Evenity treatment and its effectiveness

sandrajhunt,
I have my 9th Evenity injections today. I haven’t had any noticeable side effects other that fatigue after the 1st injections. As for improvement, I won’t know until May.

Thank you! I really appreciate the information. This is so hard!!

sandrajhunt

I had 13.8% spine going from -3.3 to -2.5 and left femoral neck 8.1% going from -3.3–3.0 and total left femur 5.4% going from -3.0–2.7. So textbook gains. Minor side effects. Now surprisingly taking alendronate for the past 3+ months without any problems. Having repeat CTX and P1NP and vitamin checked next week (live in CT where we’ve have little sun) I’ve upped my vitamin D a bit and do just about everything those on this site have recommended. As well as carefully upping weights for squats and deadlifts.

Good luck to you! I’m 67 and know I have to maximize getting some bone building done. Also
no fractures!! I’ve had 4 previous though ribs and both wrists on separate occasions secondary to athletic traumatic falls. That’s what I believe got me into the Evenity regime.

I only did 9 months of Evenity due to increasing joint pain in my hands from month 5 to 9. That being said the vast majority of Evenity users will have no reactions or reactions that don't last.
My OP is predominately in my spine it went from a T- score of -3.5 to -3.0. My hips have always been in the osteopenia range and they did not change much total hip -1.4.

I had my 11th Evenity shots yesterday and have only experienced a tenderness at the injection site on my left arm. Basically, that is all I have ever experienced in the previous months also. I have an appointment next week to discuss what is next after my 12th shots and try to determine when and what it will be.
This journey with OP is truly an individual one, as evidenced by all the posts available on this website; every journey is so unique, but being able to read everybody's posts about their experiences has been so helpful and informative.
I have been trying to do my due diligence and read as much as I can and ask questions to whomever I can to try to make sense of my own experience also.
I have since come to the conclusion that my breast cancer in 2014 and the resultant radiation for seven weeks may have cured my cancer, but it did my spine no favors. I had my first compression fracture in 2017 (T-7) and was put on alendronate for 4 1/2 yrs. After a DEXA revealed no further bone loss, I was given a drug holiday. In January of 2023, I experienced my second compression fracture (T-3). An MRI revealed that 2-4 additional vertebra are weakened as well and that is how I agreed to the Evenity. The irony is, that my lumbar dexas have always been in the normal-osteopenia range. Dexa reveals nothing about what is going on in the upper spine.
Family history suggests that I probably would eventually develop osteoporosis at some point in my life (my mother experienced her 1st (out of 10) compression fracture at age 87 (she passed away just 4 wks shy of her 100th birthday). The last decade of her life was spent in a lot of pain. At 76, I am anxious to avoid as much of that as possible, if possible.
I wonder why do bone screening scans not include the upper spine as well as lumbar?

If I had to make a guess the ribs, sternum and clavicle are in the way. The lower spine is all hanging out on it own; nothing the the way.
I just had a dexa and they made me lay on my side to look at the upper spine but even that had my shoulder blades in the way.

I have just completed 11 injections of Evenity with minor aches and pains that could easily be the result of age (81). However, this week's bone density scan showed a decrease of -.3 from the last bone scan, reflecting a gradual decrease of -.3 in each bone density scan since 2015. In other words, the process of deterioration seems to have continued on pace. One way to look at it is that Evenity did nothing to slow down the osteoporosis. The other way to look at it is that it might have been worse. Current thinking is to now switch to Prolix.
Who knows???

Like @mao22 said, the ribs, sternum and clavicle are in the way. I learned from a physical therapist that the upper spine is usually worse than the lumbar spine 🙁

The therapist I heard that from is Margaret Martin of Melioguide. I came across her when I was diagnosed a year ago. She specializes in all things osteoporosis - exercises, posture, etc - and I feel so much more confident about how to exercise correctly so as to not cause a fracture

I started taking Evenity in November. I am 64 and my dexa scores were getting progressively worse over the past 7 years. Since one of my lumbar spine numbers was 3.1, my docs all thought Evenity was the way to go. Sadly after four rounds of Evenity, with no side effects whatsoever, it does not appear to be working which is baffling everyone including Dr. McCormick. My first round of markers before I started the treatment was a CTX of 514 and a P1NP of 63. After the four rounds, the CTX went down to 147 and the P1NP went down instead of up. Anyone have anything similar to report? Evenity is supposed to build up bone not reduce it.