Just letting you know that I have been on bisphosphonates nearly 20 years now (I live in NZ and am a 63 year old male). Unfortunately there seem to be NO long term studies on people like me who have been using these drugs (in oral and intravenous forms) for many many years. Having said that, I have not had any fractures since 1992 0 I have 3 vertebral fractures, I am still active in cycling and jogging - but no more skiing. I have had two serious falls in the last decade w/o any more fractures - a surprise to both myself and my health care professionals. And my bone density has actually increased, especially in the last decade, to where I am now only about a standard deviation below normal as compared to three and a half standard deviations below normal for my age since 1990 when my first fractures occurred.
It is too simplistic to attribute these reasonably good clinical outcomes to the drugs, especially when there are so very few comparators. But thats the way with many complex conditions and complex drugs. Lifestyle has to make a difference, since my brother, who also had osteoporosis died several years ago - even though on fosoamx every vertebrae in his spine had collapsed (he also had schizophrenia for many years which kept him depressed and inactive - ). A key thing here is NOT to get worried by the fact that some people either dont tolerate or dont respond to some drug well, or or whom the drug may actually worsen things. There is sooooo much individual variation in how each of us process all kinds of foods drugs etc that we are stuck in the fog of averages - until the genetic marker come out that can indicate who can take what - and not take waht - safely. Life is a gamble, health and health states are gambles, and the gambles change with treamtnet - non treatment - choices. Choose your gambles wisley.
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Just letting you know that I have been on bisphosphonates nearly 20 years now (I live in NZ and am a 63 year old male). Unfortunately there seem to be NO long term studies on people like me who have been using these drugs (in oral and intravenous forms) for many many years. Having said that, I have not had any fractures since 1992 0 I have 3 vertebral fractures, I am still active in cycling and jogging - but no more skiing. I have had two serious falls in the last decade w/o any more fractures - a surprise to both myself and my health care professionals. And my bone density has actually increased, especially in the last decade, to where I am now only about a standard deviation below normal as compared to three and a half standard deviations below normal for my age since 1990 when my first fractures occurred.
It is too simplistic to attribute these reasonably good clinical outcomes to the drugs, especially when there are so very few comparators. But thats the way with many complex conditions and complex drugs. Lifestyle has to make a difference, since my brother, who also had osteoporosis died several years ago - even though on fosoamx every vertebrae in his spine had collapsed (he also had schizophrenia for many years which kept him depressed and inactive - ). A key thing here is NOT to get worried by the fact that some people either dont tolerate or dont respond to some drug well, or or whom the drug may actually worsen things. There is sooooo much individual variation in how each of us process all kinds of foods drugs etc that we are stuck in the fog of averages - until the genetic marker come out that can indicate who can take what - and not take waht - safely. Life is a gamble, health and health states are gambles, and the gambles change with treamtnet - non treatment - choices. Choose your gambles wisley.
John
May 3, 2010 - 6:53pmThis Comment
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