Scared to death .......

I have osteoporosis and have been taking aledronic acid for 2cyears now without any side effects. I also walk 5 miles daily to try to keep my legs strong to hopefully prevent more falls. I had a fall previously and broke my arm in 5 places hence they found that I had osteoporosis.
Try not to worry. Do your best to stay strong.

Update: Visited GP today to discuss where we go from here. My Dexa score is not good so, it looks like AA is a definite. I did ask about ‘alternative’ medicine but my score is a bit late for that. I was taken aback to hear this.
So, thank you Gransnetter’s for your comments, they have certainly been helpful. OP doesn’t seem to be the gloom and doom I’d envisaged. I hope I don’t have to buy a wig!

Maywalk - You soundca very interesting lady. I hope your local hospital is 5*!

Granless

Maywalk - for 92 yrs of age I think you are doing very well.

Many thanks Granless.
It maybe because I am kept busy answering folks worldwide about the war years. Everyone is after living history since I wrote a book about the first 20 years of my life, over 17 years ago taking in the years from 1930 up to 1949 when I got married.
It takes my mind off broken bones and Epilepsy apart from Arthritis and Asthma. Not forgetting the pacemaker.
At the rate I am going I will soon be having board and lodging in our local hospital because I seem to be spending more time in there than at home.
Its a good job I can take my I-pad with me when I go. LOL

The list of side effects of these treatments (and indeed most treatments) is worrying - I understand how you feel.

But osteoporosis is not to be taken lightly. Maywalk's post gives you a very clear picture of the consequences of osteoporosis.

I am in a fracture boot at the moment, having broken my foot on Boxing Day. I only bumped it very lightly and - bingo! - another broken bone.

I would strongly advise you to grab any treatment you are offered with both hands.

I cannot take alendronic acid because of pre-existing gastric problems, but I have had several other treatments over the years and am currently on 6 monthly denosumab injections. I have had no side effects from this or any of the other treatments that I have had.

Go for it! Repeated broken bones is no picnic.

Years of high dose steroids, RA, osteoarthritis and a genetic element have impacted greatly on my bones and will continue to do so.
However, there are worse things which can happen, so I have never dwelt on it.
Everyone's circumstances are different. You have to decide what is right for you.

I have Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis. I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis in 2001 and refused the drugs because of the bad experiences I was having with my 5 year drug programme for breast cancer which caused other conditions.

I did a great deal of research and decided to go down the alternative route. A book I found very helpful was "Osteoporosis: The Silent Epidemic" by Marilyn Glenville, in which she gives plenty of information about both the drugs and alternatives.

I put together a protocol for myself and the 3 DEXA scans I have had since have shown no deterioration. I have had no fractures. I'm due another DEXA this year so will find out the situation then.

The problem I had dragonfly, was I would forget it was Sunday and make a cup of tea!
Sunday was the best day for me to take it, because I was working.

I have to fast all night and sit upright for an hour after taking it every day but I regard that as me time!

I meant to say, if I took notice of the side effects of all twenty meds I am on and didn't take them, I wouldn't be writing this. All medications have side effects, a couple have put me in hospital. However, the alternative is worse and they keep me alive.

If it's a choice between losing my eyebrows and avoiding spinal fractures, (I already have two, held together with cement), I would buy an eyebrow pencil. Its a no brainer for me.

My mum and my daughter both took it with no problems.

I have had Osteoporis for over thirty years and have been on every version of the drug in that time. At the age of thirty, I had the hip of an eighty year old woman, so had no alternative, but to take it.
The only side effects I had were chronic heartburn.

I now have a yearly infusion and will be having a break for the next couple of years. You shouldn't be on it long term, but I have been. Due to a number of factors, I am very high risk.

My bone density is presently within the range for my age group, so the drug has obviously done what it was supposed to do.
Fortunately, you no longer need to fast all night, then stay upright for an hour, after taking it.
I have had broken bones, but not as many as I would have had, if I hadn't taken it.
Natural alternatives, wouldn't have been an option for me. I weighed up the risks and because I had no intention of ending up in a wheelchair, I took it.

If you do decide to take it, remember to inform your dentist.

The moral of this is not to read about the side effects until something crops up - then check whether it actually is a side effect.

My mum was diagnosed with it and was on medication for years. I am sorry i do not know which one it was she was prescribed. It looked like and tasted like an orange drink. She never lost her hair. In fact it never even thinned. She lived into her 80's and her death was nothing to do with Osteo or the drugs prescribed.

BlueBell - how come you have yearly infusions and not the monthly dose?

Maywalk - for 92 yrs of age I think you are doing very well.

If i read all the side effects of my heart medication it would alarm me too but the effects of not taking it would be even worse- fatal!
Manufacturers have to warn consumers simply to avoid litigation should something happen that opens them up to being sued.
It definitely doesn’t mean you’re going to experience any or all of the side effects!

I have alendronic infusions once a year for osteoporosis
I have had no side effects my hair is still thick and grows fast eyebrows and eyelashes still there as normal I take no other medications I m 76 I ve had plenty of falls but not broke a bone since I was in my 40 s I didn’t take the infusions until I was 73 had it for three years then a years rest (in my case 2 years because of CoviD)
Take it as you are advised to, that is so important, have a break after three years and let your dentist know you are on it
But don’t worry

I took alendronic acid for some five years after a double leg fracture. Like you, I was pretty worried about taking it, especially that very first time.

However, nothing whatsoever happened, except that by the end, my bone strength was back within normal boundaries.

I used to take mine on a Sunday morning, when I knew I didn’t need to rush anywhere and could spend the requisite time sitting upright.

I take Ibandronic acid daily to strengthen my bones after having breast cancer. I have had no side effects for 2 years but I do have very strong nails.
My other medicine has made my hair go thin so not sure if this is an added factor.
Eyebrows you can draw on and I still have eye lashes.
The side effects do sound horrendous but are rare and I make sure I have regular dental checkups.

I take several tablets every morning, but on the allotted day for Alendronic acid I have to take it first, then nothing else for at least 30 minutes. That`s the annoying bit, having to wait 30 minutes to get on with my day, lol!

My DH has taken Alendronic acid for several years and has no side effects. He has developed a routine of waking up early on the relevant day, taking his tablet and sitting upright and reading his I pad for the allotted time. Then he has a drink.

I have no personal experience but have a friend who took it many years ago; I'm not sure if he still takes it.
His wife says he seems to go from strength to strength he walks miles. (It's just the rest of us who are struggling.)

The most common side-effect seems to be hair loss. Surprisingly, no one has mentioned that ..... yet. One review I read was hair loss plus loss of eyebrows. I love my grey, thinning hair plus my eyebrows which are still black.

In layman's terms, older bones do not take up calcium efficiently. Alendronic acid tricks them into thinking they are young again, and they absorb calcium much more effectively. I used to nurse the elderly mentally infirm and have given out alendronate to many people, none of whom suffered any side effects.
Take the alendronate and look after yourself.