I am a 66 year old female with osteropororsis, took boniva for 3 years, but lost more bone mass. Forteo gave me chest pains, now my doctor wants me to take an infusion annually called reclast?
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Q: I am sensitive to medications, and I am scared to take an infusion that last a whole year.
Answers (2)
7/ 4/09 7:47pm
7/ 3/09 3:15pm
Hi Trish,
I don't blame you for being cautious about getting a infusion of a year's worth of medication since there's no way to remove it if you get side effects. When my doctor first wanted me to get the infusions they were offering me 4 infusions of medication a year so equivalent to 90 days of medication, each time. That sounded better to me. You might ask if your doctor can do this.
I asked asked my doctor at the time why if these bisphosphonates have a half life (some amount of medication stays in your system) of 5-10 years would I need an infusion each yearly. She must basically said that eventually the medication goes out of your system. This answer wasn't good enough for me as I thought maybe I could get an infusion every other year or whatever. You might want to ask your doctor about this, each medication has a listed half life and there all different depending on the medication.
7/ 4/09 7:45pm
Hi Trish, welcome... Taape makes an excellent point. Did you take the oral Boniva or the infused/iv dose? If you haven't tried the quarterly injection of Boniva maybe that would work better. The half life (time it takes for 1/2 of the drug to leave your body) on iv Boniva is less than the once a month dose that is 150 mgs. See this link on the half life of oral Boniva, iv Boniva and Fosamax.
There's also a once every 2 years dose of Reclast, but I don't know if you'd be interested in it. Also, the article mentions that it's approved for osteopenia, so I don't know if it can be used for osteoporosis as well. It was approved by the FDA around the first of June, and I'm not sure what the half life is on it. If I can find that info I'll post it below.
There's also a drug called Fosteum, have you read about that? It doesn't have the same side effects as the bisphosphonates, but it does contain soy, so if you've had cancer or are allergic to soy you wouldn't be able to take it. The ingredients on Fosteum are: zinc, D3 and genistein (form of soy) that are helping many. Here's a link on Fosteum that explains it. You have to get it from your Dr. because it is a prescription med, but isn't too expensive, and is approved by the FDA. Primus the company that manufactures this has a discount program for those who's insurance co.'s won't cover it and your income is not a requirement to qualify.
Check this various options and see what your Dr says.
Good luck and if you have any other question for Taape or me just re-post.
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Hi again Trish, sorry I meant to say my additional answer is above not below, hope I didn't confuse you