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Osteoporosis Drugs Like Fosamax May Increase Risk of Fractures and Brittle Bones in Some Women
March 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
Do you know what a “low energy femoral shaft and subtrochanteric fracture” is? If you take a drug like Fosamax for osteoporosis or osteopenia, now is the time to get informed. These words, added to Fosamax inserts, warn that taking this drug increases your risk of fracturing your femur, or thigh bone, even during low impact activities. As the femur is among the strongest in the body, the unusual incidence of fractures in Fosamax users prompted the FDA to require manufacturer Merck to include the warning. For the full story, see yesterday’s ABC World News’ Osteoporosis Drugs, Like Fosamax May Increase Risk of Broken Bones in Some Women. This is only the latest in serious problems associated with this class of drugs, called biphosphonates. Start with our report on the FDA alert last June warning of “the possibility of severe and sometimes incapacitating bone, joint and/or muscle pain” and follow our growing list of links.
Merck is currently fielding hundreds of lawsuits related to death of jaw bone tissue. Trials begin anew later in the spring.
In fact, for some of the clearest data on reported side effects from the biphosphonate class of drugs – which the FDA alerts includes as Actonel, Actonel+Ca, Aredia, Boniva, Didronel, Fosamax, Fosamax+D, Reclast, Skelid, and Zometa – the Fosamax Lawsuit Update tracks the events, beginning with studies in 2005, that caused the FDA to examine and update its labeling for biphosphonates.
The severe pain some women experience can occur within days, months, or years of taking these drugs. While some women’s symptoms completely resolve after discontinuing the drugs, others’ pain continues. And while bisphosphonates are routinely given to menopausal and postmenopausal women, there is no research indicating how long they should take them. With the increasing side effects, many doctors are now recommending a five-year limit.
A look at bone physiology
Our team at aheadofthecurveatmidlife, which includes a pharmacist, acupuncturist, and nutritionist, is committed to getting out the straight facts about osteoporosis and osteopenia, and the choices women have in addressing their own risks as well as taking control of their own care.
Our commitment is redoubled when we read a doctor say, as in the current media report, that some women taking biphosphonate drugs lose “their ability to regenerate their skeleton …” and that “normally your bone is constantly being remade .. [but] “these patients don’t remake their bone and they acquire damage, microdamage, the collagen gets altered and we need to rejuvenate the skeleton.”
While this is undoubtedly true, there is more to the story.
It’s true that with age new bone cell growth slows down – but not completely. If you take a look at bone physiology, you see that new bone cells are constantly being made, and old cells are being eliminated. This is the balance that creates healthy bones, and it continues throughout our lives. The action of biphosphonates, however, is to preserve the old cells – to prevent them from being eliminated – and not to create healthy new bone cells. It some respects, it also slows the growth of healthy new cells. So, it’s not surprising that studies are showing that poor quality, or ‘brittle bones,’ are causing the fractures that occur in women who take these drugs.
Osteoporosis and Osteopenia as Warning Signs
In fact, the slowed rate of new bone cell growth can often be attributed to lifestyle factors, like getting the 24 micro-nutrients through your diet, or supplements – not only calcium – that are needed to grow new bone. For example, see Vitamin D and You at Midlife. As we age our habits do indeed catch up with us – see Soft Drinks: America’s Other Drinking Problem. In addition, loss of calcium from bones may be considered the body’s first line of response in balancing the pH of the blood, which it considers more important in its hierarchy of survival needs than bone. Higher than normal pH – that is, slightly acid blood usually caused by eating processed foods, sugars, and unmanaged stress – causes calcium to be moved out of the bone to restore balance in the blood.
From this perspective, osteopenia and osteoporosis are warning signs for women – and men – to step back and take a look at how they may be contributing to their condition – and then to commit to taking action to modify known lifestyle factors that impact bone health. Women who want to rejuvenate their bones and their overall health can do it without relying on pharmaceutical interventions that may or may not benefit them, and that carry their own risks.
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Sign up to read our free report, The Selling of Osteoporosis, to help to sort out the often misleading claims as well as the true benefits of osteoporosis drugs.
To learn about a drug-free and natural way to prevent – or even reverse – osteoporosis and osteopenia without side effects, master the essentials in our Women Doing It For Themselves – 8 Steps to Building Bone Health for Lifelong Vitality program.
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