Morning, My mum has osteoporosis and was prescribed Alendronic Acid. Within days of taking it she suffered severe side effects mainly pain all over her body which took at least 2 weeks to disapear. After speaking to the Oseteo socitey they suggested mum go to see a Rheumatologist. We had the appointment yesterday and the doctor was amazing. Sympathetic, compasionnate and very good. She has prescribed Stronium Ranelate which is given to people that cannot tolerate the bisphosphonates family. In all my research of the disease and treatments, I have never came across this. Has anyone tried it, were there any side effects? Thank you for reading.
Your poor mum. I have had no side effects, but unfortunately some people do. Everything has side effects. It is really about weighing up these, against the do nothing option. Having already had 2 spinal fractiures, I can now walk and run but have severe pain , at times, in one buttock. I weighed up the odds, the risk of side effects against the risk of another fracture and decided what was best for me. The drug you speak of, works in a different way from the previous one, but has been associated with cardiac problems. If your mum has had cardiac problems, she will probably be advised not to take it. There are no easy answers. There is also a lot of misleading info out there. I wish your mum lots of luck.
I would not begin the AA drug because I was too concerned with side effects and the fact that it has a half life.
Do you know your mother's t score? Some people are being prescribed the drugs when their t score results were not too bad.
Less than -2.5 is osteopenia which is less serious than osteoporosis.
I think people should research online before commencing any of the drugs and weigh up the risks and make an informed choice.
I have decided not to take any of the drugs at the moment because I feel unconvinced of their safety.
Some research is stating that weight bearing exercise helps bone density.
It is also worth taking some vitamins and minerals namely Vitamin D 3, magnesium, vitamin K2, and calcium if unable to manage four serves a day through food intake.
How old is your mother? I am 71 and live in Australia.
It is wonderful that your mother has such a caring daughter.
Thank you for your response and sorry to hear how you have been effected too. Mum has 4 spinal compression fractures and 7... yes 7... Fractured ribs. Poor woman is in agony. She definately needs to take something i was just unhappy with her taking AA as have read the effects stay in your body for years.
Hi Kathleen many thanks for response. Mum has not had a dexa scan because of 2 previous lower back operations the readings would apprently be misleading because the lower back was strengthened. She is unable to exercise as such as the last back op went wrong and which has left her having to walk with a stick due to the nerve damage and numb leg. Poor woman. She has been in pain with one thing or another since she was 30 years old, she is 62 now and I just dont know how much more she can take. I want to scoop her up and take her pain away. I have just got her some spray vitamin D becuase all the GP put her on Calcium, she said there is no evidence this works and suggested Vitamin D instead. I do wish you the best of health too Kathleen. And how lovely to live in the sun with all that vitamin D! x
Is your mother active? It has a black box warning in Australia meaning it should not be prescribed for certain people.
It was never offered to me. I am not very active.
It carries warnings for people who may get thrombosis or a list of heart related conditions.
Check it out thoroughly!
You would think no one in Australia would be short of vitamin D but many are including me and my husband with the bones of a 30 year old.
Is it impossible for your mother to have a bone density scan? Here, in Aus, I only have to lie on a table and it is over in two minutes.
I have something similar to your mum and am using a wheeled walker. I am also trying Blwen therapy.
Vitamin K2 apparently puts the calcium onto the bones and I believe it is very important to have sufficient calcium.
I think you need to check out the strontium very thoroughly!
Thansk Kathleen. Mum is active in the sense that she works full time still (she is super woman!) but she cannot excercise due to previous failed lower back operations unrelated to osteo. The rheumy said she did not think a dexa scan would give a true reading as the lower spine was strengthened and so it would give a better reading that what the bones really were. I will continue to read what i can for her. I do sadly think she is not in a position to not take anything, she was sick the other day and cracked 2 ribs! I fear i have to find the less of all evils for her to take as she clearly needs something x
I think it is important to have a Dexa scan as you need to have full information to help with your decision.
Did your mother have the op for herniated discs?
I have two of those which is why I am not very mobile.
Are you in England?
