1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health

Reclast Infusions: Side-effects & Recovery time

Posted by cindydee @cindydee, Mar 20, 2018

I just had a reclast infusion last week and have had serious side effects. I had the worst flue like aching for 5 days then my lefty arm became full of inflammation in the wrist, elbow and shoulder which caused extreme pain and I lost the ability to straighten my elbow. Ultrasound showed huge amounts of fluid throughout the arm. The right arm is now starting to have the same symptoms. The pain is excruciating. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Neither the ER doctor nor the Dr. who prescribed the procedure knew what to do to ease the symptoms. Both arms from fingertips to shoulder are swollen and neither elbow will straighten. Anyone else have adverse reactions to the reclast infusion? If yes, how long did it last?

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parrotqueen | @parrotqueen | Mar 6, 2020

Let me know what your PCP says. I can make a prediction - let me know how close it comes. Your PCP will say that the side effects are very rare and the medicine is the only thing that has shown any promise. Talk to a functional doctor or nutritionist or naturopath. I will let you know my DEXA scan score in about a month. I won't lie about it - if it isn't good, I will let you know. I truly believe we can fix our osteoporosis with nutrition.

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gretchen1018 | @gretchen1018 | Jun 2, 2020
In reply to @ldawn "Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I think I’m ready to go ahead and get the..." + (show)
@ldawn

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I think I’m ready to go ahead and get the infusion, but there is so much negative information out there that I found myself scared to move forward, especially after developing gastritis while using the Fosamax. Again, thank you for taking the time to better inform me.

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I had reclast yesterday. I drank 4 glasses of WATER before and 4 after. She ran it more slowly than normal.Took almost an hour Next 2 days the same with the water . Said my side effects would be less being that I was on fossamax years ago. I am tired and have a slight temp.. Make sure to ask questions. Good luck with it if you go ahead

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2 replies
thornwood | @thornwood | Jun 2, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@thornwood. I hope the pain is temporary and will improve very soon. Do you feel the..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@thornwood. I hope the pain is temporary and will improve very soon. Do you feel the pain is definitely from Reclast?
JK

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I believe so. I took Motrin for two or three weeks. Not sure if I will have another injection

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1 reply
Kelly Hahn, Connect Moderator | @kellyhahn1 | Jun 3, 2020
In reply to @gretchen1018 "I had reclast yesterday. I drank 4 glasses of WATER before and 4 after. She ran..." + (show)
@gretchen1018

I had reclast yesterday. I drank 4 glasses of WATER before and 4 after. She ran it more slowly than normal.Took almost an hour Next 2 days the same with the water . Said my side effects would be less being that I was on fossamax years ago. I am tired and have a slight temp.. Make sure to ask questions. Good luck with it if you go ahead

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Hello @gretchen1018 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I think you have come to the right place to connect with people with shared experiences. We are happy you are here!

I read what you wrote about drinking 4 glasses of water before your treatment and 4 after. It's good that you have a plan for drinking enough water over the next few days and that your side effects will be less because of previous Fossamax usage. Was this your first infusion? Hopefully your temp comes back to normal and you are able to feel less tired. Keep us posted on how you are doing!

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giovi | @giovi | Jun 6, 2020
In reply to @gretchen1018 "I had reclast yesterday. I drank 4 glasses of WATER before and 4 after. She ran..." + (show)
@gretchen1018

I had reclast yesterday. I drank 4 glasses of WATER before and 4 after. She ran it more slowly than normal.Took almost an hour Next 2 days the same with the water . Said my side effects would be less being that I was on fossamax years ago. I am tired and have a slight temp.. Make sure to ask questions. Good luck with it if you go ahead

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Thanks for this info. I am considering a half dose depending on Dexa in August

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sue225 | @sue225 | Jun 13, 2020
In reply to @lelia "I also have g.i. issues - fructose malabsorption, lactose intolerance and visceral hypersensivity - and had..." + (show)
@lelia

I also have g.i. issues - fructose malabsorption, lactose intolerance and visceral hypersensivity - and had finally gotten everything under control until I got a 1/2 dose infusion of Reclast almost 3 months ago. After that I had the worst constipation I've ever had in my life. I was so bound up and bloated my g.i. doctor did an Xray to see if there was a blockage and there wasn't. A also had a blood test for lipase, a pancreatic enzyme, and my lipase was way below normal. The uptake: I had to take laxatives every day and increase the amount of Creon I'm taking. The problem with the constipation went away after about a month, but the indigestion issues are still going on. G.I. issues are listed as a possible side effect of the drug, and probably if you already have them the drug worsens them immensely. If you look up Reclast on the Mayo Clinic site it lists many, many possible side effects including g.i. issues. So, it is a myth that the infusion will bypass stomach issues.

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@cl confirms my suspicions about Reclast. Sounds like it will cause even more trouble for me than the Prolia injections. I already have a lemon of a g.i. tract.

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3 replies
parrotqueen | @parrotqueen | Jun 13, 2020
In reply to @sue225 "@CL confirms my suspicions about Reclast. Sounds like it will cause even more trouble for me..." + (show)
@sue225

@cl confirms my suspicions about Reclast. Sounds like it will cause even more trouble for me than the Prolia injections. I already have a lemon of a g.i. tract.

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Hey there. I healed my gut a little over five years ago. Turns out if your gut is a mess, that could be why you have osteoporosis! You might want to consider taking probiotics to help your gut. Also, you may need digestive enzymes before you eat. As we age, we sometimes don't have such great digestive enzymes. Sugar is very bad for our bones. I am on a no-sugar diet. It isn't an easy diet, but I'm almost 70 and I feel like I'm in my 20s a lot of the time. My diet can be found in a book called The Candida Cure by Ann Boroch. If you go to a nutritionist, they will verify what I have told you here. I wish you all the luck in the world and I am willing to help in any way I can. I am SO sorry to hear about your troubling side effects. This is why I have chosen not to use these drugs.

