What do I need to know before taking Boniva?

Could you post your before and after T Scores?
How do you do/did with calcium and such…not here to diagnose of course.
There are a few very helpful people here…that’s for sure. It really helped me alleviate a lot of anxiety I had.

You should have gotten another bone protecting drug after Evenity within a month after the last injection to prevent losing significant amounts of the gains of Evenity.

I wonder why you didn't get advised to take alendronic acid (alendronate) as an oral solution to take once a week. It is supposed to be not as bad for your esophagus, as it goes down rather quickly, contrary to swallowing it as a pill. I think it may be still not as safe as one of the medicines that get into your body by infusion, like Reclast.

Boniva seems to be highly effective to prevent spinal fractures, but not so much for other kinds of fractures. Alendronate is supposed to work positively for all kinds of fractures.

By the way, I'd prefer an endocrinologist above a gyn to treat osteoporosis.

Boniva and Fosamax are both bisphosphonate medications used to treat osteoporosis, but they differ in dosing frequency;
Boniva is taken monthly while Fosamax is taken weekly. Some doctors prescribe based on not only their experience (which can be limited in their practice if they don’t specialize in OP) but also patient compliance.
Both medications work by inhibiting bone resorption to increase bone density and reduce fracture risk. You hear it all the time but don’t be afraid to ge5 another opinion. Most good doctors don’t mind at all. Often good doctors are doing just that…asking a colleague for an opinion.

Unfortunately they all have that as a possible side effect. Often they are limited by insurance requiring us to try them before they can try other things. We are at their mercy.

@bswpb We are not all at the mercy of the insurance companies - some have opted for self-pay. Another poster's inspiring story likened her self-pay for an anabolic bone building drug to be like the choice to remodel a kitchen. Costs around the same, but she would rather have the best chance for remodeling her bones. With generic teriparatide (brand Forteo) now available self-pay for anabolic drugs is now an option for more of us.

It is worth it to try hard to get the insurance to pay for the better bone drug sequences. Some doctors offices have staff dedicated to insurance approvals/appeals. But I think about it for me as "these are not my practice bones" and plan to self-pay for teriparatide if insurance will only pay for bisphosphonates first to when I go on meds.

For example, you can now get a 28 day supply of teriparatide for under $1,000. Yes, a 2-year course will then cost nearly what a good 5 yo used Toyota costs and is not an option for everyone.
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/teriparatide-560-mcg_2_24ml-solution-pen-injector-2_24/

@kfhoz that’s all well and good but not everyone is financially secure enough to self pay!

@kfhoz
Just remember…I was also confronted with the possibility of having to pay out of pocket but after some research found that more than 60% of the doctors especially if they are not a specialist rheumatologist or endocrinologist for example they don’t even tell a patient they can write a “letter of medical necessity” where applicable (your fracture risk, tscore, history etc.) and that a specialist can have more sway since their recommendation is regarded (sometimes) more.
They just have to know how to write it and who to address.
I finally got approved…