I saw what you posted about Fosamax in bubbagump's thread.
I have had the very same question about an osteoporosis med ad they keep showing - the one that is a once-a-year infusion. It says patients who get the infusion get good results, as long as they also take daily calcium and vit D. Hello??????
They promote the infusion as being so much better than taking pills. Um, yeah, and also harder to pin down adverse events, when it is a once-a-year thing.
I haven't seen the once-a-year advertisements, but the Sally Fields commercial for Boniva give me the creeps. The whole premise of the commercial seems to be that she's too stupid/lazy to remember to take a pill every week, so she's got to have one that she only takes once a month. What happens when you have an adverse reaction to such a long-acting drug?
That commercial, along with the Lyrica commercial, certainly don't do much for the image of independent, capable mature women.
hi suzanne. we do not get these sort of tv ads here in the uk.. only meds on tv
are mild painkillers.. i have not heard of the infusion do you know what it is called.
as you point out vit d and calcium are needed.. must have a look at some more recent
studies.. makes a person wonder about all these newer meds and how much money
is involved..
Boney
[QUOTE=JasmineRain] What happens when you have an adverse reaction to such a long-acting drug?
[/QUOTE]
My opinion? This infusion could be saline! No reaction, because it doesn't do anything LOL. They got their study results by getting the study patients to take vit D and calcium daily.
Boney, I have like five possible names rolling around in my head and don't want to say the wrong one. It is the only infusion for osteoporosis prevention, though.
HI guys, I took part in a trial of the once a year drug and I definitely had the drug, I had the infusion at 10am and it took about 45 minutes, the drug was called Zoledronic acid, I woke up at 2.30 am in the morning and was in absolute agony, we considered an ambulance but ended up paging the RD that gave me the med, he said I definitely had the drug, my bones felt like they were on fire, the pain was tremendous, he said it was a good sign, I also had a very high fever. He also said think of yourself as Harry Potter where he grows new bone as that is what is happening??????? Never again. Cheers Janie.
In my area, there are TV ads by attorney's stating that if you take or have taken Fosamax, to please call them. I was given samples by my rheumy and after I read the side effects, I said "no way!"
is anything going on whith fosamax here in the uk..i wonder now does it actually work.
Boney
[Posted 01/07/2008] FDA informed healthcare professionals and patients of the possibility of severe and sometimes incapacitating bone, joint, and/or muscle (musculoskeletal) pain in patients taking bisphosphonates. Although severe musculoskeletal pain is included in the prescribing information for all bisphosphonates, the association between bisphosphonates and severe musculoskeletal pain may be overlooked by healthcare professionals, delaying diagnosis, prolonging pain and/or impairment, and necessitating the use of analgesics. The severe musculoskeletal pain may occur within days, months, or years after starting a bisphosphonates. Some patients have reported complete relief of symptoms after discontinuing the bisphosphonate, whereas others have reported slow or incomplete resolution. The risk factors for and incidence of severe musculoskeletal pain associated with bisphosphonates are unknown.
Healthcare professionals should consider whether bisphosphonate use might be responsible for severe musculoskeletal pain in patients who present with these symptoms and consider temporary or permanent discontinuation of the drug. For more information visit the FDA website at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#Bisphosphonates and http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/bisphosphonates/default.htm.
[Posted 10/01/2007] FDA issued an early communication about the ongoing review of new safety data regarding the association of atrial fibrillation with the use of bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs used primarily to increase bone mass and reduce the risk for fracture in patients with osteoporosis, slow bone turnover in patients with Paget’s disease of the bone, treat bone metastases, and lower elevated levels of blood calcium in patients with cancer.
FDA reviewed spontaneous postmarketing reports of atrial fibrillation reported in association with oral and intravenous bisphosphonates and did not identify a population of bisphosphonate users at increased risk of atrial fibrillation. In addition, as part of the data review for the recent approval of once-yearly Reclast for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, FDA evaluated the possible association between atrial fibrillation and the use of Reclast (zoledronic acid). Most cases of atrial fibrillation occurred more than a month after drug infusion. Also, in a subset of patients monitored by electrocardiogram up to the 11th day following infusion, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of atrial fibrillation between patients who received Reclast and patients who received placebo.
Upon initial review, it is unclear how these data on serious atrial fibrillation should be interpreted. Therefore, FDA does not believe that healthcare providers or patients should change either their prescribing practices or their use of bisphosphonates at this time. For more information visit the FDA website at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2007/safety07.htm#Bisphosphonates and http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/early_comm/bisphosphonates.htm.
It's Reclast. Saw the commercial again last night.