1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health

Anyone on Alendronate?

Posted by 12jo @12jo, Apr 5, 2023

I have been on Alendronate since May 2017. If I don't have osteoporosis, but some osteopenia, how long is it safe to take a 'vacation' from the drug? Does it do any good to take it every other week? My internist wants me to switch to Prolia, which I will not do. I don't know if I would have any side effects from it and it is not a drug that can be stopped w/o possible problems. I am 78 years old and my only health condition is RA, which is under control and has not affected my day-to-day life. I have read that alendronate can affect your esophagus and occasionally, over the years, I have had times where I feel like food gets stuck and it takes anywhere from 3 - 30 minutes for this uncomfortable feeling to go away. I have had my esophagus stretched via an endoscopy several times.
Re Prolia, I have read : People with weakened immune systems are advised not to use to denosumab because it can lead to serious infections that require hospitalization (such as heart infections). It can also cause disintegration of the jaw, called osteonecrosis, and atypical femur fractures. Recent studies have shown that people who stop taking denosumab experience bone loss within the first year if they do not start taking a new osteoporosis treatment. In clinical trials, results also suggest that people who stop taking denosumab and did not start another treatment experienced more vertebral fractures (fractures in your spine) in the 10 months after treatment than people who had been taking a placebo.
I am interested in hearing thoughts about 'vacationing' from alendronate.

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oopsiedaisy | @oopsiedaisy | Feb 6 4:21pm
In reply to @12jo "I was wondering the same thing. Hopefully the person who posted will see this and provide..." + (show)
@12jo

I was wondering the same thing.
Hopefully the person who posted will see this and provide
the information.

Jump to this post

I'm not the one who posted the information but I did find the following post from the same person about drug holidays:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/need-an-osteoporosis-drug-vacation/
The recommendation in the post above is for a drug holiday after 5 or 10 years.

Personally, I will never stay on alendronate that long. I was on it for 5+ years and had a vertebral compression fracture while taking it. I feel like I should have come off it after 3 years max.

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | Feb 7 2:47pm

You didn’t say how often you take the medication? There are a number of formulations available and I wonder if a change in how often you take it might be helpful.

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hmbrglr | @hmbrglr | Feb 7 5:31pm
In reply to @aacatsaregreat "Thanks for the informative post. I've been on Alendronate for 7+ months, 70mg dose weekly. I..." + (show)
@aacatsaregreat

Thanks for the informative post. I've been on Alendronate for 7+ months, 70mg dose weekly.

I had little problem to begin with; just a lot of pain the day after taking the first dose, an episode of vertigo the first week and some on again/off again dizziness. But over the past 4-5 weeks I've begun experiencing other side effects: tenderness (not pain) in my ribs, especially the sides of the upper ribs; mild upper back pain; left clavicle pain (comes and goes); "bruised"-like feeling in various arm and leg bones (again, comes and goes); lots of gas (have had this since I began the pill); painful leg cramps (calf); a second episode of vertigo; mild dizziness or lightheadedness; strange taste in my mouth; dry lips; legs sometimes feel strange and stiff; knee discomfort; cough and continuous clearing of throat; some days just an all around yucky feeling but nothing I haven't been able to compensate for. Now, for the past couple of weeks, I've been experiencing high blood pressure. It normally averages out at around 115/75, but lately it's been anywhere from 130/78 to 139/85. This isn't listed as a side effect, but I've seen studies that it can occur in rare instances.

Today was my day to take the med, but I decided not to. I'll instead wait until I see my doctor at a regularly schedule appointment next week and will tell her I want to go off the pill and see if the side effects subside. I say they're side effects as I didn't have these problems until just recently!

Please keep us advised of your experience. You comments have certainly been helpful to me!

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Hi. I am on Alendronate now for 5 weeks. (1x weekly) My symptoms are similar, dry throat, coughing , clearin of the throat contiunosly, a swollen gland that acts up when I eat something spicy, crummy feeling, I was switched to this med after i experieced a bad rash from Prolia (only had 2 injections). I feel ready to give up, but Im trying to hold on.

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aacatsaregreat | @aacatsaregreat | Feb 7 8:22pm

Hi hmbrglr!

Sometimes it gets a little depressing with the side effects, but I've decided it could be worse and I'm not ready to give up on the Alendronate. I didn't take it on my regular morning, felt guilty that I didn't, and took it the next morning.

Some days the side effects aren't as noticeable as other days. I'm hoping the more recent ones will wane over time. I'm going to talk with my doctor about them next week and I know she'll give me a pep talk.

Be strong and hang in there!

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1 reply
hmbrglr | @hmbrglr | Feb 7 8:36pm
In reply to @aacatsaregreat "Hi hmbrglr! Sometimes it gets a little depressing with the side effects, but I've decided it..." + (show)
@aacatsaregreat

Hi hmbrglr!

Sometimes it gets a little depressing with the side effects, but I've decided it could be worse and I'm not ready to give up on the Alendronate. I didn't take it on my regular morning, felt guilty that I didn't, and took it the next morning.

Some days the side effects aren't as noticeable as other days. I'm hoping the more recent ones will wane over time. I'm going to talk with my doctor about them next week and I know she'll give me a pep talk.

Be strong and hang in there!

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I get it. That’s where I’m at too. I hope we both hang in and will be glad we did.

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oliversolis1212 | @oliversolis1212 | Feb 7 11:40pm
In reply to @lillimere "I fractured my L1 and L2 vertebrae in August. I managed my pain with 500 mg..." + (show)
@lillimere

I fractured my L1 and L2 vertebrae in August. I managed my pain with 500 mg Tylenol and 250 mg Advil (one of the NSAID pain relievers) several times a day.
After a month My primary ordered labs which indicated I had chronic kidney disease.
Oh no, severe osteoporosis, vertebrae fractures, now renal disease?
Doctor thought it was probably the NSAIDs, stop them immediately and drink lots of water.
Three months later my kidney function was back to normal.
Just my experience.

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Newly diagnosed with osteoporosis and will not take Fosamax after reading about its side effects. What is anyone’s thought on peptide collagen and hyalauronic acid to help regenerate bone growth?
Esther

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