Bone Drugs for Every Aging Woman in the World?
Filed under: Bisphosphonates
This passage from an article in yesterday's Monterey County Herald brings up the concern that doctors are prescribing bisphosphonates like Fosamax and Boniva to women who don't really need them, putting them needlessly at risk for jaw problems and other side effects:
... many postmenopausal women taking the pills may not really need them. Low bone density does not automatically progress to osteoporosis, and even when it does, a debilitating fracture is not inevitable.Crystal Baxter, a former University of Pittsburgh professor of prosthodontics who now practices in Arizona, said she is very leery of doing elective dental implants in patients who have taken oral bisphosphonates.
"The scary thing," she said, "is that these drugs are being marketed to practically every aging woman in the world." (Monterey County Herald)
Posted by Tracy on July 6, 2006 1:38 PM
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I know someone that got her bone density back and had a diagnosis of mild osteopenia. Her doctor is pressuring her to take Fosamax and she keeps saying no. It's crazy! What are these doctors thinking?