AMB,

I didn't get the joint pain right away with Actonel. But after about 8-10 weeks, it came on and stayed. I have osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, and only osteopenia, age 52, postmenopausal for 10 years. The hand, knee, low back, neck and shoulder pain was very pronounced and steady once it started. I'm already on Celebrex for arthritis inflammation, can't take any more for the new Actonel pain. I hung in for another 6 or 8 weeks with Actonel, then stopped due to the pain. I stayed off for about a year, then tried Fosamax. The pain came on again, this time after about only 4 weeks of use. Also the heartburn. I stopped again... I didn't feel it was worth it for only mild osteopenia, in my case...  don't know if pain would eventually subside with a longer trial. If you aren't already on NSAIDs, you should definitely try that to see if you can tolerate the actonel.