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Reclast Infusions: Side-effects & Recovery time
Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (743)Comment receiving replies
I had my first Reclast infusion a month ago. First day was fine, but the following night I had severe foot and calf cramps for about four hours while trying to fall asleep.
Five days later, my wrists swelled up to the point I had limited use of my hands and was in a lot of pain. After three days of ice/Advil, I went to Urgent Care and the PA prescribed prednisone. Not exactly what you want to take when trying to improve bone density, but it brought the swelling down as well as the pain.
Now my only issue is really noisy joints. Both wrists, my left shoulder, and sometimes my knees crack when i move them. It isn't painful, but it's a bit annoying. I actually had the same issue with noisy joints when I was a child, so I'm not terribly worried about this...just annoyed by the noise when I make certain movements.
The PA recommended discussing with my doctor about the possibility of taking colchicine prior to the next annual infusion, suggesting that the issue could be Reclast-associated pseudogout.
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I had a Reclast infusion in Oct 2024. I had no immediate reactions. However, in about a week after the infusion I had the acute onset of my right knee swelling which was quite painful. After some pushing of the system I had an MRI of my knee and 60 ccs of fluid removed from my knee joint. The fluid results show calcium pyrophosphate crystals as seen in pseudogout. On the MRI I had a large joint effusion with fluid tracking into my calf leaking from the joint space above. Removing the joint fluid helped tremendously with the pain in the knee and calf. After the diagnosis was made I had a steroid injection into the knee joint which helped some for 1-2 months. Then I had further progression. Another 55 cc's of fluid were removed. Still pseudogout. Later I saw a rheumatologist who put me on Colchicine 0.6 mg a day and gave me another steroid injection into my knee joint. At that time I had right and calf ankle edema from the joint effusion compressing what is called the popliteal vien, which runs behind the knee. The compression of the vein decreases the blood flow from the lower leg to the upper leg, sort of like a dam. The steroid seemed to help with the pain for about a month. The ankle edema resolved. I do not think the Colchicine has helped. After about another two months my knee joint blew up again. I had 80ccs of fluid removed. Again there were calcium pyrophosphate crystals. I am quite miserable. It is now 7 months since the Reclast infusion (actually the generic version). I am frightened that this may not resolve. It has been a significant disability for me. I have had one continuous episode with little resolution, not episodic events with complete resolution between bouts. The pseudogout seems to be causing a lot of damage to my knee. Pseudogout is not a commonly reported side effect of Reclast (or generic version). I am wondering if it is indeed more common than is reported because the diagnosis is brushed aside as unlikely.
I am posting this so that the previous writer, analchemist, knows that Reclast associated pseudogout does exist and is not a good complication. I am also interested if anyone else has experienced these symptoms.