I think there are a lot of people who've taken bisphosphonates for over a decade, especially people who started on Fosamax when it was first approved and just stayed on them because there were no known long-term effects for many years. And no alternatives beyond Boniva. At least that's my impression from what I've seen people mention, including some who've posted on Mayo Connect. Merck introduced Fosamax for older women and then sold bone-screening equipment to medical facilities to help generate sales of Fosamax. But then younger women started getting prescribed Fosamax and stayed on it for a long time if they tolerated it. The idea of planning a sequence of treatments, over time, is new, concurrent with newer choices from what I gather.