Osteoporosis and Forteo (teriparatide): What to hear experiences

Thank you for your response. It was very encouraging and helpful!! I’m glad to hear of the improvement in your density!!!

Curious, did you not go on a follow up medication after you stopped Forteo.??? I’ve been told you need to go on something to maintain the gains realized. Can you share your scores , if you remember, before and after and now!!! WOW, you really has a good experienceThanjs for your input!!

Hi - I've been on Tymlos for 4 months and, even at only 5 clicks of the pen (3 shy of the full dosage as it was debilitating for me), I am now on a two week meds holiday. The Tymlos side effects of lightheadedness and lethargy were overpowering. Now that I'm pretty sure that its the meds causing my issue, I'm going to speak to my doc about switching to Forteo. Perhaps the fact that Tymlos must inject into the abdomen vs Forteo in the thigh is the issue for me? Truly appreciate anyone's recent feedback on their Forteo experience.
My daughter is being married in Italy in October and I just want to be side-effect free yet not miss out on building back my bone density and quality. My femoral neck is -3.0, osteopenia elsewhere, with two vertebrae fractures suffered from coughing (!) severely last summer during a bout with that darn covid.
Thanks, in advance, for any thoughts on switching!
Best of luck and health to you all.

We gave up a lot of things so that I could pay for it. I was told that it was my best chance. That was before I learned that prednisone had damaged me so much. Your case may be different. A year ago I was told that I'm still going down hill. But I am fighting it with an anti-inflammation diet, extra antioxidants, senior yoga and strength sessions with weights, along with bone building foods. Let's see what the next scan shows. I may be doing better. I did do two years of prolia. Scan is coming in a few months.

I just started Forteo 4 weeks ago. It’s going pretty well. I was very relieved my Medicare is paying for about 70% of the cost.

Thanks for your assistance. I would like to go on Forteo but I was under the impression that Medicare wouldn't cover it. So I checked my prescription Plan and my share is $1,000 per month. I appreciate any additional info you can provide about Medicare covering it.

Janice

You have to check with your Medicare Part D Provide and plan, to know exact cost. The first 2 months of the year are over a thousand out of pocket fir me, then a couple hundred for the rest of the months in the year.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am recently retired (business closed during the pandemic) and Medicare is new for me. How did you navigate a 70% reduction of the cost? My Endo at Stanford wants me on Tymlos but the cost is frightening. Medicare part D said it would be $7000 per year (my portion) and that Medicare patients are automatically denied consideration for a price reduction through the manufacturer. Due to the financial concerns, my doctor suggested that I try Fosamax instead, but I don’t want the risk of breaking my femur, as that happened when I was very young. Perhaps the anxiety of this expensive medical decision is causing undue fear of the side effects, but it would be nice to hear from others that have navigated the expense while on Medicare.

I certainly can relate to your hesitation about the very long list of side effects. My dr. did give me the form from the manufacturer to fill out to get Forteo for a reduced cost. He knows I’m on Medicare. I was not eligible for their help because my husband is still working. My co pay is still around a $1000 a month. My goal is to take the Forteo for up to two years and then take a less expensive maintenance drug. I had very early surgical menopause which has caused me to have pretty severe osteoporosis.

Thanks so much! Will do. I tried to figure it out myself and I may be wrong.