Osteoporosis Meds

In answer to your question about being told you were most likely starting a rest-of-your-life osteoporosis medication journey when diagnosed with osteopenia in my early fifties NO I was not. I’m almost 70 now and it’s been a very long trek with meds, vertebral fractures, spinal stenosis, you name it. One thing I have learned in the last few DAYS that I was never told or heard from anyone is that if you take an oral bisphosphenate (like Fosamax) once a week and you take with water and wait 2 hours instead of 30 minutes to eat or drink anything else you have 40% more absorption of the drug!! This astounds me, I would have done that when I was on it!
The reason I guess they don’t tell you this is bc patients are going to comply better with waiting 30 minutes. This all comes back to informed consent. If we don’t get all the facts how are we supposed to make the best decision for ourselves? So frustrating!!

@jennirdh what I was told was not to take calcium medication for two hours after taking Fosamax because it lowers the medication effectiveness. I was also told to wait about 6 hours to take thyroid medication for same reason. I always wait 2 hours to have coffee because I cannot drink it without cream or milk. But I have never heard you have to wait 2 hours before eating although I do.

@susanew thank you for your response, I do know about not taking thyroid med and calcium (and any other supplements) in the hours around Fosamax but I did not know about the 40% better absorption if you wait to drink and Eat for two hours after. That’s what they DONT tell you which is why I was so surprised to learn this. They only say wait 30 minutes. For 40% better absorption I would wait, take a walk, do a crossword puzzle or something. No one had ever told me this, I learned it watching a video then looked it up.

@jennirdh I heard that there needs to be 4 hours between thyroid med and calcium supplement…. It seems to work for me to take the thyroid med at least 1/2 hour before breakfast, best I can do on many mornings…a practical solution, and my thyroid #s are good…I do the bone supplements after lunch and after dinner…it’s a balancing act, rending to several health issues—and doable so far…

@nycmusic What I do is on the days I do not take Fosamax, I take my thyroid very, very early, around 5 a.m. or earlier followed by a cup of coffee later. Then at 9 a.m., I drink a glass of oat milk . I cannot take too much calcium due to IBS. On Sunday, when I take Fosamax, I do not take thyroid until late afternoon.

Someone earlier suggested taking their thyroid meds when they get up to go to the bathroom early in the morning. I started doing that around 4:00am and it has worked beautifully with my breakfast and taking my Vit D and Calcium around 8:00am. AI helped me work out my whole eating schedule since I take other supplements. I just gave all the details of what I take and a schedule was created. We had to tweak a few things, but it really helped. I had no idea that some of the things I was doing inter feared with calcium absorption. My eye vitamins are high in zinc and should not be taken with my calcium, thus I rearranged my taking them.

Is that accurate information? Must wait 2 hours after taking Fosamax to have coffee with cream?
Wow! Hope not.
I can wait 2 hours for everything else but I need my coffee in the morning.
Options...do the reverse? Have coffee, wait 2 hours, then take Fosamax?

@briarrose ME TOO! Someone suggested waiting 4 hours! Doing that every week sounds awful, doesn't it?

@briarrose Basically it’s waiting two hours unless you drink your coffee black or you drink tea without milk or even water or soda. I only like milk or cream in my coffee. If you read the Fosamax instructions, it says do not take calcium for two hours after medication because it reduces the drug’s effectiveness.

@aliv See response to @briarrose