we do not have proof of that. So, in order to know how much, if milk were the only source of calcium in your diet, which it is not, you would have to drink a quart of milk each day. Each 8 oz. glass has 300mg of calcium. But without taking any other calcium rich foods in your diet, you’re going to pick up around 300mgs of calcium, from your fruits, vegetables, grains etc. When you start from a base of 300mg, and have a glass of milk, you’re up to 600mg, so you’re going to need another 600mg from a different source. You have to make your own calculations to get to 1200mg from a combination of food and supplements.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:32:00

Answer/Reply:

Is osteporosis a life long problem or can medicine cure it?
female, 52

54 year old Female

Posted: 2008-07-22 19:53:18

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Several researchers have looked at the soda situation and not all sodas have the same effect. The dark colas are heavy in phosphates, whereas light colored sodas are not. There’s been concern that the high phosphate or dark cola drinks could have a bad effect on bone, and the evidence is mixed but suggests that they probably do have a mild negative effect on bone. The real negative impact however is that they displace other drinks from the diet. People are only going to drink a couple of liters of liquids each day, and if people are drinking big 16 oz. colas, that doesn’t leave much liquid space left in their daily allotment. Net/net, soda in moderation is fine; light color drinks are slightly better. More broadly, drinks that are high in caffeine should be used in moderation because caffeine causes calcium to be lost in the urine which in turn, can have a negative effect on bone. Another big culprit in the American diet is salt. Sodium chloride, table salt, also causes calcium to be lost through the urine (similar to caffeine), but salt has a much more powerful affect.

Posted: 2008-07-29 10:21:51