Alendronate for Osteoporosis User Reviews (Page 3)

• Boo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 15, 2022

Alendronate "I was asymptomatic but deemed high risk for fracture since diagnosed with osteoporosis. I respect some who’ve actually benefited from Fosamax. However, this has been a drug nightmare with symptoms similar to others here on this site. First week taking weekly Fosamax 70 followed next day by nonstop diarrhea for remainder of the week. Second week dose 2 had ongoing diarrhea, chills, nausea, fatigue, and debilitating cramps as if punched repeatedly in the stomach. To my FP’s irritation, I strongly refused further treatment after 2 weeks, stopping prior to the 3rd dose. Also declined Prolia injectable as an alternative as it must be followed by oral biophosphonates after injections are discontinued. I’m still dealing with diarrhea and fatigue impacting the quality of life. Please do extensive reading on side effects before pursuing Fosamax or other bone health drugs. I’m now pursuing a more natural option through exercise, nutrition, vitamins D3, calcium, K2, and fish oil."

• Cat...
• May 22, 2021

Alendronate "I have been taking Fosamax weekly for about 9 months. I have significant hair loss and mild hip pain. If there is no improvement in my DEXA in a few months, I will stop taking. I am too concerned about more serious side effects that tend to happen when on this drug for a longer period of time."

• Bre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2018

"After taking it for seven weeks, I had to make an appointment with my doctor because I was in so much pain. The first thing my doctor told me was to stop taking it. Not realizing the pain was from taking alendronate, I've been off of it for three months now. Although the pain is better, I'm still in pain. Sometimes I forget about my pain and try to quickly jump up from a sitting position and, surprisingly, almost fall down. That's how bad my joints hurt when I move. My fingers and feet are constantly sore. My collarbone, tops of my thighs, and inside of my knees hurt when I move too, and sometimes my wrist."

• kdt...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 26, 2023

"I should have gone with my gut feeling after reading the majority of these reviews. You all (most of you) were spot on. This medication is toxic! I did hold back a couple of weeks after receiving the prescription - fearful of side effects. However, my endocrinologist convinced me that I should take it. She claims they prescribe it all the time without complaints. She advised me of possible side effects upon prolonged usage - over several years. Well, I made it through two once-weekly doses. On day eight, I experienced severe throbbing in my left wrist. On day nine, the pain extended to my right wrist, hips, back, shoulders, and neck. I feel worse than anything I have experienced. I am not a lightweight to pain. In 2019, I endured major spinal lumbar surgery; a lumpectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis; a Pitbull attack requiring 19 1-inch staples to my upper right arm; and a pacemaker/defibrillator installation. Bottom line: trust your gut."

• Hor...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 10, 2017

"Nausea... Headaches... Sticks in my throat... and sours in my stomach. Cramps with joint pains. Carpal tunnel from my shoulders down my arms. Cramps in my chest, hands, arms, legs, and feet. I started taking it because I was hurting from osteoporosis. Now I am hurting from taking this drug. Vitamins D and calcium would have been the answer, but doctors get paid to push this medication on their patients."

• Ken...
• April 2, 2017

"Doctor prescribed 70 mg Alendronate weekly for pre-osteoporosis. I also have a compressed disc in my lower back causing chronic back pain for 30 years, which was being controlled by Naprosyn (anti-inflammatory). After 3 doses of Alendronate, I am bedridden with severe lower back pain. The pain is so bad I am now on morphine. I haven't talked to my doctor yet, but the hospital ER doctor/pharmacist said there aren't indications that Alendronate can cause such severe pain after taking 3 weekly doses. It seems to me there are others having severe side effects like mine within a few days or weeks of starting the medication. Please let me know if you have, thank you."

• Hon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 15, 2022

Alendronate "I am 59 and have osteoporosis in my lumbar spine (T Score -2) and osteopenia in both hips and neck. I haven't started taking Fosamax, but reading all the complaints scares the hell out of me. I am very healthy and have no other health issues. Why do they sell such a horrible product if it causes these problems, and as most have stated, didn't improve their score that much."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 6, 2017

"After taking alendronate for 1 year, my pelvis fractured suddenly. I was not doing any strenuous activity. Everyone insisted that I must have done something to cause this. The orthopedic surgeon who saw me in the hospital told me it was the alendronate medication and told me not to take it anymore."

