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Can Alendronate Side Effects Emerge Slowly Over Time?
I've been taking Alendronate (70 mg weekly) for about seven months now. I had negligible side effects the first week I took it -- was very sore for one day and had one dizzy spell. That was it (other than gas).
Over time though, especially over the past month, I've experienced upper back discomfort (can't really call it pain), as well as tenderness in the upper portions of my ribs on each side, on-again off-again pain in one knee, muscle pain, some slight dizziness on occasion.
None of this interferes with quality of life (so far!), but I'm curious if others have experienced the same situation of late emerging side effects when taking Alendronate.
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I have been taking Fosamax for 12 weeks with no noticable side effects yet, except for the last week or so I have been so fatigued at the smallest effort. I walk daily and refuse to stop, but it seem like I am not going nearly as far and have to cut the walks short and do several a day instead of one or two times. Muscle mass loss, I believe, is also the culprit. I am 74.
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2 ReactionsSorry, I mixed the two meds up! Thanks for clarifying!
I have the same side effects
Hi there, just don’t think about side effects. Put them out of your mind. I’m 77 next month and have been on Fosamax 3 years in November. Can’t remember any side effects. If there were any I’ve forgotten. I sit in a STRAIGHT angle in my bed at 6.30 AM once a week and take my Fosamax. Then at 7 o’clock my kind husband brings me coffee, toast with jam and cheese. All done, easy peasy. My Dexa scan result has improved so much so I intend to stop when reaching my 3 years goal. Fosamax stays in your body for decades so at 77 that’s enough for me… Good luck and don’t think about side effects. If any they will disappear.
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8 ReactionsYears ago I also experienced pain about 8 weeks after beginning Fosamax. I could hardly walk with my right leg (hip to foot) pain. It abated gradually once I stopped. However, I agreed years later to try Reclast (even knowing they are in the same drug group) and have had ongoing musculoskeletal pain in the same leg which began about 8 weeks later. It's been 18 months of on again/off again flareups. I mention so you might want to be cautious if considering Reclast in the future.
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4 ReactionsThank you for such a positive, uplifting comment about your Fosamax experience. You should be their poster child! If my two years will be as good as your experience I will be happy. I feel good, sleep good, eat good, walk and exercise with 3 lb weights. I am trying to regain some muscle mass. It is affecting my walking gait. But otherwise, except for some fatigue that comes on quickly in the afternoon, I think the two years my doctor suggested will go by fast and worryfree, I hope. Thanks again for the positve info!
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2 ReactionsOh no! No poster child? for me! I was so against Fosamax when it was suggested to me, that I blankly refused. The America FDA changed the recommended time limit for use from 10 years+ to 5 years maximum I believe, as the ‘maker’ Mercs? had so many lawsuits regarding side effects, especially ONJ. This was about 2012-2015 after recovering from chemotherapy and I’d read about ONJ, when the jaw collapses… so I was so against it. However, I ended up, quite fast, with a crooked spine and very bad Dexa scan result. So,
at the end, a bit too late,
I started Fosamax and as I’ve said my Dexa scan is good. I won’t do the 5 years though, 3 years are enough, especially because of my age, 77.
Thinking about it now…
I do have terrible back pain due to my crooked back. Don’t say it’s because of Fosamax? I do take 10 mg of m-Eslon SR
daily (morphine sulfate) twice daily.
Can’t remember I had problems when I started though.
Maybe I’ll stop taking it right now to find out if my pain disappears in a couple of months……???
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4 ReactionsDear Shirley74, please don’t let me scare you off Fosamax. I’ve just had a evening chat with my best friend Noeline, X-nurse and my age. She finished Fosamax after 7 years on it shortly before I started. She swears by it… She’s ‘still’ tall and has a straight back. I’m a bit of an invalid. So if you like me have osteoporosis Fosamax will definitely help you. As I said earlier, I cannot remember I had problems with pain when I started it’s the last year my back doesn’t want to be kind to me even though my Dexa scan has dramatically improved and only shows a little bit of osteopenia. Nothing to worry about at my/our age. You will notice a big gain at your next Dexa scan, guaranteed. Gain against pain, if any. Xx
What is the doctor's reasoning for following fosomax with Prolia? What is the long term sequencing plan? Why not a bone builder like forteo, tymlos or evenity? Have you had a conversation with your doc about Prolia rebound?
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1 ReactionI am your age and Dr is recommending Evenity. This drug will not work for me, but I have taken Fosomax in the past without side effects, except for GERD.
Can you give your scores at the start and after 3 years?