FOSAMAX Reviews (ALENDRONATE SODIUM)Average Rating: 1.4 (1230 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare FOSAMAX with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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More on FOSAMAX: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR FOSAMAX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | Osteopenia | Aching all over, joint pain, especially my elbows and knees.In the first few weeks of taking it I felt like I had the flu. | I have been on this medication for over 10 years. I have been experiencing bad pain all over recently including my jaw. I feel like I have rhematoid arthritis or something. No one seems concerned about this but me. I have decided to stop taking this medication. | F | 54 | 10 years | 3/14/2009 | 1 | Serious Fosamax Side Effects - Osteonecrosis of the Jaw Although some of the aforementioned Fosamax side effects can potentially manifest themselves in a severe nature, the most serious Fosamax side effect is the development of a bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), or "dead jaw." Osteonecrosis is a type of bone disease that is commonly associated with large joints like the hips, knees, ankles or shoulders. The onset of ONJ is linked with the temporary or permanent loss of blood to bone tissue, leading to death of the tissue and the eventual collapse of the bone. There are approximately 10,000 to 20,000 new cases of osteonecrosis diagnosed each year in the United States, most of which occur as a result of some type of bone injury such as a fracture or dislocation. Fosamax users run the risk of developing a serious case of osteonecrosis of the jaw and suffering through the extreme pain associated with the death of jawbone tissue. The pain associated with | F | | 3/14/2009 | 1 | Osteopenia | Ache all over. Can hardly get up in the morning. Feel like I am whoosy, no energy, knees and feet and arms and back are killing me as I sit here. Alot of gas. Depressed. Miserable. | I was on Boniva with no problems but switched because of the expense. Had no issues with Boniva at all. | F | 66 | 4 weeks | 3/14/2009 | 2 | Osteoporosis | Muscle pain in the neck and wrist pain. Pops in the neck. I stopped taking it and it still hurts though symptoms diminished. I am 41 years old and have bones of man of 105 years according to scan. | I am not sure and I am not a doctor but an engineer. That puts me in a position to investigate in a wider spectrum. I found in some documents that calcium in the blood is needed also for the functionality of the muscles. Fosamax in my view will desperately deposit all the calcium available in the blood, while depriving the muscles including the heart muscle from the necessary calcium. This leads to muscle pain as a logic result. For some reason I believe that the root cause of my osteoporosis is the inability of my intestines to absorb calcium. So I tell the doctor and he measures my calcium in the blood and says: your calcium level is ok. So I ask him is the calcium coming from the bones or from the food? Is it drained or supplied? To me the test says nothing. He did not understand the question. So I investigated and found that if there is not enough calcium in the blood for the muscles to work, then the parathyroids will generate a hormone to extract the calcium from the teet | M | 41 | 60 days | 2/28/2009 | 3 | pre osteoporosis | I have been on it for several years (about 6 years). The last two years I've had acid reflux problems, and have been taking Nexium when necessary. The last few weeks, even Nexium doesn't work completely. I was interested to read the other posts, and have some other symptoms which I attributed to aging - sore knees, muscle cramps, and severe itching on feet. I will be doing my own little test and stoping the Fosamax for a couple of weeks before I see my doctor. | When I've had bone density scans, the results have improved. I have also been exercising and working with weights, so I don't think the improvement is only due to Fosamax. I also take 1500 mg daily of Calcium Citrate. | F | 54 | 6 years | 2/27/2009 | 1 | Osteoporosis | Flu like symptoms, shooting pain in my back, arms, legs, severe headache, diahrea. | I will never take this medicine again. I was prescribed this medication by my oncologist because I have Estrogen positive breast cancer and due to my meds, am showing signs of osteoporosis. I received my first dose on 2/23/09. I took it in the evening around 6 pm - by 9 pm I was getting severe stomach cramps and severe pains