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 9, 2020

"I took alendronate once a week for osteoporosis! After six weeks, I simply had to quit.... it was a matter of quality of life! I developed pain in my sciatica that was so severe that I was in pain most of the time! Walking was often impossible! Scale of 1 to 10.... 10 being the worst pain...... I hit that most every day! Would not recommend this to anyone!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2022

Alendronate "I reluctantly started taking Alendronate on November 6, 2021. In addition, I had a knee injury and had begun physical therapy a few days earlier. My knee hurt when I kneeled or squatted, but I could walk without pain. I did not notice any issues for the first 3 weeks, but had started limping. I attributed the limp to the physical therapy and focusing on the injury, rather than the Alendronate. The pain got worse, and I spent a lot of time elevating the knee and wrapping it in ice. Meanwhile, I finally had an MRI that verified tears in the meniscus. By week 7, I purchased a cane to help me walk. It hurt to roll over in bed. My hips hurt, my leg hurt, everything hurt. I took the 8th dose on Christmas Day. I had suspected the pain might have more to do with the medication than the injury. I went online and read how others had similar reactions. I decided to stop. Within 2 weeks, the pain in my hips was gone, and by the end of January, I was no longer limping."

• Bel...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 13, 2021

Alendronate "I have been on Fosamax for two years with no side effects from it. I've had heartburn only when I didn't follow the directions to not bend over or lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking it. I recently had my second DEXA scan in two years but was not sent my score, so I can't comment on any improvement, but I will ask in three months at my next physical. I will continue to take Fosamax as long as I need to."

• Arl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 15, 2021

Alendronate "I took 3 Alendronate pills for my osteoporosis. Three days after my second pill, I began to experience some general pain and flu-like symptoms, but did take the third pill not knowing what was wrong. In a few more days, I literally could not walk because of the severe pain in my right knee and my right hip. I have only mild RA in my right knee, none in my hip. That was 4 months ago. I am currently just beginning to get my mobility back. What a horrid experience this has been. My doc now wants me to try Prolia. What??? Never. I did report my experience to the FDA."

• DEE...
• June 6, 2019

"My wife started taking alendronate 70 mg tablet once a week for four weeks. After one week, she started having stomach pain. Saw her doctor after the fourth week with back pain, stomach pain, leg pain, and discomfort in one eye. She is no longer on this drug, and I don't think it should be prescribed. There are other products on the market for osteoporosis, and I will not have her take those either. My wife now uses a walker and was very active before. I wish I had researched this drug prior to her taking it. Lesson learned. Stay away from this drug."

• Ali...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 26, 2016

"Alendronate/death. Doctor prescribed this for my 91-year-old mother against my objections. My mother was in excellent health until this medication was prescribed. I stated my objections several times regarding this medication. I related recent incidences of falls and no bone breaks. (She had fallen several times, once off a ladder onto concrete...only bruised. Another time, slipped off a step, sprained ankle. The ER doc said she had great-looking bones.) Also, my mother repeatedly told the doctor she had memory/cognition issues, which were documented in her chart. The doctor insisted. Ten days later, my mother died. She misread the directions and didn't remember the doctor's directions. She took one pill daily instead of one weekly."

• Kid...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 23, 2019

"I started this drug, alendronate, two weeks ago. I have taken 2 doses, I am taking myself off this drug. The first dose, I noticed that my lower spine was aching and sore to the touch, it went away after 2 to 3 days. The next time I took it, a week apart, I noticed pain in my hips, butt, and down one side on my right side. By day 2 of taking it, the pain was lighting up. I am calling my doctor come Monday, I shouldn't be feeling this bad. I was fine before I started taking this drug (alendronate)."

• Fed...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2019

"I took once a week Fosamax for three weeks. Starting after the second dose, I developed heart palpitations severe enough to put me in the ER. Also, severe back muscle spasms that pain medications could not control. Doctor does not suspect a correlation, but after reading reviews and researching in depth, I believe it is more than coincidence, and I stopped taking it. If I had known that Fosamax has a half-life of TEN YEARS - yes, 10 years for half of it to be out of your body!!!! I would not have ever taken it. I thought that I could just try it and stop if I had bad side effects and they would go away, but evidently the heart issues and pain issues could continue for months or years."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 19, 2025

Alendronate "After just one dose, seven hours later, I had a fever, chills, nausea, fatigue, and stomach issues. The second day, I was tired and chilled in the evening with bone pain in my back and also the third morning. Very achy. I am considering not taking any more doses."

