Bisphosphonates like Fosamax have been linked to a very bad side effect. An effect that is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do. Below is a study. Before reading it, consider a little background about bone density, what bisphosphonates do and do not do. Then consider this question. What if there was a better way?
Sally Fields is on an advertisement. The ad speaks about 9 out of 10 women stopped and reversed bone loss. She did it with a group of medications called bisphosphonates (bis FOS fo nayts).
Do you know what can happen to the 10th. Are you and unfortunate few.
Before I tell you, you should know that…
…these drugs are used to treat or even to prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis. They are also prescribed for steroid-induced osteoporosis. There is another bone disease called Pagets that they are used for.
…these drugs have very few problems for very few people. Often times the researchers felt it was because of other medicines (think drug interactions and then thing adverse drug interactions).
…these drugs have a very nasty side effect for a very few. A side effect that seems to be the exact opposite of what the drug is intended to do.
…long term use is associated with increased susceptibility and delayed healing of non-spinal fractures.
…in the Emergency Department or ER as some would call it, we rarely see a broken leg where two bones are broken.
John Abramson MD Says in his book, Overdosed America had some interesting facts on this.
He found that if about 80 women with osteoporosis take Fosamax to prevent one hip fracture.
And if they take it for about 4 years.
It will cost about $300,000 collectively.
So, is it worth it?
Well…in one study of Fosamax published in JAMA in 1998, there were women with
osteopenia. Did Fosamax do what it says?
Mark Twain explains why the the study said what it said, “There are liars, damn liars and statisticians.”
If you read the article it would seem like the risk went down. The study according to John Abramson MD, actually shows that the risk of hip fractures increased 84 percent with Fosamax use.
He also said that writs fractures risk increased by 50 percent.
One more thing…For some, it increased their pain of unknown origin (although it was bone pain).
There is more information on this than can be covered in several posts. If your interested, start doing a search on the web. Start with sites by Medical Doctors. You should not just stop Fosamax. There should also be something you replace it with.
There is a better way.