Also, if you do some research, you will find that drugs like Reclast and Prolia only give the appearance of bone growth. This is because they hold on to the old, dead bone, not allowing it to pass out of the body in your urine. When you stop taking these drugs, all that "new bone growth" will exit the body in your urine and you are back to square one. Before my first infusion, I was able to talk to some women who got osteonecrosis from these drugs. Not only did they lose their jaws, the osteonecrosis was moving on to other parts of their bodies! I cancelled my appointment and began looking for other answers.

My osteoporosis is very serious, my DEXA scan has me at -5.7. I am taking calcium to supplement what I am not getting in my diet, I am taking magnesium, boron, Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 (mk4, mk7). I am also drinking grass-fed bovine collagen peptides. I also take probiotics and omega 3, a multivitamin, a B-complex, and 'a food-based vitamin C (Pure Synergy). And I am on a very low dose of estradiol and progesterone. Prior to doing this, I was fracturing,. I am no longer fracturing. I will be getting a DEXA scan done as soon as the COVID 19 outbreak is not so bad in my area. I have no immune system, so my doctor wants me to stay home and not go out for anything that isn't absolutely necessary. There is a very good document about Vitamin K2 online called "The Ultimate Vitamin K2 Resource" by Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.

There is a great great on Facebook called Osteoporosis Natural Remedies. There is a nutritionist that has posted extensively - and there is a search feature so you can look up anything you are interested in reading., The people there are friendly - and the pace is usually pretty fast with lots of interesting posts and many success stories from women who have done what I have done.

I am not a doctor, and every person's body is different. I'm just telling you what is working for me, and I will post my DEXA scan results when I am able to get it done.

REPLY
1 reply
sue225 | @sue225 | Jun 13, 2020
In reply to @parrotqueen "Hey there. I healed my gut a little over five years ago. Turns out if your..." + (show)
@parrotqueen

Hey there. I healed my gut a little over five years ago. Turns out if your gut is a mess, that could be why you have osteoporosis! You might want to consider taking probiotics to help your gut. Also, you may need digestive enzymes before you eat. As we age, we sometimes don't have such great digestive enzymes. Sugar is very bad for our bones. I am on a no-sugar diet. It isn't an easy diet, but I'm almost 70 and I feel like I'm in my 20s a lot of the time. My diet can be found in a book called The Candida Cure by Ann Boroch. If you go to a nutritionist, they will verify what I have told you here. I wish you all the luck in the world and I am willing to help in any way I can. I am SO sorry to hear about your troubling side effects. This is why I have chosen not to use these drugs.

Also, if you do some research, you will find that drugs like Reclast and Prolia only give the appearance of bone growth. This is because they hold on to the old, dead bone, not allowing it to pass out of the body in your urine. When you stop taking these drugs, all that "new bone growth" will exit the body in your urine and you are back to square one. Before my first infusion, I was able to talk to some women who got osteonecrosis from these drugs. Not only did they lose their jaws, the osteonecrosis was moving on to other parts of their bodies! I cancelled my appointment and began looking for other answers.

My osteoporosis is very serious, my DEXA scan has me at -5.7. I am taking calcium to supplement what I am not getting in my diet, I am taking magnesium, boron, Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 (mk4, mk7). I am also drinking grass-fed bovine collagen peptides. I also take probiotics and omega 3, a multivitamin, a B-complex, and 'a food-based vitamin C (Pure Synergy). And I am on a very low dose of estradiol and progesterone. Prior to doing this, I was fracturing,. I am no longer fracturing. I will be getting a DEXA scan done as soon as the COVID 19 outbreak is not so bad in my area. I have no immune system, so my doctor wants me to stay home and not go out for anything that isn't absolutely necessary. There is a very good document about Vitamin K2 online called "The Ultimate Vitamin K2 Resource" by Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.

There is a great great on Facebook called Osteoporosis Natural Remedies. There is a nutritionist that has posted extensively - and there is a search feature so you can look up anything you are interested in reading., The people there are friendly - and the pace is usually pretty fast with lots of interesting posts and many success stories from women who have done what I have done.

I am not a doctor, and every person's body is different. I'm just telling you what is working for me, and I will post my DEXA scan results when I am able to get it done.

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I have osteoporosis because I have celiac disease and was misdiagnosed for many years.

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2 replies
lioness | @lioness | Jun 13, 2020
In reply to @sue225 "@CL confirms my suspicions about Reclast. Sounds like it will cause even more trouble for me..." + (show)
@sue225

@cl confirms my suspicions about Reclast. Sounds like it will cause even more trouble for me than the Prolia injections. I already have a lemon of a g.i. tract.

Jump to this post

@sue225 I also have a touchy stomach another reason I won't take anything that makes stomach worse .So much you have to be aware of with these stomachs

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2 replies
parrotqueen | @parrotqueen | Jun 13, 2020
In reply to @sue225 "I have osteoporosis because I have celiac disease and was misdiagnosed for many years." + (show)
@sue225

I have osteoporosis because I have celiac disease and was misdiagnosed for many years.

Jump to this post

So you were born with gut issues! I am so sorry - I know that celiac disease is very painful. The diet I am on has zero wheat in it - totally gluten free. Although I was never diagnosed with celiac disease, I feel so much better being off gluten.

I have a pituitary tumor that was misdiagnosed for 61 years! You are your own best doctor so many times!

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