in my bones and muscle in my legs. I woke up the next morning with a severe migraine - my eyes hurt if I moved them. Couldn't get out of bed at first because of the severe headache. I went to work for about an hour, and left. Went to my Chiropractor and he said my body was revolting because of the poison in the medicine. I had to flush my body with water all day in order to try to rid my body of this medicine. WILL NEVER TAKE THIS AGAIN!! | F | 38 | 1 days | 2/25/2009 | 2 | for osteoporsis/bone building | Hives, itching on lower arms and hands constipation, diahirrea, gas,stiff neck, general fatigue, bloated stomach.Overall movement, in bed, walking, getting up and down. | These simptoms did not occur until I started taking Fosamax. The itching on the hands and arms and the bottoms of my feet. Also, never had problems with constipation. Seems to be I don't always swallow as well as ususal.Doctor told me it was all due to my stress and nerves, put me on depression Med. Celexa(not taken yet)for the itch. It drives me crazy, scratch until I bleed. never had this before, even on my neck, legs. I was to take my next wkly dose today, but did not . Will wait and see if the problems go away. From what I have read, Probably won't take again.I ingest a lot of vitamin D, milk cheese, yogurt, butter, sunshine, can,t walk as well as did before. Will use supplements. | F | 74 | 3 months | 2/24/2009 | 1 | osteoporosis & osteopenia | I've been on Fosamax for 3 years. I've experienced joint and muscle pain/aches, especially in my hips and thighs + one finger. Hair loss/breakage. Hives. Fatigue and lack of energy. Developed severe gastrointestinal problems 5 months ago: bloating, diarrhea, constipation, gas, severe back pain by my ribs. Had numerous ultrasounds, MRI, CT, x-rays, colonoscopy, endoscopy to rule everything out from stomach ulcer to ovarian or uterine cancer. GI doc gave me diagnosis of last resort: IBS. Never did I associate any of these symptoms to Fosamax, and none of the treating physicians suggested a link. | The pain in my back by my ribs has lasted for 5 months and did not respond to IBS meds. The bloating, gas, and diarrhea did not respond either. I went to a chiro Friday, who told me to look up the side effects of Fosamax, and I was shocked. Is it possible that something that was supposed to help me is the cause of inexplicably weak knees, inexplicable hip pain? I thought I was just getting old, and things were starting to wear out. I spent so much money ruling out problems with my stomach, gallbladder, liver, kidneys, spine, pancreas, uterus, and ovaries. All were fine, thank goodness. I was supposed to take my weekly dose of Fosamax 70 today and did not, nor will I ever take it again. I hope my symptoms disappear as quickly as some of the women who posted on this site. | F | 55 | 3 years | 2/22/2009 | 1 | osteoporosis | I have been on fosamax for three weeks. Almost instantly, my glands in my throat started to get sore, as did my glands deep behind and in my ears. Also, I find it hard to get a restful night's sleep; not a problem before I started taking fosamax. For the past three weeks I also feel as if I have a mild case of the flu; not so severe to have to be bed ridden; but I feel crummy most of the time. I would be interested to see if anyone has experienced these same syptoms. | DO NOT try Boniva! I was on it for 6mos.; experienced black outs, confusion, severe head pain and dizziness. The doc. thought I had a brain tumor! All symptoms stopped as soon as I went off it. Boniva is another name for POISON! Does anyone know of any other bone builder that works and that you can live with? | F | 55 | | 2/22/2009 | 5 | Osteoporosis | No bad side effects to date. | Very pleased with how the 70-mg once-a-week dose temporarily helps my constant low back pain and shooting leg pain from herniated disk. Was diagnosed with osteopenia at about age 48, then several years later on subsequent bone mineral density test was diagnosed with osteoporosis. It was at that point that I was prescribed Fosamax and have been on it for about 2-1/2 years. Don't know yet how effective it has been at reversing bone disease, and hope that next BMD will show improvement as there is a family history of osteoporosis and related problems, but the relief I get from my chronic back pain is wonderful! Too bad it doesn't last longer. I take omeprazole daily for GERD and hiatal hernia so possibly this is helping to prevent esophageal problems on this medication. | F | 57 | 2.5 years | 2/21/2009 | 1 | Diagnosed with