Prolia treatment for osteoporosis: What is your experience?

Posted by Veruska @veriska, Mar 7, 2017

I received the results from my bone test and they have recommended I start Prolia. I have read the side effects and I am concerned. Has anyone use this drug and if so what side effects have you experienced. Thank you

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@lwolperinc

I elected not to use Prolia because of its side effects. Namely, can elevate cholesterol (already taking statins) can elevate BP (already taking drugs to reduce BP), and can interfere with immune system. The later bothered me the most given Covid and likelihood of a bad flu season.

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By the way, I’m on Forteo, a daily self injection for 1-2 years. Effective with fewer side effects.

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@lwolperinc

By the way, I’m on Forteo, a daily self injection for 1-2 years. Effective with fewer side effects.

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Hi there......that was a great choice for your build the bone time of 1-2 years. The question becomes....what do you do when your time on Forteo is up and now you need to protect the new bone. That is when you have to choose a bisphosphonate or Prolia. Since I am very allergic to bisphosphonates, I only had one choice...Prolia. So far...no side effects.

This is why I think there just has to be some work done in the research lab so we can rely on the medications without side effects. Where is the development money being spent? Is this a gender issue in the pharmaceutical world?

May you find joy today.
Chris

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@leelinwant

Chris, If I knew what is the best for me I would not be depressed. I guess in medicine, every answer is wrong we just have to pick the best of all of the wrong answers. I came to this site to try to see what would be the best for me because I do not think doctors know better because they did not take the shots and therefore no experience with the side effects.
I think depression is a kind of genetic thing, it is in the DNA. I am the kind of person who gets depressed if I have no good answers for my problems. I have a friend who has breast cancer stage 4 but she is happy and runs around, goes to garage sales and bargins big time. She was first diagnosed 25 years ago and now the cancer is in the lungs and bones but she is not depressed. She is much younger than me. If I was her I would not be able to function at all. 0 functioning!!

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I hear you. I am also indecisive and go back and forth until the moment of truth arrives. My life partner, a real sweetheart, is a heavy-duty researcher. He acts as my Sargeant to get me going. He points out "what-ifs" for me. I think together we make better decisions. Do you have someone to check in with you?

Can you believe I taught courses in decision making when I was with the college. What happened in the last 30 years? More choices?

May you be content and at ease.
Chris

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As with any drug or procedure there are always side effects and/or risks. Kind of like driving your car. There are risks, but that probably doesn't keep you from driving or riding in a car. I read a lot of information on Prolia and other drugs (and I do take Prolia and other drugs) and I I've been on Prolia for 6 years now. Would I rather not be? Of course! However a great many years ago I found out through a Bone Density Test (Dexa) that I had advanced osteoporosis. I was very surprised because I'd always eaten a healthy diet, exercised, never smoked, and taken calcium and vitamin D supplements, and am a normal weight for my height and build. I decided my case was genetic as my mother also had advanced osteoporosis when first diagnosed; she had been a smoker and didn't take the supplements I had for decades, but I do think some things are in fact genetic and that no matter what you do health wise, Nature is going to rule! It certainly did with me.

I have noticed a few "side effects" while taking Prolia but I don't know if they are directly attributable to the drug itself. I have high cholesterol but developed it before starting Prolia. It is controlled by meds. Also high blood pressure that I do admit developed after begining Prolia, although my father and his mother (my grandmother) also had high blood pressure. And my father developed high cholesterol in later life. My hair has thinned on top but my mother suffered from this in older age. She never took Prolia. It would be wonderful if we could change our genetics, but we can't. It would be wonderful if all natural remedies worked for us and we didn't need other meds. However we know that route doesn't work for everyone and if it did, no one would need any drug. Alas that isn't the case.

I am now ready for cataract surgery, and although the risks are low, there can always be unfoerseen issues with the surgery. I developed cataracts long before I or anyone else ever heard of Prolia! And now of course there's Covid still plaguing us all. There's always something that will plague humankind. It's a fact of life, depressing as that is. I will undoubtedly continue with the Prolia and hope for the best, knowing that nothing's perfect. I don't believe however, some posts I've read here and elsewhere, that infer doctors are deliberately trying to poison us all and drug companies are merely trying to make money and don't care if we ever get well. I admit that drug companies are trying to make money (isn't everyone?) but if in the end they do us all in then they've ultimately lost the game.

