Risedronate Sodium 150mg

I've been taking this med for two years after 3 years of Reclast infusions. While on Reclast, my T scores continued to decline but since starting the Risedronate Sodium my scores have improved to the point that the only score still indicating Osteopenia is my wrist score. I should also mention that for the last 18 months I have been taking Budesonide (a steroid) for colitis management. A major side effect of long-term steroid use is loss of bone density, and I have been taking 1500 mg of calcium daily. I used to supplement with about 1000 mg calcium. So, to see my T scores improve is a major win for me!

Thanks Debra! Appreciate your input.

I’ve taken Risenodate Sodium 150mg once a month for over 3 years. No side effects I am aware of. I want bone density test now but primary dr says results are only realistic after 5 yrs. Have you heard this? I am concerned about Osteoporosis levels decreasing while I blindly take monthly med! Is there evidence taking Risenodate for more than 2 yrs causing decrease in bone density? Please share your info with me. Thanks.

Hmm seems strange every 5 years?!? My insurance said every other year. I would contact your insurance directly. How are we going to know if we keep losing bone density rapidly?

Good luck, DBamos

@dbamos1945 Saying you only need to check the results of taking an osteoporosis medication every 5 years is "just nuts". Traditional Medicare for instance will cover DXAs every year if the doctor bills it properly. The research and studies done in osteoporosis sometimes take DXAs as often as 3 months or 6 months. The great research done by Belinda Beck using heavy resistance exercise for osteoporosis was able to show substantial bone growth at 8 months.
I get DXA scans every year and sometimes more often.

@debhammel Congratulations on your success. Very surprising to hear that Risedronate is working better than Reclast. You just never know what's going to happen!

@sbcher,
Hi, I've been taking monthly Risedronate since last November after completing a year of Evenity. I'm having no side effects and being very careful about following the guidelines.
I'm also getting my CTX bone marker done monthly and unfortunately Risedronate is not keeping my CTX score down. Alarmed at my CTX going up, I took it twice one month and my score dropped down into the range where I think it should be. Then I went back to monthly and my CTX more than doubled. I'm currently researching old studies on Risedronate and thinking of trying to just do it twice monthly. I'm only planning on doing a year of Risedronate and then doing another round of Evenity.

Hi @awfultruth i'm interested in knowing your experience with risedronate as it is an agent in my tool box also, for the future. What's the dosage and frequency that you've used so far? What's your CTX at end of evenity, and the readings after you took risedronate? I read one of the papers regarding risedronate in which CTX of subjects treated with risedronate had decreased from an avg 800 to mid 100s by 4 weeks. Maybe the dose and frequency would make a difference? It will be nice to see how yours compare. Thanks

@awfultruth: hi! Hope this is a better than average day for you!
Thank you for your input regarding bone density scanning! Today I saw my primary doc and had a discussion regarding my osteoporosis. I have been taking monthly Risenodate 150mg for 3 years dutifully with no side effects. He says taking this drug will protect osteoporosis from advancing, but it shows effectiveness very slowly. He agreed to order bone density scan, but said not to be alarmed if little to no bone growth was reported. I will let you know results. Best health to you…

@dbamos1945 , sounds like you had a productive conversation with your doctor. I do agree you should not be alarmed if you had little or no bone growth. But, it depends on your situation. Is stopping bone lose without gains good enough in your situation? Also, some people keep right on losing when taking these meds. So, you're checking not just to see if you gained but also to make sure the drug is working for you and that you are not losing.

And I'll say again it is just plain wrong that it takes years to find out the effects of osteo meds with DXA scans.
Here's just one example and this is not an unusual result for this type of med. From "The efficacy and tolerability of risedronate on bone mineral density and bone turnover markers in osteoporotic Chinese women".
Note that they saw an increase at 3 months and had over 6% gain in a year. It doesn't take years to find out what's happening.
"A significant increase in spine BMD was already evident at month 3 of risedronate treatment (P< 0.001). Risedronate significantly increased BMD and reduced bone turnover markers as compared with placebo. The risedronate group had significant increase in BMD at 12 months at both the spine and hip when compared with the placebo group (L1-4 6.6% vs. 0.4%, P< 0.001; total hip 2.7% vs. 0.3, P< 0.0001; femoral neck 1.8% vs. 1.1%, P< 0.02; trochanter 4% vs. 1.1%, P< 0.0001, respectively).