Osteoporosis | Severe hip,groin and leg pains. Stiff neck and pain in upper arms.Difficult rising from chairs after sitting.Feel as if there is a lump in my throat.Used to be very active-dignosed after breaking wrist playing badminton. My GP knew I was worried about taking Fosamax but he assured me there were no side effects. I now feel like a 90 yr old.I am aware that this drug has a half life of 10 yrs so I may never be free of these symptoms.I have had many blood tests and scans for various conditions but all are negative. I am convinced Fosamax is the cause. I live in the UK. | F | 59 | 3 years | 2/21/2009 | 1 | Osteoporosis | Jaw pain, Muscle pain, sores in my mouth and maybe heart burn, which I have never had before. | I took Fosamax for 6 weeks and experienced jaw pain( I couldn't open my mouth very wide or chew) and also outer thigh muscle pain. I was told to stop taking if for 2 weeks and the pain went away, so did the jaw problem. I was also told it was very rare that jaw pain is a problem. I went back on it after the 2 weeks and I developed muscle pain in my outer thigh again, that went away in about 4 or 5 days. Then I developed sores in my mouth around my teeth along with different muscle pain in my rear and down my leg. I was told to stop taking it for 2 weeks again to see if it goes away. It has not gone away in 5 weeks now and I haven't taken the Fosamax for 5 weeks it's still very painfull when I sit or bend over. I have a problem working now. I had heart burn just recently and have never had that before. I was given Boniva to try, but after reading all the problems with that I wont take it either. I think they are all the same. Good Luck everyone! | F | 55 | 6 weeks | 2/17/2009 | 1 | Osteoporosis | Muscle aches in forearms; muscle aches and terrible burning of both feet that got progressively worse as weeks went on. | Took for 3 1/2 months in combination with Glucosamine and Chonoitdrin for joint pain in feet (bunion) and was progressively getting weaker, unable to walk. Dr. told me to take Advil 4 or 5 times a day; it soon did no good. I was always active walker, exercising by walking 2 or 3 miles 4 times a week, doing cardio and weights also. Now have gained weight and experienced flushing and blurry vision, all this since starting this horrible drug. Had all symptomsof periferal neuropathy. Just stopped drug 1 week ago and starting to feel better already. | F | 64 | 14 weeks | 2/16/2009 | 1 | Osteopenia | Severe pain: muscles, hips, buttocks, hands, legs, head, chest,eyes; swelling of abdomen, legs, hands. I was diagnosed with Osteopenia three months ago at such an early age and was put on biphosphonates 70mg/once a week | It is terrifying, I know you'd be so surprised to see someone my age in the ratings, but I just wanted to make a warning, that all those symptoms cannot occur because of my age,disease, or anything of that kind. It can happen also to a 28 yo young women, who's never had a muscle, bone pain in life.How can doctors be so merciless? It is frustrating... I am off it for two weeks, but I have more terrible symptoms, will they ever go away? I took the drug, because of the fear of osteoporosis, but now I wish I can turn back time and just through the pills away. I see that no one goes back to say if their symptoms faded, I am so scared... | F | 28 | 8 times | 2/12/2009 | 1 | osteoporosis | I took fosamax for about a year and a half, my doctor took me off of it because I had ulcers in my esophagus. I am lucky that he took me off fosamax. I had knee pain, extreme fatigue, crawling skin in my lower legs, knee pain, acid reflux, floaters in my eyes, blurred vision and one eye has a haze over it, itching on my lower arms (so bad that I had sores from scratching so much.) terrible pain in my rib cage and back. | I went to my GP about hurting in my ribs and back and he ran all kinds of test and they all came back normal. I think he thought it was all in my head. I also went to my gastro dr. and he thought it may be from my gallbladder. So I had my gallbladder taken out, but the pain was still there. After reading the letters from this web site. I am sure all my pain was from fosamax. But I don't know where to go from here with my bone loss problem. If anyone has any answers on this, please email me. My bone dr. said I needed to start on Evista, but I am not going to take that either. I still have all my aches and pains and I have been off this medicine for almost a year. I feel like I am 80 years old. | F | 61 | 1 years | 2/7/2009 | 1 | osteopenia | after only 