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Hi,
I can understand your concern about osteoporosis drugs. I had tried a couple which I could not tolerate until the doctor gave me prolia. When I asked about side effects, he said: "not much of any." How wrong! (By the way, I have very high risk osteoporosis.) My legs ached all the time - worse when lying down and I was becoming ever more limited every day. My hair started falling out - it has receded about 2" around my face. Then, I did some investigating on my own about other people's experience and all of my symptons were connected to prolia. It contains (as do almost all of the osteoporosis drugs) the same chemotherapy drugs as used for cancer. I will now exercise, take calcium and Vitamin D but never another osteoporosis drug. I had my doctor calculate my risk of a broken bone or hip without those drugs - over the next 10 years I have a 10% chance of breaking a hip and a 25% chance of breaking any bone. I will take those odds. I walk 3 miles a day and exercise. I am NOT saying you should do as I do, but living without the pain and burden of side effects is what I decided to do.
Good luck and do a lot of research before making your decision, Kaye

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@sewcouture

Hi,
I can understand your concern about osteoporosis drugs. I had tried a couple which I could not tolerate until the doctor gave me prolia. When I asked about side effects, he said: "not much of any." How wrong! (By the way, I have very high risk osteoporosis.) My legs ached all the time - worse when lying down and I was becoming ever more limited every day. My hair started falling out - it has receded about 2" around my face. Then, I did some investigating on my own about other people's experience and all of my symptons were connected to prolia. It contains (as do almost all of the osteoporosis drugs) the same chemotherapy drugs as used for cancer. I will now exercise, take calcium and Vitamin D but never another osteoporosis drug. I had my doctor calculate my risk of a broken bone or hip without those drugs - over the next 10 years I have a 10% chance of breaking a hip and a 25% chance of breaking any bone. I will take those odds. I walk 3 miles a day and exercise. I am NOT saying you should do as I do, but living without the pain and burden of side effects is what I decided to do.
Good luck and do a lot of research before making your decision, Kaye

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A question for sewcouture: have the side effects begun to ease up since you stopped prolia?

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@lwolperinc

I elected not to use Prolia because of its side effects. Namely, can elevate cholesterol (already taking statins) can elevate BP (already taking drugs to reduce BP), and can interfere with immune system. The later bothered me the most given Covid and likelihood of a bad flu season.

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Have had seven prolia injections. Have a very long history of high cholesterol. Prolia probably caused my high cho higher and reversed the ratio of good hdl to bad ldl. Not able to tolerate statins. However, for last two years+ taking Repatha, a biologic which I inject 2x a month. My cholesterol numbers are lower now than when I was in my late 40s. Now in my 60s. I needed to treat my cho anyway.
And my bone density has improved.

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@chocoholic

A question for sewcouture: have the side effects begun to ease up since you stopped prolia?

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Hi, Absolutely! It did take a few weeks for the leg and body pains to dissappear. However, most of my hair loss has not grown back; but, there has been no more receding hairline. At least, I am not wiping up lots of hair from my sink everyday.
I wish you luck and hope that you will be feeling great soon. Do continue to walk. Kaye

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@sewcouture

Hi,
I can understand your concern about osteoporosis drugs. I had tried a couple which I could not tolerate until the doctor gave me prolia. When I asked about side effects, he said: "not much of any." How wrong! (By the way, I have very high risk osteoporosis.) My legs ached all the time - worse when lying down and I was becoming ever more limited every day. My hair started falling out - it has receded about 2" around my face. Then, I did some investigating on my own about other people's experience and all of my symptons were connected to prolia. It contains (as do almost all of the osteoporosis drugs) the same chemotherapy drugs as used for cancer. I will now exercise, take calcium and Vitamin D but never another osteoporosis drug. I had my doctor calculate my risk of a broken bone or hip without those drugs - over the next 10 years I have a 10% chance of breaking a hip and a 25% chance of breaking any bone. I will take those odds. I walk 3 miles a day and exercise. I am NOT saying you should do as I do, but living without the pain and burden of side effects is what I decided to do.
Good luck and do a lot of research before making your decision, Kaye

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Yes, drugs can and do have side effects and they're different for everyone. Of course, as I stated in my own original post, driving a car (or riding in one) carries risks too. So does living life in general. My hair is thinning on top (and yes I take Prolia and have for 6 years now) but my late mother's hair was also thinning on top as she grew older and she never took Prolia! Many things are in fact genetic. My mother had osteoporosis and smoked in her early years, did not take supplements, etc., and ended up breaking her pelvis. I on the other hand NEVER smoked, took calcium and Vitamin D for decades, exercised, etc., and still ended up with osteoporosis. Ah genetics! I also have high cholesterol and that began long before I ever even heard of Prolia. Anyway, I am not fond of taking drugs but I'm also not fond of the things that could happen if I don't take them. I am gearing up for cataract surgery; these began long before I ever heard of Prolia and let's be honest, most people do get cataracts as they age. Am I concerned that all will go well? Yes, of course but the surgery is one of the safest there is. Could some unforeseen issue occur? Of course. Is Covid a concern during all this? Yes! I've been vaccinated but still it's a worry to be sure. Will that stop me from having the surgery and just deciding to go blind? Absolutely Not!

Indeed everyone must make their own decisions with regard to their healthcare but in my nearly seven decades on this Earth, I have come to realize that life is a series of risks (like just getting up in the morning, for instance) and rewards. I think it was Helen Keller who said: "Life is a daring adventure - or nothing." I have come to discover the truth behind this.

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Una amiga hinchazón de piernas y abdomen,dolor de cabeza problema de dientes flojos.Esto que le pasa a ella no tiene porqué pasarle a todos los que la consumen cada cuerpo reacciona en forma diferente.

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