• Too...
• July 16, 2021

Alendronate "Worst medication I have ever taken. I started Fosamax 2 weeks ago, followed the directions exactly for my first dose. Within 10 hours, I was vomiting, headache, chills, fever, ached all over like severe myalgia. A week later, I took my second dose not sure if my initial reaction was a flu bug. Nope, 15 hours later it started all again and more severe. I couldn’t walk, horrible sharp pain in my hip, plus all the stomach stuff. No thanks, this is no way to live. I’ll stop taking this awful drug."

• Ost...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 20, 2024

"I started alendronate, 70 mg 1x a week in April 2023 after being diagnosed with osteoporosis. I did not have any side effects until 3 weeks ago when I started having acid reflux and stomach irritation, which is unusual for me. My PCP prescribed famotidine, which has helped somewhat, but after being on it for 2 weeks, she is having me stop the alendronate for several weeks to see if that could be causing the reflux. I was taking the alendronate first thing in the morning, with a large glass of water and waiting 1 1/2 to 2 hours before any food or beverage. I'm asking those who have experienced this, how long it took for the reflux to resolve (if it did) after stopping the alendronate. Thanks!"

• Mam...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 24, 2022

Alendronate "I have been on this drug for over 3 years, once a week, 70 mg. I had a kidney stone that was calcific. I’ve never had a stone in 64 years. Then, I have a large calcific tendonitis from a calcium deposit in my toe. It’s significantly big! These do not go away, so now I have to have the toe injected for pain control. I also have calcific tendonitis/capsulitis in my shoulder! I had to quit this med. Its benefits do not outweigh the risks. My orthopedic surgeon stated that this does happen in women. The gyn doctors put us on it for osteoporosis hoping that we will get at least to osteopenia, but he stated that he sees the side effects and hairline fractures/stress fractures in women and also has had several femur fractures. Not good!"

• Bir...
• March 18, 2019

"I'm speaking for my mother, she took 3 pills, 1 per week of 70 mg Fosamax, and now she is experiencing severe hip and groin pain, along with some pressure in one of her eyes. She stopped it cold turkey, and we are hopeful that there are no long-term effects. She wasn't even in this severe pain to begin with! My mother is 80 years old and felt way better 3 weeks ago before she started. Now we have to wait to see if things get better!"

• Mka...
• September 25, 2019

"I started using these pills 3 months ago. Ever since, I have unbearable body pain, my neck, arms, hips, legs, and lower back hurt so much. I can’t move around, sit, or stand up. I wish I’d read these reviews before. I will stop taking them."

• Ms...
• February 12, 2018

"I was prescribed this medication by my rheumatologist for osteoporosis. (I have RA.) During the first few months, I noticed bloating and some random aches, but it was minor. Now, 4 months in, I have gained 16 lbs, I get random jolts of pain in my head, knees, and hands. Sometimes light-sensitive and have a thickness in my throat. My fingernails keep splitting and peeling, and I feel dizzy (vertigo symptoms) and tired. I will not be continuing this and will speak to my PCP about increasing calcium and vitamin D instead."

• hev...
• May 7, 2020

"I started the alendronic acid 3 weeks ago, every Monday, 70 mg. Reluctantly, I’ve never had such excruciating pain, I feel like screaming at night. My pain was in my knee. Now it’s from my hip to my toes in agony. I was used to having days in pain 2/3 days, but nowhere near this agony. It took me 3 weeks of research to see it’s this medication...gone, I’m never taking it again."

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2023

"This is the worst medication I have ever taken! One dose of this medication and I feel like I have been in a major automobile accident (this is the only way I know to describe this pain). I took the medication in the morning, and by the time I was ready to go to bed that night, my entire body (joints) were sore. By the middle of the night, I woke up with such pain in the right side of my chest (bone pain) that it hurt to take a deep breath. I am seriously hoping that this is short-lived! I have never had a reaction to a medication like this. DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION!!!"