Pausing Medication

[Barny12]

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum, so please be gentle!

I was diagnosed with osteoporosis late in 2023 and started taking alendronic acid 70mg in Feb. I was also prescribed a statin for cholesterol around the same time.

For the last few months I've been suffering from painful shoulder joints. GP said to pause the statin to see if this was the cause and if not try pausing the alendronic acid. Stopping the statin hasn't worked. The problem is I now can't get a GP appointment for several weeks to discuss stopping the AA - is it safe to pause the AA for a few weeks or do I need to be on a different medication in the meantime - or do I just wait several weeks to speak to my GP?

Thanks in advance.

[Met00]

It's totally safe to stop AA anytime you like. That's true for all the bisphosphonates (of which AA is one), and most of the other meds, but definitely not denosumab (prolia) and possibly not romosozumab (evenity).

[Fruitandnutcase]

I took alendronic acid for four months and then stopped. No problems at all.

[Barny12]

Thanks for the replies.

So, two bonus questions:

Is joint pain often caused by AA? I've noticed that it is listed as a side effect.

If the pain proves to be caused by something else, can I just restart the AA?

Thanks again.

[Met00 in reply to Barny12]

The patient information leaflet says joint pain is very common (may affect more than one in 10 people) and can sometimes be severe. Yes, you can restart the AA if it doesn't appear to be that causing the pain.

[Barny12 in reply to Met00]

thanks very much.

[Walkingdogs in reply to Barny12]

Hi, I had joint pain for about 3 months when I first started AA. It gradually eased.

[Fruitandnutcase]

I had a lot of bone and muscle pain, pain that I didn’t have before I started the AA and in strange places.

I found the bone pain really worrying, it started when I started the AA when I hadn’t had it before. I felt very ill really, it seemed to affect my vision too and I felt depressed. When I stopped it I went back to how I was before. I should add that many years ago before I knew anything about statins I had a spell on them too and had to stop because I could barely walk because of the muscle pain.

I am pretty sure that you would be able to start it again with no difficulty at all.

Although I stopped taking alendronic I know a lot of people who can live with their side effects and I know a huge number of people who say they have no side effects at all.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Barny12 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thanks, you've been really helpful.

[Meuslialways in reply to Barny12]

For many years I took Alendronic tablets once a week that made me feel lousy for 24 hours which I just accepted because my Osteoporosis is so bad. Eventually 4 years ago my Osteoporosis Consultant put me on once a year Infusion from which I had no side effects and it has kept my DXA scans steady with no deterioration.

[Smittybear7 in reply to Meuslialways]

What was the infusion?

[Meuslialways in reply to Smittybear7]

Zoledronic Acid

[1000Miler]

Hi Barny, you might be interested to read Dr Aseem Malhotra's book, "A Statin Free Life". He is an NHS cardiologist and writes in a very accessible style to explain exactly what statins are and what they do and help you make an informed decision as to whether you need to take them or not.amzn.eu/d/50juk7Z

[M3745 in reply to 1000Miler]

I was almost crippled from statins. It happened gradually. When I figured out it could be the statins, I weaned myself off and I’m been pain free ever since. It’s been almost 10 years. Never again! I also took AA for 4 months and started experiencing weird thigh pain and my teeth were hurting. Stopped the AA and all side effects went away. I’ve become very leary about drugs ever since.

[Smittybear7 in reply to M3745]

What are you doing to control your cholesterol if you’re not taking drugs? Thank you.

[M3745 in reply to Smittybear7]

I use a supplement called Pantethine daily and occasionally Red Yeast Rice.

[Smittybear7 in reply to M3745]

A do you have any problems with the red rice yeast?

[M3745 in reply to Smittybear7]

I was told not to use Red yeast rice continuously and to take breaks from it as it can sometimes act as a statin. I cannot tolerate any statin and so by using it intermittently with my daily pantethine, I can keep my numbers in range and haven’t had any issues.

[Smittybear7 in reply to M3745]

is that a prescription drug or over the counter? Who prescribes it and what dosage. Thanks for your help.

[M3745 in reply to Smittybear7]

It’s over the counter. I get them from Amazon. I did some research for natural ways to help my cholesterol since I couldn’t tolerate statins. Both are Jarrow formulas. The directions are on the bottles. This has worked for me but everyone is different.

[Smittybear7 in reply to M3745]

Thanks My cholesterol is 266 LDL 170 triglycerides and HDL are good. Have used red rice yeast in the past and it did lower my cholesterol. The functional medicine daughter I’m working with wants me to take red rice, yeast and niacin to lower the cholesterol.

[M3745 in reply to Smittybear7]

That sounds like a good plan.

[ROSModerator Partner in reply to M3745]

Hi,

As we noticed your conversation around statins and cholesterol, just wanted to highlight that the British Heart Foundation may be a good place for more information and support in this area: bhf.org.uk/

In case you weren't already aware, the British Heart Foundation also have a community here on HealthUnlocked that you might want to check out: healthunlocked.com/bhf

All the very best,

Lulu

ROS Moderator

[ROSModerator Partner]

Hi Barny12 ,

Just wanted to wish you a very warm welcome to our community, thank you for sharing with us - we know it's not an easy thing to do! Just in case you haven't already checked us out, we have lots of information and support on our website that you might find helpful, including information about drug treatments: theros.org.uk/information-a...

We hope you continue to connect and share with our wonderful members here

All the very best,

Lulu

ROS Moderator

[Barny12 in reply to ROSModerator]

Thanks!

[Rems]

I think it's safe to stop (no rebound) and sounds like your gp was planning that. Hope your joint pains settle.