Say NO to Bone Density-Boosting Drugs

Naturally Savvy
Naturally Savvy

It is estimated that about 30 million people in North America take one of the class of drugs known as bisphosphonates. These include:

  • Fosamax
  • Actonel
  • Boniva
  • Didronel
  • Didrocal
  • Zometa
  • Aredia
  • and several others

Esophagitis and Gastrointestinal Bleeding

One undisputed fact is that Fosamax can cause esophagitis and gastrointestinal bleeding. Conceivably, in a patient with severe esophagitis, as in a condition known as Barrett’s esophagus, the use of Fosamax could make the problem worse. Gastrointestinal bleeding and resulting anemia due to mucosal lining erosions caused by Fosamax are definitely possible.

The bisphosphonates are in the same class of chemical compounds used to remove soap scum from your bathtub. Most soap contains bisphosphonates to prevent ring around the bathtub. They remove soap scum by basically dissolving dead skin cells that collect on the tub after taking a bath. If a substance is strong enough to dissolve skin cells, just imagine what it can do to your stomach when you swallow it. It is for this very same reason that the pharmacist will tell you not to lie down after taking any bisphosphonate. If you do, it’s possible that the drug will erode the lining of your esophagus, stomach, or duodenum.

Bone, Joint, and Muscle Pain

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Bisphosphonates have been linked to severe and incapacitating bone, joint, and muscle pain. In 2008, the FDA warned doctors that this is a possible source of intractable pain for many people using the drugs and may necessitate the use of dangerous analgesics.

When people who suffer from this side effect stop using the bisphosphonates, the pain usually subsides. These are therefore drugs that should never be given to people suffering from any form of arthritis or fibromyalgia.

Irregular Heartbeat

The April 2008 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine published a study that found that a patient taking Fosamax had an 86% greater risk of developing an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation).

Jaw Problems

Fosamax and all bisphosphonates have also been linked to an increased incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw (the death of the jaw bone and subsequent disintegration of the jaw). Dentists are often puzzled (although they shouldn’t be) when their patients on one of the bisphosphonates develops rotting and loose teeth.

Estimates of osteonecrosis of the jaw vary from 1 to 10% of all patients using the bisphosphonates. Some dentists have stopped treating patients taking the drug for fear of further complications.

The drug remains in the bone for years after stopping it, so it is unknown how long the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw persists. There is no known cure for the condition and it is likely that lawyers will be enriched as a result of this debilitating side effect.

Eye Problems

The bisphosphonates may also cause serious eye inflammation leading to blurred vision, vision loss, or blindness if left untreated. This side effect was first reported in the March 20, 2003 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Lawsuits

Google Fosamax and you are bound to come up with at least a dozen legal web sites inviting those who have been prescribed the drug to join lawsuits against both the drug companies that manufacture the bisphosphonates as well as the doctors who prescribe the drugs.

Drug maker Merck has set aside $48 million to defend itself against lawsuits from patients harmed by Fosamax. The same company spent $500 million on lawsuits in 2006 with the drug Vioxx. It’s only a matter of time before the bisphosphonates are removed from the market—but not before the drug manufacturers have made a few billion dollars on them.

How Do These Drugs Work?

The bisphosphonates basically poison the osteoclast cells in your bone. These are the cells responsible for getting rid of old, dead, or weak bone cells.

The osteoclasts are in balance with the osteoblasts that make new bone cells. Since the osteoclasts are killed off, old and sick bone cells are allowed to somehow survive, and this is what causes the bones to look denser on x-rays.

What the bisphosphonates do, in essence, is to create a skeleton of old, dying, decayed, or sick cells. This type of bone looks denser on x-rays but is weaker and potentially hazardous to your health.

Leg Fractures

People who have been taking the bisphosphonates for over five years have increasingly been reporting a type of rare leg fracture that shears straight across the upper thighbone after little or no trauma. That’s not exactly something you would expect with a higher bone mineral density report.

Yes, the bisphosphonates make the bones look denser on the x-rays, but they also make them weaker and more brittle.