I just want to add that as well as Vitamin D3 your mother must take Vitamin K2 (not K1 which we get from our diet). Unless she has been able to eat products from grass fed animals she'll be like most of us and deficient in this vitamin which is very important because it guides calcium into the bones so that it doesn't settle on the walls of blood vessels, etc. where it isn't wanted. Strontium ranelate is a patented form of strontium which does occur naturally in the environment particularly as strontium citrate, and has been shown to improve bone density. This is because it replaces calcium in the bones. The body obviously prefers calcium because if you take the two together, the calcium will win out! Calcium is still necessary as it is used by the body in other important processes, besidesbone-building. So if she opts for strontium, either the ranelalte (which has not been approved everywhere) or the citrate which is probably available at your health food store, she would have to make sure to take them at different times. I don't know if there is anything to show that the bones are actually stronger when taking any of these medications, or whether the doctors are just happy because they look denser.
There are also methods for improving bone strength that do not require the impact even of walking. I've heard some people who can't walk, or can't walk enough, use a vibration plate. If she is able to do any standing, or even seated exercises, she could look into very careful yoga, tai chi and qi gong, all of which with guidance of a specialist who understand her condition could be helpful. Obviously everything she tries would be done with great care to protect her vulnerable areas so I am in no way suggesting any kind of standard gym, etc.
Your mum is the same age as me. At my walk in clinic, it was explained that a dexa scan is only carried out on undamaged lumbar vertebrae. I have damage at L4 so my readings came from the 3 above. It is possible, your mum has damage in this area and that is why she has not been scanned, but this seems to vary, depending on where you live. Another thing I discovered, that may be helpful. It was discussed that to strengthen hips, standing on one leg, building up to 3 minutes, then the other leg, can help with bone strength, in this area. If balance is not great, use the back of a chair to hold on to, but it is important not to lean on the chair. I am now up to 2 minutes each side. This is good for people who find impact exercise difficuilt. Ofcourse, I cannot know if your mum is in the osteoperosis range, but her bones certainly sound very delicate from what you have explained. Remind her others understand and it is great she has you ( but I am sure she knows this ) good luck to you both.
That's really interesting, Alison with one L. I guess that is why tai chi is helpful for bone strength because of the shifting of weight from one leg to the other, with a few moves involving standing on one leg. My tai chi instructor suggested to us that to improve our balance so we find the "kicking" movements easier we could stand on one leg while doing up our shoelaces. I remembered that I used to be able to do this, so tried today - and I still can!
It is great when we have some sense of achievement. Because I have a brain tumour, I also have balance issues. Great combination Op and a tumour on my balance nerve. However, I can stand on 1leg and bounce a tennis ball 100 times each side. Not recomended for everyone, but I started with 10 and now feel more in controlf of my balance. The standing on 1 leg and having the chair there is a good start and hopefully strength in the hips will improve. Both still in tact so far, thank goodness.
I don't know if you have read a book which I dare not name here but will send you a private message - well known doctor author who has written books about how the brain can promote healing. I think something like the exercises you are doing are exactly the sort of thing that helps because you've been setting up new pathways in the brain. His book is how I found out about low intensity light therapy which I am sure is helping me recover from polymyalgia and wean successfully to a lower dose of prednisone. 
Thats great. Thank you. I really appreciate that
I would not proceed without a Dexa scan. Otherwise, you will not know if it is even osteoporosis. There is no other way to diagnose it.
These drugs are very serious ones and should not be prescribed without a diagnosis.
You will get a reading off the hips and parts of the back and even other areas if they are tested.
Unfortunately, it is not as straightforward as that, if there is already damage to the vertebrae. I know this, because I have fractures.
I would still want to know my t scores. I would not proceed without that information.
I would not know that I have osteoporosis if I had not had the bone density scan.
I now wonder if the people and I know heaps of them who live in oblivion are not better off because they have never had the scans.
A break should be a warning to get the scan and X-ray as well.
Hi. I have tried to respond to you 3 times and it won't send. Trying a short msgs to check
i understand what you are saying, but the information I discovered at the open clinic stated that sometimes a scan is not done because when vertebrae are damaged a faulse reading can result.