Fosamax: Is Long Term Use of Bone Strengthening Drug Linked to Fractures?

Alert! Shelf life expiration! The fix - The Anabolic Clinic

Sandy Potter, 59 of Queens, New York, was jumping rope with neighborhood children when she felt her thigh bone snap.

"I went up in the air and I came straight down to the ground," Potter said. "The pain was excruciating."

Potter, who was diagnosed with osteoporosis at age 48, had been taking the popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax for eight years before her femur literally snapped in two.

Fosamax, one in a class of drugs called bisphosphonates, is supposed to make bones stronger. But now there's mounting evidence that for some women, taking Fosamax or its generic alendronate for more than five years could cause spontaneous fractures.

"We are seeing people just walking, walking down the steps, patients who are doing low-energy exercise," said Dr. Kenneth Egol, professor of orthopedic surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. "Very unusual, the femur is one of the strongest bones in the body."

Egol said X-rays of some of his patients look more like an injury endured by a car accident than an otherwise minimal fall.

"Over the last 18 months we are seeing this more frequently," he said.

Sue Heller, 60, of Castle Rock, Colo., had been on Fosamax for almost 10 years. She broke both of her femur bones.

"I'm sure there are a lot of women who have brittle bones right now that maybe are ready to break, and they're not aware of it," said Heller. "And my heart aches for them."

Sales of the popular drug increased when doctors began prescribing it not only to women showing signs of osteoporosis, but also those who were osteopenic, and thus, at risk for the disease. Now some doctors worry that staying on the drug for more than five years can cause some women's bones to become more brittle.

Weighing the Risks
This is not the first time that many doctors have reported an opposite effect for many people taking the drug. Fosamax has already been linked to severe musculoskeletal pain, as well as a serious bone-related jaw disease called osteonecrosis.

Still think they have any idea what a "safe" and "effective" drug is?

And just wait for more problems to be reported with the IMHO malpractice of diet drugs.

Fit is a better option than any of this other stuff.