Osteoporosis medicine ?????

[Debbie C]

I know we have talked about this before but I don't know what to do. I went awhile back to this dr about something for my osteoporosis. Well he said I can take Boniva ,once a month or get an injection of something else that can last either 6 mo or a year. WELL ya'll know me and medicine so I checked out reviews of Boniva and there was nothing good about it,I don't even see the 20 commercials a day on it anymore.And I really don't want something that can last a year in case I have issues. When I was up to see the dr. at CC she wants me on something and suggested the injections......Not happy with that !!! Here's the thing I have another appt. with this dr. tomorrow and he mentioned before if I don't get an injection there is nothing I can take then. I am about ready to cancel the appt. but before I do I was wondering again what ya'll are taking for bones. She told me calcium supplements are not good for building up bones. Any suggestions are appreciated.....THX !

[Debbie C]

Well I cancelled my appt. today,I need to check into more options.

[annekat]

Wish I could help but am confused, too. My WG doc said I should stop the Fosamax after 5 years because of the risks, which you probably read about, and it is a similar drug to Boniva except is taken weekly in a pill. Right, we haven't seen Sally Field touting it for awhile, have we? Anyway, so now I'm just on 2000mg./day Calcium and 2000mg/day Vit D3. Interesting what your doc said. My PCP (a PA) gave me the impression these things would help my bones, but she's also the one who put me on Fosamax. I haven't seen her for awhile or gotten a bone density scan in a long time. I'm sure I'll get a big lecture when I do, if something worse doesn't happen first! I have gotten the impression somewhere that one can use these "bone drugs" for awhile and then take a break from them to minimize the risks, and then go back on them. I hope others can chime in here!

[Debbie C]

Yea Anne, I asked a couple of drs. ( just too see if I would get the same answer ) and they said calcium isn't for bone strength. ????????????????? I thought it says that on the bottle. I take Vit d3 also ..2000 iu a day. I even asked about fish oil or krill tablets..not. So I don't know. Couldn't have made the appt. today anyway ,was in the er all adternoon. Having horrible stomach pains doubled over for about 2 weeks now. I have to have an endoscopy done Fri. But had a scan done last week and now I have to see a urologist next week because my bladder isn't emptying which could lead to kidney issues. GREAT....Goods news is I lost 3 lbs cuz I can't eat much !!

[annekat]

Sorry you haven't been feeling well and had to go to the ER. The endoscopy doesn't sound like fun, but I hope it helps them figure out what's going on. So, if calcium isn't for bone strength, or building bones, I wonder what the heck it is for? We will get to the bottom of this. I have heard the opinion expressed that Fosamax, Boniva, etc, build inferior bone. I don't know how much validity there is to that. The other thing I keep hearing is that weight-bearing exercise is good for building bone. That I think is probably true. Anyone else got a viewpoint on this?
Best wishes on your upcoming procedure, and I hope you can eat again soon!

[annekat]

Well, Deb, here it is straight from the CC saying that Calcium and Vit. D are good for bones. 7 Myths About Calcium, Vitamin D and Healthy Bones ? Health Hub from Cleveland Clinic. The title is a bit misleading. But it also says the article is over two years old, implying it may not reflect current thinking. They did talk about weight-bearing exercise such as walking, which I know I should do. It seemed like in my brief Google search, the people debunking Calcium and D3 were more like alternative or 'functional' medicine people, naturopaths, and like Dr. Mercola. But I didn't take the time to really look at those. More research needed!

[Randy]

I took didrocal for 3 years and it did help increase bone density. I stopped after that as my dr. told me that after 3years it can cause more harm than good. I've been taking calcium and vitamin C since then, on my doctors advise. He told me it is for bone strength which is what I have always believed.
Also, I have had an endoscopy, they knock you out first so you don't feel anything. It is a fairly simple procedure. Hope it tells the Doctors what your problem is.

[gilders]

I take Calcium with Vit D3 and alfacalcidol.
I agree weight bearing (bit misleading as this doesn't involve using any extra weights) exercise such as walking should help. This would mean swimming wouldn't help. I personally would recommend both as swimming is much more gentle on joints which many of suffer from.

Anyone who says that Calcium won't help with bones - I'd check that the person isn't in conflict with trying to push an alternative, that will almost certainly be more expensive than Calcium supplements.

[Pete]

While swimming will take the strain off your legs and spine, it will also provide a full-body workout as there is greater involvement of the shoulders and arms. The quality of the cardio workout from swimming is probably more intense also.

[annekat]

Anyone who says that Calcium won't help with bones - I'd check that the person isn't in conflict with trying to push an alternative, that will almost certainly be more expensive than Calcium supplements.

One site I saw called Save Our Bones talked about other ways of getting Calcium than through the mineral supplements, ("ground up rocks"), which the author felt aren't absorbed at all efficiently. I don't know about the accuracy of any of it, just thought it was interesting and gave lots of info on all aspects of osteoporosis. I had posted a link to it, which may have doomed the post to deletion, since a few products were being sold on the site, mainly books, and one supplement. But it seemed there were lots of articles and info that could be searched without being subjected to a sales pitch. So I'll leave it to anyone to search for it themselves rather than posting the link.