First dose of Actonel

[Jeaniem130]

I took my first dose of Actonel this morning, 35mg. I have had diarrhea since an hour after taking it. Will this pass as I get used to it?

[Arcadia10]

I had loose, urgent bowel movements about 20 minutes after taking my weekly Actonel tablet - every week - but only once on that day. After that all was normal until the following weekly tablet. This has continued with my recent switch to Fosamax, so it must be something to do with bisphosphonates. I've got used to it now. I've never really had diarrhea in the past - just the opposite - so this is a new experience for me. Just see how things go for a few weeks and reassess then if it really bothers you.

[Met00 in reply to Arcadia10]

Did the Actonel work for you (increase bone density)? I'd be concerned that an episode of diarrhoea every time I took a tablet would mean that it wasn't absorbed properly.

[Arcadia10 in reply to Met00]

Actually, that's a really good point. I was using Actonel as a relay drug to get off Prolia safely (recently switched to Fosamax) and it didn't do the job as I've fractured both my left and right sacral ala plus my right pelvis. My bowel clearly doesn't like bisphosphonates and so gets rid of them very quickly, but I hadn't made the connection between the urgent loose bowel movements and lack of bone density = fracture. My next DEXA is in March 2022 when I expect to see a significant bone loss as I stopped Prolia in March 2020. Prolia increased my bone density by 15% in my hip and 8% in my spine.

[Met00 in reply to Arcadia10]

So sorry you've had that experience. Had you fractured before Prolia?

[Arcadia10 in reply to Met00]

No. I hadn't had a fragility fracture, but had had a shear fracture of my left tibia caused by jumping off a motorbike the wrong way and getting my foot caught. I was scared into having Prolia shots by an endocrinologist because I had been diagnosed with osteoporosis several years earlier, and the motorbike fracture was the trigger for putting me on to it, I believe mistakenly. I had lots of side effects over the two years I was on it and my GP told me to stop as I was allergic to it. Getting off Prolia is a minefield. My sacrum and pelvis have fractured, but I saw an orthopedic specialist today and he thinks they will heal over the next 18 months without any surgical intervention. Fingers crossed!

[Met00 in reply to Arcadia10]

What a dreadful experience, and how awful that medication you may not have needed has ended up causing you so many additional problems. It shocks .e how readily some doctors prescribe Prolia, which is only intended for severe cases and comes with so many warnings. I do hope you make a full recovery from your fractures.

[Arcadia10 in reply to Met00]

Thanks for your good wishes. I consider myself lucky that I haven't had any lumbar or thoracic fractures - yet. There are several people on this site who are in wheelchairs because of multiple vertebral rebound fractures after stopping Prolia. I'm hoping to avoid that scenario! I'm not in any pain right now, but did spend a week in hospital for pain control after the first sacral ala fracture in September and then six weeks on crutches. I'm aiming to wean off the Fosamax as soon as it's safe, hopefully by mid-2022, and will never take these OP drugs again. Fortunately I only had two years on the demon Prolia. Others have been on it for much longer, and it's not easy to stop it safely. I don't envy their journey.

[Jeaniem130]

I will not be taking any more of it. I had diarrhea several times until late afternoon and no appetite. Thankfully a nerve root spinal injection that had been scheduled on this day had been changed to next week or I would have been charged a no show fee. I start PT next week.

[Mark_ABH]

Hi Jeaniem130, diarrhea is a listed common side effect of Actonel (aka risedronate). Here is more information about FDA-approved treatments for osteoporosis (Actonel is listed under "Bisphosphonates"): americanbonehealth.org/fda-...