Guest guest Posted December 17, 2002 Report Share Posted December 17, 2002 Fosamax is a treatment for osteoporosis, and is a class of drug known as 'biphosphonates.' It is perhaps the only group of drugs that have been clinically proven to reverse the loss of density in the bones as a result of osteoporosis. There are drawbacks to its use and MIMS lists 'abdominal pain or distension, GI upset, oesophageal ulcer, melaena [black stools due to bleeding into the GI tract[, dysphagia, acid regurgitation, musculoskeletal pain, headache' as side-effects and rarely 'rash with photosensitivity.' It has also been found to cause inflammation in the oesophagus and possibly a stricture in the oesophagus, and it is thus recommended that it is taken with plenty of water whilst standing upright. Obviously herbs could be used to counter the adverse effects if your patient continues with the medication, but other herbs for osteoporosis may include Trigonella foenum-graecum and Symphytum (with the usual cautions regarding internal use). Currently I am trying out a combination of: Trigonella Equisetum Centella Cimicifuga Sylibum in powder form (capsules). I shied away from using Symphytum! I have also come across in Bartram's that Cinnamon bark has 'a stimulating effect on bone healing' and wondered whether this would be of use also in osteoporosis. Best Wishes, Arwel ----------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 Hello, I actually work in a pharmacy where many women come in for Fosamax and the pharmacists still recommend that they take calcium and or magnesium, or at least they say there is no problem with doing both, you just have to make sure they are taken away from each other. It's probably not a bad idea to keep taking calcium, as the Fosamax may slow down and or stop bone reabsorption, ie. the bone stays 'dense', but the resulting bone is brittle. In other words the risk of fracture can still be quite high even with someone on the drug. Robina ===================== Robina , B.Sc., Dip. Phyt., MNIMH Medical Herbalist On the move? Get Hotmail on your mobile phone http://www.msn.co.uk/msnmobile List Owner Graham White, MNIMH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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