Cyli wrote:
> On 3 Dec 2006 11:23:56 -0800, fiction.notes@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>
> >Do I take it two days late or wait or get back to the weekly schedule?
>
>
> For real medical advice, call your doctor.
>
> Read the instructions. Most medications have something in print about
> "...if you miss a dose..." Generally followed by telling you to take
> the missed dose as soon as possible unless it's almost time for your
> next dose.
>
> If it were me, I'd already have taken it, but I'm neither a doctor nor
> a nurse.
> --
>
> r.bc: vixen
> Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher, etc..
> Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless. Really.
>
> http://www.visi.com/~cyli
Fosamax for Osteo****osis: Risks of Long Term Use
For people with the fragile bones of osteo****osis, Fosamax and
Actonel were approved by the FDA about 11 years ago. Doctors wrote 22
million Fosamax prescriptions last year making 3.2 Billion dollars for
the drug maker, Merck. Fosamax reduced fracture rates in the Fracture
Intervention Trial for severe forms of osteo****osis, but for the milder
form of osteo****osis (osteopenia), there was no benefit. These
bisphosphonate drugs work their magic on bones by making the osteoclast
bone cells nonfunctional. Although this allows new bone formation to
proceed normally, the removal of old bone is halted resulting in
increased bone density which shows up on DEXA bone scan.
In spite of this increased bone density, Dr. Susan Ott, Associate
Professor of Medicine, at the University of Wa****ngton in Seattle
raised questions about the long term safety of bisphosphonates in her
article in J Clin Endo Metab (Vol. 90, No. 3, 2005) . Although the
drugs appear to have short term benefits, Dr. Ott speculates that after
5 years of use, there is severe suppression of bone formation with
negative effects such as microdamage and brittleness of bone which may
cause spontaneous fractures, an outcome quite the opposite of the
intended use of Fosamax. Dr. Ott suggests stopping the drug within
five years to avoid these adverse side effects.
An example of this adverse side effect is described by Dr.
Jennifer P. Schneider in the Jan 2006 issue of Geriatrics re****ting on
a 59-year old previously healthy woman on long-term Fosamax treatment.
One morning, while the woman rode a subway train in New York City, the
train jolted, and the woman ****fted all her weight to one leg, felt a
bone snap, fell to the floor with a spontaneous mid-femur fracture. In
the months following, the mid-femur fracture failed to heal. Dr.
Schneider speculates that the increased bone density from the
bisphosphonate drug did not produce good bone quality. Instead she
speculates that long term use of the drug caused microdamage and
brittle bone formation resulting in the spontaneous mid femur fracture.
Dr. Clarita V. Odvina, in the 2005 issue of J Clin Endo & Metab
(Vol. 90, No. 3) re****ts on 9 patients who had spontanous fractures
while on Fosamax. Five of the nine cases were spontaneous mid femur
fractures with minimal trauma. Dr. Odvina raised the possibility that
long-term Fosamax (alendronate) therapy could result in increased
susceptibility to fractures, quite the opposite of its intended use.
Another bone which shows weakening from bisphosphonates is the jaw bone
which literally falls apart, a term called osteonecrosis. A recent
Library of Medicine Medline search yielded 165 articles on
osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with bisphosphonate use, and most
dentists have by now received warnings about this problem. Dr.
Dimitrakopoulos from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. re****ts in July 2006
issue of Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 11 patients presenting with
necrosis of the jaw, and he claims this to be a new complication of
bisphosphonate therapy. He advises physicians to reconsider the merits
of the rampant use of bisphosphonate drugs for osteo****osis.
Osteonecrosis of the jaw is also a common finding in the rare genetic
bone disease called, pycnodysostosis, which is what afflicted Toulouse
Lautrec, the famous French Impressionist artist. By the way, Toulouse
also suffered spontaneous mid femur fractures at the age of 12, just
like the woman on the subway described above. His fractures failed to
heal and Toulouse Lautrec only attained a height of 4 and a half feet.
ignore line (alpha beta doch dach dash drdach jeff jeffrey epsilon tau
sigma)
In conclusion, the bisphosphonate drugs for osteo****osis may have some
short term benefits, however, adverse side effects of spontaneous
fracture and osteonecrosis of the jaw should be mentioned when
considering long term use.
Vitamin D deficiency is a serious problem even in sunny latitudes
because people avoid the sun. 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels should be
over 40ng/dl for good health. If in doubt, have a level checked and if
low supplement with vitamin D.
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