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Dear Listmates,

Over the past couple of weeks or so, a couple of people have mentioned in
messages that they had been taking Fosamax (Alendronate), a non-hormonal
drug designed to prevent, and possibly reverse, bone loss due to
osteoporosis.  I have tried taking Fosamax twice within the past year and a
half, once for several months and once for several weeks.  The first time I
took it, I had not yet been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  The second time
I took it, I'd been diagnosed with CD and on a gluten-free diet for three
months.  Both times I had trouble taking it due to strange reactions to
it -- adverse reactions that have been, as yet, unreported in the literature
about the drug, at least during its period of clinical trials (the testing
period under which all drugs in the US must go prior to being approved for
use by the FDA).  My post-CD-diagnosis/post-gf reactions included reactions
similar to those I had to gluten, particularly loss of appetite, fatigue,
and irritability.  In addition, both times I took it, I also experienced
intermittent GI bleeding (the symptom which finally sent me to the
gastroenterologist who diagnosed my CD), as well as menstrual disorders.
(I'm in my late 40's and not yet menopausal.)  Initially, I was placed on
Fosamax because, despite my age and not-yet-menopausal state, I have severe,
early onset osteoporosis, due to my CD.  (My primary care doctor told me I
have the bones of a woman in her mid-70's.)  Because of my reactions to
Fosamax, I've stopped taking it and I'm about to call my primary care
physician to discuss alternative medications for osteoporosis.  I'm also
planning to do as thorough a search as I'm able to do in the medical
literature for articles reporting adverse reactions to Fosamax now that it
has been on the market for a few years and has been reported as a helpful
drug for people who have osteoporosis due to having taken oral
corticosteroids.

I'm puzzled as to why I have had these reactions, and I wonder about other
people's experience. Thus, I would be most interested in hearing from people
on the List who have taken Fosamax and had any type of adverse reaction to
it of any sort.  If people have had such reactions, what did their
physicians tell them?  How did their physicians explain it?  What
alternatives have they found?  I will summarize for the list.

Many thanks.

Patricia Shechter
Boston, MA
Email:  [log in to unmask]
PLEASE NOTE: My email address has changed.  My new email address
appears above.  Also, please note new fax number above.