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Reducing Forteo dose to every other day to reduce side effects?

Posted by mspatart @mspatart, Apr 6, 2023

Has anyone suffering from daily Forteo injection side effects modified the dose to every other day or to stopping for 3 days and then starting again for one to 2 weeks? I cannot tolerate the massive wave of side effects that hit me after just 2 weeks and can't find any information on how modifying the dose would 1. Reduce side effects, 2. Alter the effectiveness of the drug.

The only study I found was done on rats and the results seemed insignificant in terms of effectiveness.
Thanks to ANYONE OUT THERE!!

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njhornung | @normahorn | Nov 22, 2023

One dose of 56 mcg a week rather than 7 doses of 20 mcg on a daily basis has been approved in Japan

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1 reply
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judy58 | @judy58 | Nov 22, 2023
In reply to @06111945cc "I’m confused. You say: a higher dosage of Forteo has been approved. 56 mcg is taken..." + (show)
Profile picture for 06111945cc @06111945cc

I’m confused.

You say: a higher dosage of Forteo has been approved. 56 mcg is taken rather than the normal 140 mcg

Is this correct?

Is this what you meant to say?

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I am also confused regarding the comment.

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lkel | @lkel | Nov 23, 2023
In reply to @normahorn "One dose of 56 mcg a week rather than 7 doses of 20 mcg on a..." + (show)
Profile picture for njhornung @normahorn

One dose of 56 mcg a week rather than 7 doses of 20 mcg on a daily basis has been approved in Japan

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Isn't that less per week?

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1 reply
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wisfamily | @wisfamily | Feb 3, 2025

My Mom is only on her 2 nd dose of Forteo and has joint pain, lethargy and headache.

She cant take Evenity or Prolia.
She wont be able to continue taking this if the side effects dont improve 🙁

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2 replies
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jackieo1919 | @jackieo1919 | Feb 4, 2025
In reply to @wisfamily "My Mom is only on her 2 nd dose of Forteo and has joint pain, lethargy..." + (show)
Profile picture for wisfamily @wisfamily

My Mom is only on her 2 nd dose of Forteo and has joint pain, lethargy and headache.

She cant take Evenity or Prolia.
She wont be able to continue taking this if the side effects dont improve 🙁

Jump to this post

Sorry your Mom has side effects, I have none so far in 4 m. Good luck.

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bevlevvancouverbc | @bevlevvancouverbc | Feb 4, 2025
In reply to @wisfamily "My Mom is only on her 2 nd dose of Forteo and has joint pain, lethargy..." + (show)
Profile picture for wisfamily @wisfamily

My Mom is only on her 2 nd dose of Forteo and has joint pain, lethargy and headache.

She cant take Evenity or Prolia.
She wont be able to continue taking this if the side effects dont improve 🙁

Jump to this post

If you want
look up recent study about Forteo cyclical vs daily. I’ve posted the link on this study on Mayo Support group just a few days ago It may be better tolerated for some?

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susadenn | @susadenn | Jul 27, 2025
In reply to @riverpark "I took Forteo at bedtime for 28 days and the side effects only worsened. I was..." + (show)
Profile picture for riverpark @riverpark

I took Forteo at bedtime for 28 days and the side effects only worsened. I was consulting a pharmacist and my doctor. The pharmacist didn’t recommend me stopping at all. My doctor never contacted me once I started the medicine, but said I could quit anytime I wanted . The nightly sharp pains zapping my legs and my knee joints hurting most of the time during the 28 days caused me to stop period. I told my doctor and pharmacist and they never contacted me again. I thought possibly I should have taken the medicine each morning instead. Good luck!

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I'm so happy I found your response (though it's an old post) and read about the nightly zapping sharp pains in your legs. I've been on Forteo for 5 mths, the 1st 3 with no symptoms. These past 2 months have been excruciating with my legs & feet feeling like I'm being tazed and it's getting worse.
Can I ask if yours went away since stopping & did you use anything different?
Thank you!!

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1 reply
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riverpark | @riverpark | Jul 27, 2025
In reply to @susadenn "I'm so happy I found your response (though it's an old post) and read about the..." + (show)
Profile picture for susadenn @susadenn

I'm so happy I found your response (though it's an old post) and read about the nightly zapping sharp pains in your legs. I've been on Forteo for 5 mths, the 1st 3 with no symptoms. These past 2 months have been excruciating with my legs & feet feeling like I'm being tazed and it's getting worse.
Can I ask if yours went away since stopping & did you use anything different?
Thank you!!

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Hi Susadenn,

I am so glad to receive your questions. You’re the only one who responded to the “zapping” in my legs, including my doctors. 
I stopped Forteo after the 28 days, and my doctors never commented. The “zapping” stopped when I stopped. I haven’t been taking anything else except Costco calcium with magnesium. I just had a scan. My numbers have worsened, and I have a lot of symptoms of osteoporosis, so I will contact my doctor again
but I am not hopeful that I will find a medicine I can tolerate. Did your doctors comment on your zapping? Are you continuing with Forteo? Please let me know what you end up doing! Thanks!

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3 replies
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susadenn | @susadenn | Jul 29, 2025
In reply to @riverpark "Hi Susadenn, I am so glad to receive your questions. You’re the only one who responded..." + (show)
Profile picture for riverpark @riverpark

Hi Susadenn,

I am so glad to receive your questions. You’re the only one who responded to the “zapping” in my legs, including my doctors. 
I stopped Forteo after the 28 days, and my doctors never commented. The “zapping” stopped when I stopped. I haven’t been taking anything else except Costco calcium with magnesium. I just had a scan. My numbers have worsened, and I have a lot of symptoms of osteoporosis, so I will contact my doctor again
but I am not hopeful that I will find a medicine I can tolerate. Did your doctors comment on your zapping? Are you continuing with Forteo? Please let me know what you end up doing! Thanks!

Jump to this post

Hi! Thanks for your promp response. When I mentioned it to my Dr he just shrugged his shoulders & said joint pain is a symptom. It's gotten terrible & it's not joint pain. It's exactly as you described like sharp zapping all over my legs. I stopped the Forteo 3 days ago and it's definitely stopping but my feet still hurt a bit. I haven't called my Dr yet but I have already had multiple spine fractures so I am going to see if he can lower the dose or maybe give it another try when I get my next delivery. 🤷‍♀️

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