Did You See This, On The Good Morning America TV Show?

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:00 pm

Hi All,

The bad news seems to be building to the level where it's becoming hard to ignore, regarding the use of any of the bisphosphonates, for treating osteoporosis. Here's another, new report. When you think about this, though, it's not difficult to understand why bisphosphonates make bones so brittle. Basically, they work by "hardening" bone, by preventing the reabsorption of old bone tissue that the body has marked for destruction. They do not help to generate any new bone tissue. While it is true that old, dead bone is "hard", unfortunately it is also brittle, and it becomes even more brittle with age.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/fosama ... d=10045179

The characteristic that really drives the nail into the bisphosphonates coffin, is the fact that by preventing reabsorption, they also prevent the growth of new bone tissue, anywhere where reabsorption has been prevented. IOW, the body will not generate new tissue, on top of old, dead tissue - the dead tissue has to be removed, first, (obviously, because dead tissue cannot support new growth - it can't supply new growth with nutrients). Here is additional information, to support my position. There is now evidence that the serious jaw necrosis problem that some people develop while taking a bisphosphonate, (know as osteonecrosis of the jaw), is not due to destruction of the jaw tissue by the bisphosphonate itself, (as previously conjectured), but rather it is due to subsequent infections that may develop, (from any normal cause - jaw infections are somewhat common, due to tooth abscesses, etc.). Since the bisphosphonates prevent the reabsorption of the dead tissue caused by the infection, the body cannot repair the damage, by creating new jawbone tissue, and so the damage continues to accrue until the jaw is irreparably damaged.

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10 ... 38.5.6.743

The bottom line is, if you are taking a bisphosphonate, and you are prone to tooth/jaw infections, I urge you to stop taking the bisphosphonate. Your jaw is definitely at risk, if an infection develops.

More than that, though, in the long run, taking a bisphosphonate guarantees that your bones will become brittle, due to the accumulation of dead tissue, and the lack of new growth. The harder your bones become, the more brittle they will become. Ordinary glass is a good example of a hard material, (it takes a diamond to scratch it), but glass makes a very poor construction material, as far as load-bearing is concerned, because it is far too brittle to safely carry a load. Please don't replace your bones with "glass".

Tex

ant · Post by **ant** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:42 pm

Dear Tex,

My doctor wants me to start bisphosphonates,(Fosamax) and I have so far said no. I have been reading similar reports. I am thinking, it may be good to take for a couple years to build back some density. But even then, I believe, the the drug stays in the bone for 12 years.

Also it is not great on the gut.

Thanks for posting,

Love ant.

Post by **Rosie** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:42 pm

Yeah, I read about these new findings on the internet. Of course the pharmaceutical folks have gone into damage control, claiming that it could still be very useful to take it short term (less than 4 years). I know a lot of women who are taking bisphosphanates in fear of having a broken hip when they get older. Now they can worry about what other sorts of long-term damage the bisphosphonates have done, and will continue to do because of their long-lasting affects.

I sure wish that there were a good safe way to build bone mass. Weight-bearing exercise seems to pretty effective. And then there is strontium......... Ant, did you decide whether to try it? I took it for a week but felt that it might be causing some upset to my gut and quit. I think that I might start up again soon.

Rosie

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 3:32 pm

No, thanks very much for posting it. I've been off of it for a while.

I think my Mom has been on it though. She broke her femur in the fall. She'll be 94 in June.

I found a site about a building bone program. Of course, she wants to sell you something........I really haven't gotten to check out the site and probably won't for a while.

I'll find it and post it and all y'all can check it out.

CAMary · Post by **CAMary** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 3:47 pm

Just to put another POV out there....biophosphonates are being used as first line treatment for women with stage 4 breast cancer that has metastasized to the bones. It has been found to be extremely effective in slowing down the progression of the disease, and with far fewer side effects than chemotherapy. For many women they are extending their lives by many, many years while preserving a good quality of life. So whether or not such drugs are "useful" clearly depends on the individual and the personal health challenges they face...

Mary

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 3:56 pm

VERY VERY interesting--- I think I had posted this here awhile back-----years ago I stopped taking Fosamax----just due to being lazy and having some TUMMY annoyances----well--the kicker is that after doing the body scan(cus this was GYN;s) tag along --I received a call from his nurse --who with such an Xciting voice said to me---*Barbara, whatever U R doing keep doing it cus your bone mass has IMPROVED!!!!!

Does that tell U something or what!!!!!

Barbara

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 3:57 pm

Thanks, Mary, that is very interesting. I have had breast cancer both in situ and infiltrating in opposite breasts. I had a lumpectomy.

This is the site: http://saveourbones.com/

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:07 pm

Yes, I would think that they would be very effective at limiting the development of bone cancer, because they are extremely effective at preventing new growth in bones, and cancer cannot develop without new growth.

As the great Roman poet, Lucretius, in the year 56 B.C., so correctly pointed out, "quod ali cibus est aliis fuat acre venenum", (what is food for one may be bitter poison to others).

Tex

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:28 pm

And he didn't even know us, the PP.

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:55 pm

It's just as well - he couldn't speak English, and I'd be surprised if any of us can speak Latin, so communicating would have been a real bear.

Tex

Ginny · Post by **Ginny** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:10 pm

I also took Fosamax for a couple of years and then my jaw began to ache and ache and ache. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this stuff ain't good for you! It probably took six months before the jaw quit aching. This was the same doc that swore by HRT and had me on them so I could have a period

forever.............like I wanted to go from pads to diapers!! No wonder so many of us are skeptical about docs. Ginny

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:14 pm

Could the jaw ache have been TMJ?

Post by **tex** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:01 pm

Good point, Joan. I had TMJ until I finally got all the gluten out of my system. It got so bad at one point that I could barely open my mouth wide enough to sneak a soup spoon between my teeth. I lived on soup on the bad days, because there was no way I could open wide enough to have eaten a sandwich, and I couldn't chew regular solid food, anyway, when that was going on. But my bad episodes usually lasted only for a couple of days or so, and then they would let up.

Tex

Ginny · Post by **Ginny** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:41 am

Don't believe so; this was several years ago and I never had any problems since then. Ginny