How Effective is Fosamax & What are its Side Effects?

People who are suffering from low calcium deficiency or have muscle movement problem in esophagus should avoid taking fosamax or alendronate or should discuss about the same with the doctor before consuming the medicine. After taking the medicine patient should not lie down for at least half an hour, instead should sit or stand.

Fosamax or alendronate falls in bisphosphonates group of medicines. Fosamax or alendronate is very helpful in altering both bone formation and bone breakdown cycle in the body.

Fosamax or alendronate is very effective in slowing down bone loss and increases bone mass. This eventually prevents the risk of fracture. Fosamax or alendronate is recommended to both men and women for effectively curing osteoporosis resulted from taking over or excess dose of steroids.

In women fosamax or alendronate is also recommended to effectively restrict osteoporosis that can be caused at the time of menopause.

In men fosamax or alendronate is very effective in increasing bones mass and it shows satisfactory results in treating Paget’s disease in both men as well as women.

Individual who are allergic to alendronate should strictly avoid Fosamax. Also, people who are suffering from calcium deficiency should also avoid intake of medicine. In case doctors recommend the medicine then they do so only after analyzing patient condition. If patient know that he or she will have to stand or sit continuously for almost more than half an hour then intake of medicine should be postponed. This is so because fosamax or alendronate can have adverse effect on stomach that is why it is suggested to lie down immediately after consuming the medicine. To ensure safety patient should inform their doctor if any are suffering from any of the below mentioned problems:

• Deficiency of Vitamin D
• Kidney disorder
• Difficultly in swallowing
• Stomach problem like ulcer or problem in esophagus
• Dental issues.

In some exceptional scenarios fosamax or alendronate may also cause bone loss in jaw area. Common symptoms of this problem include pain in jaw or numbness swollen gums, slow recovery on performing dental treatment and at times even tooth loss. People who use Fosamax for a prolong period of time are more prone to suffer the above painful symptoms. The possibility of having Osteonecrosis in jaw increases if the people have/had cancer and received radiation or chemotherapy for the same. Other problems that can be experienced by the patient are anemia, dental issues and clotting of blood in some specific areas of the body.

Hence, one should clearly discuss about the various aspect of fosamax or alendronate in detail with the doctor. This will help the patient to understand both pros and cons of the medicine.

Till date it is not known that whether Fosamax pass on from mother to their babies. Still it is always suggested to inform the doctor if you are pregnant or planning a baby soon. Also, same goes with feeding mother, they should also inform the doctor if they are breast feeding their babies. This way doctors consider this while prescribing the medicine and the dosage.

One should take fosamax or alendronate as instructed by the doctor. Some of the people make the mistake of changing the medicine timing or dosage as per their convenience. But this is not right, instead; this can have adverse effect on the patient. Medicine should be simply swollen with pain water in room temperature. Some of the people make the mistake of crushing tablet or chewing the same, which is not right.

One should immediately stop intake of fosamax or alendronate if they face any of the below mentioned severe side effects of fosamax or alendronate:

• Problem in swallowing anything
• Body pain or fever
• Heartburn or chest pain
• Coughing blood and pain in the upper stomach is a severe side effect of fosamax or alendronate
• Numbness in jaw or pain
• Pain in the lower back or in ribs
• Sudden and severe pain in the hips region
• Joint, muscle or ortho pain

Some of the frequently experienced side effects of fosamax or alendronate are, stomach problems and pain, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, muscle pain and so on. In order to avoid these side effects of fosamax or alendronate one should religiously follow the instructions given by the doctors. Any change in the dose of medicine can have adverse effect on the patient.