Question re: Fosamax & Evenity Injections

Posted by isabelle7 @isabelle7, May 17, 2024

My husband has been on high doses of Prednisone for PMR and GCA (giant cell arteritis) for a year. It's taken a toll on his body, including developing osteoporosis. We are very new to this disease and would like some advice.

He's been prescribed Fosamax (Alendronate) and after reading about the possible side-effects, we've chosen not to start having him take it until we can learn more and see what others have experienced as far as side-effects and whether it helped them or not. I've also read when people get off the drug, there is a chance that a person will lose bone mass quickly. Of course, you can't believe everything you read. Which is why I'm here.

I just saw there's another possible medication Evenity which are injections. We would love to know if anyone has tried this with good results.

I'll provide information below about his t-scores and his recent diagnosis of a compression fracture. Hoping someone can help me better understand what it all means. We have a good rheumatologist but when it comes to this, I'm not getting the answers I need.

In February 2024 he was diagnosed with subacute to chronic mild T11 compression fracture which was new compared to 5/2023.

These are his T-Scores:
Lumbar ( -3.30 )
Left hip ( -2.10 )
Right hip ( -2.60 )
Left neck ( -1.50 )
Right neck ( -1.80 )

Thank you to anyone who has the time to provide input.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Osteoporosis & Bone Health Support Group.

yingjichi | @yingjichi | 1 day ago

In reply to @susanfalcon52 "Helen, I am doing fine on my meds (Evenity). Just had a dexa 15 minutes ago...." + (show)

Helen, what was the DEXA result or did I miss your reporting?

Thanks.

drummergirl | @drummergirl | 23 hours ago

In reply to @naturegirl5 "@windyshores Thank you for sharing your perspective. I was prescribed Fosamax and took it for 4.5..." + (show)

@naturegirl5

@windyshores Thank you for sharing your perspective. I was prescribed Fosamax and took it for 4.5 years. During that period of time I also supplemented with calcium citrate (easier to digest), and Vitamin D. I carefully watched my calcium intake. I was active with walking, hiking, cross-country skiing and weight lifting. By the end of the 4.5 years I had preserved bone density and was in the osteopenia range. Then, I had an endometrial cancer recurrence and had external pelvic radiation therapy and internal (brachytherapy). The radiation oncologist told me that loss of bone density in the pelvic area and lower back often happens with pelvic radiation therapy. And that did happen to me. I had a sacral fracture that was reported when I went back to Mayo Clinic for one of my cancer surveillance appointments.

I saw a endocrinologist at Mayo who told me that I was doing every thing possible to preserve bone density. But then I had the sacral fracture and with that fracture he recommended take Evenity for 12 months (to build bone), and then take another medication such as Reclast to preserve bone density.

My mother had osteoporosis. By my age (72 years old) she had fractured her shoulder and her hip (both repaired). She was very frail and those fractures very definitely affected her quality of life. While my mother wasn't as active as I've been throughout my life with physical activity she was very social and her frail status resulted in being homebound and depressed.

I'm half way through the 12 months of Evenity injections with no side effects other than some soreness at the site of the injections that lasts for about 24 hours. Quite frankly not many people come here to let us know that they are doing just fine on their osteoporosis medications. I'm here to share that my sacral fracture is healing, I've had no other fractures and I'm living an active life.

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Hi Helen- My Dr suggests I take Evenity. I have had serious concerns about the side effects of these drugs, but most of all I have been very careful not to do anything to tempt a reoccurrence of my triple negative breast cancer. In all your counseling at Mayo, did you get any advice about any connection between Evenity and cancer?

Helen, Volunteer Mentor | @naturegirl5 | 20 hours ago

In reply to @drummergirl "Hi Helen- My Dr suggests I take Evenity. I have had serious concerns about the side..." + (show)

@drummergirl My endocrinologist did tell me that he recommended Evenity because I had a recurrence of endometrial cancer and had radiation therapy. Other medications such as Forteo have associated risks of bone cancer. Evenity is new enough that my endocrinologist said that these results were based on animal (rat) studies and that bone cancer had not been reported in humans.

There are other risks associated with Evenity but these are not cancer-related. A person with a history of stroke, or heart disease, should not be prescribed Evenity. I did not have a history of stroke or heart disease.

If this were me and I had a history of triple negative breast cancer I'd ask a lot of questions too. In the end you make a decision based on your risk factors vs. benefits. For me the benefits outweighed the risks since I knew I did not want to advance in age with the osteoporosis frailty that my mother did in the 1990's.

What did your doctor say about your risks?

drummergirl | @drummergirl | 16 hours ago

In reply to @naturegirl5 "@drummergirl My endocrinologist did tell me that he recommended Evenity because I had a recurrence of..." + (show)

I did ask my oncologist about anabolics in general and she was not concerned about a risk. Yes, we covered the cardiovascular risks and, like you, not an issue for me. However, between cancer, dental surgery and an artificial hip, I have a few more concerns and will research a bit more.
I have fought the drugs until I don’t feel I can any more. Thanks for your reply.😊