Hi everyone
I have been taking Alendronic acid once a week for about 5 months now. I take steroids as i have PMR and my GP has insisted i need this weekly tablet to avoid osteoporosis. I have had a bone density scan which is normal. I dread Mondays when i take the tablet, and the side effects seem awful. The GP assures me this is necessary to avoid broken bones in my 70s ( i am now 65) i would very much like to hear others views please.
If your scan was ok then why would you need it? I had same decision last year and scan was fine so I refused to take it and take adcal and do weight bearing in exercise. I am a big girl so that is the weight I bear! There are dietary things you can do too. Others have improved bone health and I am sure they will be along soon.
If you need to take it, my gp insists too (although I have stopped now and he seems not to have noticed) I found AA too horrible with the side effects and he changed my med to Risonodrate - no side effects at all.
Best wishes
My Dr said the same . He said it was normal practice to subscribe AA with steroids. I requested a dexa scan and told him if normal was stopping them. It was and I did. Side effects from AA too scary. My body . My bones.
What are the scary side effects? Sue.
If you search Alendonic Acid and read comments you can make a decision. There's a post from a year ago from PRO MO which explains a bit more.
Thank you
Thanks.
I can tell you that at 75 with stable osteoporosis I was advised by one of the initial AA investigators that were it not for Pred he would advise me not to take AA. However, with PMR the balance shifted toward taking it. I will get off of it asap when I get low enough.
Unfortunately, recent studies show that even at lower doses of Pred, there is still some accelerated loss of bone.
I also take omeprazole which doesn't help either from what I've been told.
Thank you so much for taking time to reply, Jud
Short answer, Bone Density OK.............do not take it.
Before you take Adcal, ask for a Calcuim check. I did not know and ended upp with pseudo gout, caused by excess calcium which formed crystals. 7 years down the line, gall stones......you guessed it, calcium grit.
Sometimes these 'just in case' are a problem. After the pseudo-gout, I refused to take any 'just in case'. I told them if and when it happens we deal with it.
I often wonder, when complaints are made about the prescription level, how many are 'just in case'?
Thank you for that, i think you are right, Jud
My GP insisted I took Alendronic Acid just because I was taking steroids, I had an excellent Dexascan. I disagreed with him and we had quite a row which I thought I had won. The next time I saw him the same thing happened! Hopefully that is the end of matters.
Infuriating, isn't it? We are adults, we weigh the risks and determine what's going to work for us. I am fortunate I've never had to fight with my doctor; she was reluctant but she gave way to my saying I wouldn't take the drug, and within a few months I was proven right.
When you are on a low dose of pred your rheumy may let you stop taking them. Mine did but I was on like 2 i think. Good luck.
Watch this space i'm at my GPs this morning for a check up so once again i will mention AA.
He's talking baloney... If you have a normal dexascan now you shouldn't be taking AA but be n calcium and vit D supplements and walking/exercising as well as you are able and have another dexascan 2 years down the line. I have been on pred for over 8 years, after 7 years there had been no significant change in my bone density - NO alendronic acid.
I started taking it - automatic script - and then did my homework before seeing a different GP who agreed with me that the emerging evidence on AA was perhaps not as castiron good as one would like. That was nearly 9 years ago - and more has emerged since then.
IF my bone density suggested I needed it I would take it. As it is - I don't.
Thank you so much for that, it makes a lot of sense, i can't sit on the fence much longer. I had a GP appointment this morning hoping to sort it out once and for all but sadly my little dog was run over down our farm track by a speeding mountain biker so had to be rushed to the vets, he seems to have got away with cuts and bruises. So, as the dog comes first, i had to cancel, and of course it's 3 weeks before i can see him !!!
And no doubt the biker got off scot-free both with the scrapes and the financial implications? They do here too...
He didn't stop !!!
It is disgusting - ALL cyclists should have to have third party insurance and be registered. As a skier I would have to take responsibility for any accident I cause and as for cyclists on the road, don't get me started! If I, as a driver, had hit your dog I would have had to stop and report it. It is no different.
If you cannot tolerate those awful weekly horse pills you could ask for a Zolendronate infusion instead. It is administered in hospital once a year.
Thank you for that, i'll look into that but i would imagine the possible side effects are similar.
Hi, Jud666, It’s confusing, isn’t it? My doctor put me on it right away. It was like a box he needed to check. After following some discussions here on AA, I dug deeper and asked for my scores and got my Dexa results. I was osteopenic (sp?) but my FRAX score was low.
I used the following articles to discuss with my doctor my desire to stop taking AA.
2017 American College of Rheumatology Guide.
rheumatology.org/Portals/0/...
Table 1 showed me what risk category I was in due to Frax score (I was low risk even with osteopenia)
Table 2 on page 8 of 17: For Adults over 40 at low risk: Optimize calcium and Vitamin D intake and lifestyle modifications over bisphophonates because of low-quality evidence on antifracture benefit of the alternattive treatments in this low group, costs, and potential harms.
nof.org/news/new-wall-stree...
Next article I used was from New Wall Street Journal...”bisphosphones are absolutely effective...it makes sense to wait until you have a disgnosis of osteoporosis and not take the drug more than 5 years”..Timothy Bhattacharyya, Head of Osteoporsis Research at the National Institute of Health
Then I gave him the COMB study, too.
hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2...
I emailed all of this to my doc prior to my appointment. He agreed that I could stop taking AA without any further discussion.
You can find other articles that might be of interest at Pinned Posts...websites-useful stuff You’ll need to scroll down to find them.,,, under Bone health. Almost all have come from past discussions here.
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
(Sorry, i see some broken links. I’ll try to get those fixed next week while at computer at work.)
Hope this helps.
Oooh - Insight - can you post this as a new thread with a clear title so it is easy to find. Very useful.
Sure. It may have to wait until I get back to work on Monday so I can use the computer. I just use my iPad at home and haven’t figured out how to copy blocks of text on it.
No problem - just whenever...
You're absolutely it helps ! Thank you so much for taking the time. Jud
You are most welcome. Sorry to read about your dog’s accident. Hope he’s doing better and no permanent injuries.
He is fine, thank you, amazingly nothing broken just cuts and bruises.
stop taking it. you do not need!
Did you notice it's a 2 year old thread!!!
hahaha. I am way too far down the rabbit hole!!
It happens every so often - there is a rash of responses to old posts! Had 3 today ...
A bit confused about when to take various tablets: Pred, EvaCal, Vit K2 Mk7, Vit D3 and a question about Alendronic Acid
On the “horns of a dilemma” re Alendronic Acid 😳
is it too soon to for a PMR flare ?
Taking Alendronic Acid & Dentists won't touch me!
It is too late for imaging for GCA?
