Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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Taking a Break From Oral Bisphosphonates

In 1999 my grandmother Esther had a bad fall in which she broke several ribs and suffered compression fractures in her spine. Her doctor subsequently diagnosed her with osteoporosis and prescribed Fosamax. But Grandma, then in her late 80s, had difficulty staying upright the required amount of t...
Anonymous
Anonymous
4/29/07 2:48pm
My takeaway message on this excellent article is (1) take oral bisphosphonates for 3 to 5 years and then quit forever, unless your bone density falls off significantly after quitting and (2) the long-term effects of taking bisphosphonates are not known.
4/30/07 12:18pm
Thanks so much for your kind feedback on my article. I would definitely agree on your second observation, that the effects of long-term biphosphonate use are not yet fully known. As for the first comment, stopping (or pausing) the medicine after three or more years would indeed be the right thing for a number of patients, but I would add that individual circumstance do vary and that the decision should be made in close consultation with a physician. Best regards, Lila

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