How Many Years Is It Safe To Take Fosamax

Bisphosphonates the most common type of osteoporosis medications are typically taken for three to five years.

How many years is it safe to take fosamax. They advise that women whose risk is still high should continue to take oral bisphosphonates for up to 10 years or iv therapy for up to six years. I m a 62 year old woman with osteoporosis as determined by a 2 87 on my bone density scan. Periodically re evaluate the need for therapy. This question will take some very long term studies to answer.

There have been reports that some people who take fosamax have developed a serious condition called osteonecrosis of the jaw a condition in which bone tissue in the jaw dies causing pain and the possible collapse of the jaw bone. Although 10 years of fosamax treatment appears to be safe the optimal duration of treatment has not been established he notes. After that your doctor will consider your risk factors in determining whether you should continue to take these or other osteoporosis medications. An fda review of clinical studies measuring the effectiveness of long term bisphosphonates use shows that some patients may be able to stop using bisphosphonates after three to five years and still.

How long can you take fosamax. Bisphosphonates include alendronate binosto fosamax ibandronate boniva risedronate actonel atelvia and zoledronic acid reclast zometa. I ve been taking fosamax along with calcium and vitamin d supplements for the past five to six years. It now looks like it s safe to take fosamx for 10 years but that s not really the long haul if a woman starts taking the drug at menopause she going to have hopefully a lot more than 10 years left to live.

The health risks of using fosamax for a long period of time are still not completely clear. Discontinuation of therapy should be considered by doctors after 3 to 5 years in patients at low risk of fracture. However fracture risk should be reassessed every two to three years during extended therapy. Investigators showed that women who switched to placebo after 5 years of alendronate fosamx medication lost a statistically significant but clinically small 2 3 more bone density than those who continued alendronate for a full 10 years.

In that time i ve had three stress fractures of my feet.