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Can one stop taking prolia after the first shot?
Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: Oct 5 12:49pm | Replies (105)Comment receiving replies
I had my first Prolia shot in August 2022 in North Carolina and am due for my second shot at the end of February 2023. I am what is termed a "snow bird" I spend summers in North Carolina and winters in Florida. Now that I am back in Florida, I am getting concerned that I cannot find a doctor in central Florida to give me a shot. I've talked with Orthopaedic doctor, Primary Care doctor and an OB/GYN. None of them can provide the shot. Now I'm wondering about the consequences of not getting another shot at all. I am very active 68 year old woman in very good health, other than being told I have osteoporosis. I don't feel any different and still can lift and move items upwards of 50 pounds without consequence. I may have been bullied by friends and a doctor in North Carolina to get the Prolia shot in the first place. Now I'm thinking from what the NC doctor said, I must continue taking the shot for the rest of my life! I'm shooting for 100 years old an that's a long time yet. Do you have any advice for me?
Replies to "I had my first Prolia shot in August 2022 in North Carolina and am due for..."
@imatine @colleenyoung @greyfox914 I was strongly advised by my doctor at the time to take Prolia because I was a “fracture risk” (I was 73 at the time) - even though I had not had any fractures but had slight osteoporosis around the base of my neck - I guess she was concerned because my mother had had fractures - the last one a hip fracture that killed her (she also had Alzheimer’s at the time). I finally agreed to go on it and took my first shot in January 2019. Then I started searching for more information and came across a Facebook page on the horrors of Prolia and refused to take subsequent shots!
I was on no other bone building drugs after that, but kept mindful of bone health by taking supplements (no calcium), etc. and generally being extra careful to avoid falls.
I moved to another city in October 2022 and was without a doctor till last November. The new doctor ordered a bone scan (my former doctor had told me I was overdue for one, but I had never got around to getting another because I had moved and didn’t have a doctor here) and my scan showed 10% to 30% bone loss. Then she sent me for thoracic and spinal X-rays to check for any fractures (I felt fine!) and I had none! So she has put me on Actonel once a month.
No Prolia - and I am glad, because I too had been worried about jaw necrosis all these years! I had to have a caried molar extracted last Fall and had no complications.
If you are on Facebook, check out the Prolia page there! I just read enough to scare me off Prolia!
For me, stopping after the first dose didn't do any harm - but of course, I didn’t have severe osteoporosis nor had I experienced any bone fractures.
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Your insurance company may be willing to help you find a doctor who can give you the Prolia injection.
You can also use the Prolia Finder https://www.proliafinder.com/, which will tell you the doctors you can get the injection from, but not if they take your insurance. You'd have to call them and ask.
Amgen, the company that makes Prolia, has a help line, and they can able to help you, too. Amgen Assist at 1-866-264-2778.
Best wishes,
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