<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

There have been a number of postings about the relatively new medication
called Fosomax, which is supposed to help re-build bones that have become
porous from loss of calcium, sometimes a side effect of malabsorbtion from
celiac disease.

Fosomax is gluten-free, but unfortunately there are some negatives that
must be carefully monitored.  Doctors always warn patients to take the
medication with a full glass of water, 1/2 hour before eating breakfast, on
an empty stomach.  And then one must remain upright - best to be on your
feet and walking around, during that half hour.

If those precautions are not successful, the symptoms are varied.  In my
case, I began to feel just a little discomfort, which was taken care of by
eating something...perhaps mid-morning and mid-afternoon and in the
evening.  The snacking became more frequent and I finally realized that I
was not hungry, but had something nagging going on in the gut or esophogus.
>From talking with my gastroenterologist, I learned that this is evidently a
pre-ulcerous condition caused by the Fosomax, and I'm now on medication to
remove all stomach acid and, we hope, allow the incipient ulcer to heal.

I don't think I was at all casual about the 1/2 hour before eating, stay
upright, etc. regulations, but the complications still happened.  So I send
this as a warning to other celiacs who may be using the same medication.
Be alert to minor symptoms, and really pay strict attention to all the
directions.  I hope you are all more fortunate than I.

By the way, the medication to help with this complication is called
Prevacid, and there seem to be no side effects - yet...

Gayle Kennedy,  Ithaca, NY