The typical history is unexplained leg pain after walking or standing for an extended period of time and an x-ray showing a fractured femur. The simple action of getting out of a car has been reported to cause the fracture.

The study was reported in the July issue of the Journal of Orthopedic Trauma on 20 patients who developed the bizarre thigh fracture after being on bisphosphonates for an average of 6.9 years. In 2007, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery reported that 13 women with low trauma leg fractures had been on long-term Fosamax therapy.

In my next blog, I will discuss alternatives to the bisphonates: natural ways to prevent and treat osteoporosis.

OTHER REFERENCES:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/health/15well.html?_r=4&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/story?id=6555040&page=1

Adami S. Adverse effects of bisphosphonates: A Comparative Review. Drug Saf – 01-MAR-1996; 14(3): 158–70

Fraunfelder FW, Fraunfelder FT. Bisphosphonates and ocular inflammation. N Engl J Med. 2003 Mar 20; 348(12):1187-8.

Medsafe Editorial Team. Alendronate and oesophageal ulceration. Prescriber Update 1998;No.16(Apr): 32–33.

Parish P. Sedghizadeh, DDS, MS, Kyle Stanley, BS, Matthew Caligiuri, BA, Shawn Hofkes, BS, Brad Lowry, BS and Charles F. Shuler, DMD, PhD Oral bisphosphonate use and the prevalence of osteonecrosis of the jaw. J Am Dent Assoc  2009 January Vol 140, No 1, 61–66.

Hay KD, Bishop PA. Association of osteonecrosis of the jaws and bisphosphonate pharmacotherapy: Dental implications. New Zealand Dental Journal 2006; 102(1):4–9.

Jones DG, Savage R, Highton J. Synovitis induced by alendronic acid can present as acute carpal tunnel syndrome. BMJ 2005; 330(7482):74.

Gerster JC. Acute polyarthritis related to once-weekly alendronate in a woman with osteoporosis [Letter]. J Rheumatol 2004;31(4):829-830.Gaby, Alan. Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1994.

Lee, John R., Osteoporosis reversal, the role of progesterone, International Clinical Nutrition Review, July 1990; 10(3):384-391.

Lee, John, M.D. What Your Doctor May not tell You About Menopause. NY: Warner Books, 1996.

Life Extension Foundation. Disease Prevention and Treatment. Third Edition. Hollywood, Florida: Life Extension Foundation, 2000.

Rona, Zoltan P. and Martin, Jeanne Marie. Return to the Joy of Health, Vancouver: Alive Books, 1995.

Rona, Zoltan P., Medical Editor, The Encyclopedia of Natural Healing. Burnaby: Alive Books, 1998; pp. 112–192.

William F. Stenson, MD; Rodney Newberry, MD; Robin Lorenz, MD, PhD; Christine Baldus, RN, BSN; Roberto Civitelli, MD Increased Prevalence of Celiac Disease and Need for Routine Screening Among Patients with Osteoporosis; Arch Intern Med. 2005; 165:393–399.

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Dr. Zoltan P. Rona is a graduate of McGill University Medical School (1977) and has a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and Clinical Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut (1984). He is past president of The Canadian Holistic Medical Association (1987-88) and is the author of three Canadian bestsellers: The Joy of Health (1991), Return to the Joy of Health (1995) and Childhood Illness and The Allergy Connection (1997). He is co-author with Jeanne Marie Martin of The Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook (1996) and is the medical editor of the Benjamin Franklin Award winning Encyclopedia of Natural Healing (1998). He has had a private medical practice in Toronto for the past 35 years, has appeared on radio and TV as well as lectured extensively in Canada and the U.S. Dr. Rona currently writes regular articles for Reader’s Digest, Alive, Vitality magazine and for several web sites. His latest book “Vitamin D, the Sunshine Vitamin” was published in 2010. In 2011, Dr. Rona was named Chief Medical Advisor for NAKA Herbs and Vitamins and has developed a line of nutritional supplements (TriStar Naturals) which are sold in health food stores across Canada. He can be found at www.highlevelwellness.ca