I took Actonel for several years before taking Forteo for 12 months. Then, I took Actonel for 12 more months, saving the rest of the Forteo for dates closer to an anticipated spine surgery. Finally, I finished 12 more months of Forteo. To hold the gained bone density, one must stay on a strong builder, so I had a yearly infusion of RECLAST and will do that for five more years annually. I have had lots of fractures after 30 years of Prednisone for Rheumatoid Disease, so this is all, sadly, necessary. The great news is that my bone density has improved very nicely!