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@pami you had 7 years without meds, is that right? So I don't think any doctor had told me that a long drug holiday like that is in the cards for me. My understanding is that over that time Reclast tends to dissipate, and the "locking in gains" applies to short term prevention of rebound from stopping other drugs. But I could be wrong: It does seem there is an expectation from doctors that Reclast will improve bone density over 3-5 years without risks, but if you didn't do any meds for 7 years it seems like natural post-menopausal bone loss would recur. Curious what others have to say!
Replies to "@pami you had 7 years without meds, is that right? So I don't think any doctor..."
@windyshores That's how my thinking goes too. "locking in gains" is a bit of an exaggeration and as you say for a limited time. I'm only just beginning to look into that but it seems that after stopping bisphosphonates you may get a limited number of years of slow decline of bone density. That's your "drug holiday". And that slow decline may vary significantly with Risedronates having the fastest decline and Reclast the slowest.
I am just at the point of starting my second med as a follow up to Evenity and I hope to do another round of Evenity (though maybe a shorter round) after that. But eventually even if I continue to be successful in gaining bone density (and quality I hope) I have to face the same issues we are talking about here. How can we keep those gains and not suppress normal bone functioning too much and for too long? If we take Fosamax or Reclast for 3 years and stop - how long will we keep our bone density? Will we lose all we gained if we stop for 3 years or 5 years? Will we be scared into taking Prolia because it can (supposedly) be taken for more years without danger of overly brittle bone? It's a mess.
Are there studies that address these long term concerns? Any talks by top doctors?
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I have severe osteoporosis and one endocrinologist told me if I took 1-2 years of Reclast I wouldn't have to take anything else ever.