OT Evista | Arthritis Information

I have been switched from Boniva/Fosomax to Evista for post-menopausal osteoporosis/osteopenia, plus it works on preventing invasive uterine/breast cancer. I seem to have alot of / in my health story

Anyway, I have taken it for three days now and its affect been profound. I feel great, and I am experiencing a sense of well being that was lost decades ago. My pain is down to almost zero.

I am pretty sure at 52 I am on the older side of posters in here, but has any other women in here been on Evista? I just did a search for Evista and there was a total of five entries, so Evista hasn't been on the radar in here.

It's just got me thinking that with RA joint (bone) destruction, that perhaps an osteoporosis drug would help that pain, plus this one has some weird pseudo-estrogen for hormonal balance.

I keep wondering why my gyno or other endos never suggested this route. I hadn't even heard of the drug before, and its been on the market for 10 years with something like 67 million scripts written. I am crossing my fingers I don't have side effects or have to stop because of liver problems, etc. This is the best I have felt in years and its been three days straight.

You know it sure can't hurt to ask about that. that is what I am lacking a sense of well being. always sleeping, always fatigued even with the iron supplements. I will ask my doc because I worry about my bones anyway. still having my cycle as we like to say. but the hematologist said my skin was thin from the prednisone for someone still menstruating. also mom had osteoporosis and was always breaking bones. she was only 59 when she passed away in 2005, complications of diabetes. I think that's young.

so thanks for letting us know how you were helped by the evista. continued success on it.

Shelly632009-03-02 18:54:42oh, Cathy....... I'm so excited for you........ should I wish for osteopenia to get it??

seriously.. that is wonderful! I am thrilled..

I've always felt, at least for myself, that hormones play a major part in all this.......

best to you!!

[QUOTE=justsaynoemore] 19,747 women were part of STAR. They took either tamoxifen (brand name Nolvadex) or raloxifene, without knowing which medication they were being given, for up to five years. All of the women were postmenopausal, over half had already had hysterectomies and all were considered to be at higher than average risk of developing breast cancer. 163 women on tamoxifen and 167 women on raloxifene developed breast cancer during the trial. According to NCI, about 320 cases of breast cancer were expected in both groups if no drug treatment were taken. Both drugs led to a drop in breast cancer cases of roughly 50%, which is similar to the benefit found for tamoxifen when it was tested against a placebo in the P-1 trial.

However, the earlier trial of tamoxifen showed that it caused a significant number of new problems for women, and researchers hoped that raloxifene would be a safer alternative. The numbers announced by NCI show that raloxifene is somewhat better than tamoxifen, although not strikingly so. 23 women taking raloxifene developed uterine cancer, compared with 36 women on tamoxifen; and 100 women taking raloxifene experienced serious blood clots, compared with 141 women on tamoxifen. NCI did not release estimates of the likelihood of these conditions in women not taking either drug, but earlier trials of tamoxifen showed that it tripled the risk of these conditions.

The STAR trial shows that raloxifene is significantly less likely than tamoxifen to cause serious side effects - but we question whether it is likely to make a significant difference in women's lives. Using the numbers released by NCI, we calculate that of the nearly 10,000 women who took raloxifene for up to five years, only about 30 benefited, once the serious risks are taken into account. While some women may appreciate this marginal benefit, the NWHN questions whether it should be viewed as a major advance in preventing breast cancer.

...

Healthy women who are not at higher than average risk of either breast cancer or osteoporosis should be especially skeptical of any efforts to persuade them to start taking raloxifene. NWHN believes it's very likely that the ultimate results of the STAR trial will show that raloxifene isn's quite as bad as tamoxifen, but it's still not safe enough for most women to use. And we've learned that it's important to wait until enough information is available for women to be able to make truly informed choices. In 1998, NCI announced the early results of the tamoxifen trial as a breakthrough in cancer prevention. Over a year later, the institute quietly published an article with the detailed risk benefit numbers and concluded that tamoxifen would harm more healthy women than it helped except for the very most high risk women. NWHN urges women and their health care providers not to get caught up in the hype, and wait for the facts."

Be sure to be on the lookout for any adverse reactions - I hope it works well for you.

Jasmine - I was told at age 17 I would be dead by age 30 of cervix cancer from my DES exposure, so get quiet satisfaction that I beat it by 22 years so far, except that the studies are showing that the survivors are all contracted autoimmune diseases. My DES board is filled with DES survivors all reporting AI disease as they age, like me.

My endocronologist gave me three choices, and said I bet you like to research, let me know what you think? I cracked up, it was like I had GOGGLE tatooed on my forehead. Plus I own a PDR. LOL

I chose this one because he explained that this one helps now, while I still am young enough to be able to start growing new bone. Other osteoporosis drugs like Fosomax maintain your bones, and he said we can switch you to those once you get yourself built back up. And I am in the high risk category for breast and uterine cancer, plus I have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis. The other two, and one was Forteo, scared me so badly I would never take it.

I feel very strongly that my physician explained the drug to me very well, with the side effects you posted, and I did my research, and made the best choice for my medical situation.

But thank you for looking out for me. I am still feeling great - have to stop the drug if having surgery or become bedridden for any length of time because of the blood clots, and to practice moving around when travelling - guess I will have to ask for an aisle seat from now on!

I am very, very, very pleased with this drug so far. Last night I purposefully didn't take my allowance of one Vicodin a day for pain, and this morning found I had missed picking up the flexeril off the counter. So, without two of my pain medications, I slept like a baby and feel great this morning. I will have to ask about hormones and pain, this has gotten my attention. Cathy

justsaynoemore2009-03-03 04:56:48What about the old calcium supplements, i.e. calcium citrate.Cathy, my mother was given Evista several years ago after a diagnosis of breast cancer. She already had osteoporosis at the time of her breast cancer diagnosis. She tried Tamoxin, but her doctor switched her to Evista as he felt it provided more protection for her bones.

As you may remember, she has had a recurrence of breast cancer, but it didn't occur for more than 7 years. (When she was initially diagnosed, the cancer had already reached her lymph glands). The Evista very well may have given her extra time before her cancer came back. Her doctor feels it did. And now that she has mets to the bones, it is a very important medicaton, as it is the only thing she can tolerate that helps slow the progression.

Now my mother is a person who would be considered a high risk for a blood clot. She has had heart problems and had a stint put in several years ago. She smokes non-stop. But she has not had any issues with blood clots.

I just wanted to let you know, I am very grateful for the Evista which was given to my mom years ago, and I wish you continued success with it.