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Side effect of STOPPING Fosamax
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mpsmom posted:
My 75yo Aunt has been on Fosamax and her doctor recently told her she could stop taking it. As far as I know, she didn't have any side effects while taking it, but now that she's off it, she is having the typical side effects of taking it (muscle and joint pain). Has anyone ever heard of something like this before? Is this a total coincidence or just old age kicking in?
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bonebabe responded:
Because the medication stays in your body for years, I doubt that going off of it recently would account for the muscle pains.
 
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BruinsNana responded:
Where is her pain and how long ago did she stop taking the Fosomax? How many years was she on it? They are recommending a 10 year limit now. It took about a year for me to notice the pains in my femurs, and after my left femur broke then they checked my right femur and found 5 stress fractures that I didn't know I had. They never showed up on bone density tests so maybe she should insist on having regular x-rays to look for any possible fractures.
 
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jeanintexas replied to BruinsNana's response:
BruinsNana,

The FDA as of 9/9/11 is considering a label change for bisphosphanates. A drug holiday or 5 years usage has been offered. If you not reported your femur fracture to the FDA, please do so. Our support group was represented last Friday. There are at least 111 of us with fractured femurs thanks to bisphosphanates. Btw, stress fractures will not be detected on a Dexa scan. They may best be tested by a nuclear bone scan. If you google Fosamax news you will see that there are now over 300 articles regarding the FDA 's panel results.
 
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larsstarscanary replied to BruinsNana's response:
Hi, BruinsNana,

Did you know that there are lawsuits going on related to Fosamax and the others like it. I took it 7 years. So far, I don't have any breaks.

Do you think that you will sue for the breaks and fractures you sustained?
 
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Elizabeth_WebMD_Staff replied to jeanintexas's response:
Here is the article about label changes and fractures -

FDA Panel: Osteoporosis Drugs Need Better Labels

Elizabeth
 
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Elizabeth_WebMD_Staff replied to larsstarscanary's response:
Hi Lars,

Are you taking any osteo meds now?

Elizabeth
 
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femurfractured replied to jeanintexas's response:
I am a 58 year old female that was diagnosed Dec 2010 with osteoporosis and was told by my doctor to start taking Fosamax.I exersise 5 days a week, I dont smoke and drink very seldom.I take calicum,vitamin D, Magnesium. I was at my daughters xmas eve cooking and sat done for a few minutes to talk to her.When I stood up my left femur fractured.I spent xmas eve having a plate and 4 screws put in my femur.I was looking so forward to having my follow up bone density scan Jan 4 2012 thinking my bones had gotten better from the Fosamax.I am now seeking an attorney.Anyone else have any law suits going on? I would also like to see if anyone has any advise on Physical Therapy I could be doing until I go to my Ortho doctor in 8 days.This happened to me in TN and I live in TX. I would appreciate any feedback.
 
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Tomato05 replied to femurfractured's response:
I think Merck now adds femur fractures to the risks in their package advice, which probably means that you cannot really sue them any more for that.
 
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jdesautels replied to femurfractured's response:
To: Femurfractured
I have had Osteoperosis for many years. The best physical therapy known to man is aquatic therapy. I go to the YMCA where they have daily exercise called "twinges in the hinges". It is very low impact, but exercises every joint in your body. I've been going for about 6 months now, 2-3x each week and I feel great. Perhaps you could look into that in your area.
Best wishes to find the program just right for you.
 
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bonebabe replied to jdesautels's response:
Aquatic therapy is excellent therapy for a lot of things, however, because it's not weight bearing, it has little, if any, effect on bone growth. It's great for the joints and osteoarthritis though. I do it myself.


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