6 weeks I have experienced increased back, jaw, neck, and heel pain...I have met with my doctor and he has taken me off of this medication and we are HOPING this pain subsides with time. | Do not take it - after lots of research I have found horrible side effects that people are suffering with. | F | 44 | 6 weeks | 2/4/2009 | 1 | Osteopenia | I was concerned about the multiple side effects I had read about Fosamax on the internet and in the pamphlet. I even discussed the side effects with my pharmacist and my doctor. They both agreed there could be side effects and all of the side effects, such as severe jaw pain, were possible. After just one dose, the following day I experienced chills, fever, terrible joint pains, severe neck pain,and pain behind and in my ear. The pain was so severe I could not sleep, my head did not feel "right", my vision didn't seem right. I could not go to work that day as a result. The joint and jaw pain persisted all of last week. I did take Tylenol for the pain, which did help, but I had to take Tylenol every day. Yesterday, I took the second dose, today I again experienced fever, chills, stabbing pains in the right side of my head, which kept me from sleeping, jaw pain and an overall feeling of not feeling well. Although I only took two doses, (one a week for two weeks), I | There needs to be additional research into this medication to see why so many patients are experiencing such severe side effects. | F | 66 | 2 weeks | 2/3/2009 | 1 | osteporosis | There are so many I don't know where to begin. I can relate to just about everone else's horror stories. I too have pain so bad that I can hardly function. I already have severe pain with fibromyalgia and arthirits and am on pain meds and muscle relaxants that help those symptoms somewhat but taking the fosamax made my pain impossible to live with. I have a very high pain tolerence but with this drug its more than I can take. I am so glad I found this site, it has helped me so much. The bad part is that I didn't find it until 2 weeks after I stopped taking it!!! I thought I was just having more pain with weather, etc., but after I found this site it made sense now. This site made me more positive than ever what this drug has done to me. Will this type pain ever go away?? Even after 2 weeks off it I still fell horrible. I too take good care of myself with vitamins and such, and I will continue in that way. I feel that this drug stops boneloss this way..'it kills you, so you can't lose | This drug should have been monitored more agressively and because it hasn't been, the quality of life for so many has diminished extensively. But what do we do now?? Are these side effects so bad that some of us may not get much better off this, if at all, or must we suffer the consequeces of this drug indefinitely??? Even after the first dose I felt bad but thought ,sometimes it takes a few doses of med for a body to accostom itself but with each additional dose I got sicker and sicker until I had way enough and quit. 2 weeks later and I still feel awful and wonder if it didn't trigger other problems within my body???Anything that makes you feel this bad surely can't be good!!! | F | 54 | 10 weeks | 2/1/2009 | 1 | wrongfully prescribed by pharmacist | My local nationwide pharmacy gave me someone else's Fosamax prescription with my same name. What I was supposed to receive was a new medication to treat a possible yeast infection. The pharmacist asked me if I had taken the Rx before and I said no (b/c I had never had a yeast infection before nor received any treatment) and he proceeded to teach me how to take the Rx and everything. It was a generic form so I had no idea that it was not for the medication I was supposed to pick up, not did my dr ever tell me the name of the medication he was prescribing for me. So I assumed that it was my Rx that my doctor prescribed just like every other time I've been to the pharmacy & I took it and began to have SEVERE side effects. (I have already been tested in the past for stomach irritations & my stomach is already more sensitive than most which is why I had the severe reations that I had.) I took the medication at the beginning of December & have had severe stomach problems | M | 27 | 1 months | 1/28/2009 | 5 | osteopenia | None | With 18 months of starting Fosamax my bone density had improved almost into the normal range. At this time, my doctor is considering a Fosamax 'holiday' due to side effects of long-term use involving the stomach and esophagus. | F | 59 | 11 years | 1/27/2009 |