Bone drugs belong in the Boneyard
If you're taking one of the bone drugs from the class of bisphosphonates, I hope your doctor got the message: They may be causing you excruciating bone pain.
This class includes Actonel, Fosamax, and Boniva—this last one actively advertised by smiling spokeswoman Sally Fields. (I guess she's not a victim of this particularly nasty side effect.)
It's ironic, I know, but the warning that the FDA issued to medical professionals and their patients is that bone drugs can cause bone pain. Of course, if you're a patient and dealing with the problem—you don't need a warning issued to know how you feel. What you do need is to get off that drug!
The pain has been described as ranging from severe to "sometimes incapacitating," attacking your bones, joints and possibly even your muscles.
And while this information is included in that wad of prescription info you're given with your meds, the danger is that your doctor doesn't recognize these symptoms as side effects when you tell him you're in pain.
So what's most likely to happen? He may give you a prescription for a painkiller. Yet patients who experience this type of pain while taking one of these pills report that they've found the best cure of all: discontinuing use.
I wrote extensively on the over-treatment of osteoporosis back in December 2006. (Subscribers can access the article in the archives at www.healthrevelations.com.) The "bone" I had to pick at that time (and still do) with this class of drugs is that I find them to be downright dangerous. Little mention is made of the fact that long-term use of these "treatments" can lead to osteonecrosis, which is bone destruction, which specifically occurs to your jaw. Hardly seems to be worth any of these risks!
And what most doctors fail to discuss with you is the fact that most falls occur due to weak muscles, not weak bones! You're better off investing in a set of dumbbells and lifting them several days per week than taking a treatment that focuses on the wrong thing and can lead to debilitation. You're more likely to fall from being distracted by excruciating pain than you ever would from weak bones.
