Think Twice Before Taking Bisphosphonates
The latest wonder drug for osteoporosis being hyped in the media is Boniva, the once a month pill said to build bone, but before rushing out to ask your doctor for a prescription, I urge you to consider the facts about
bisphosphonates. Yes, Boniva, like Fosamax and Actonel, is a bisphosphonate.
Contrary to what you might have heard, bisphosphonates don’t actually restore bone. Although the marketing language leads one to believe these drugs build bone, the truth is they don’t stimulate new bone growth. Instead, they work by inhibiting the loss of old bone by blocking the action of the osteoclasts. Osteoclast cells are responsible for dismantling old or damaged bone tissue allowing it to be replaced by new tissue by the bone building osteoblasts. However, if the osteoclasts are inhibited, the osteoblasts never come in to lay down new tissue. Ultimately this means the bones in a woman taking a bisphosphonate drug are increasingly made up of old, damaged, or sick bone cells.
In addition, numerous side effects have been reported from using these drugs, including adverse gastrointestinal side effects, chemical burning of the esophagus and reports of eye pain and inflammation, as well as life-threatening blood calcium deficiencies and kidney toxicity. Recently an even scarier side effect has come to light: osteonecrosis.
Osteonecrosis
Osteonecrosis is an infection and death of bone tissue in the jaw. The nickname for this condition is phossy jaw. First reported in 2003, the symptoms of osteonecrosis include jaw pain, loosening teeth, abscesses, and rotting, draining, exposed jaw bones.
Most, but not all, of the victims already had periodontal disease or recent root canals when they started taking bisphosphonates. Some were also undergoing chemotherapy for cancers that had spread to bone. When bisphosphonates are prescribed to protect against cancer-associated bone loss, between 1 and 10 percent of those patients develop phossy jaw. Although less common, phossy jaw has also been showing up in women taking bisphosphonates for osteoporosis.
Unfortunately Phossy jaw does not seem to respond well even to aggressive therapies – including surgery to remove dead bone, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, antibiotics and antiseptic mouth rinses. In a study of 18 patients who had undergone treatment, they still had pain that made it difficult or impossible to chew; they still had pus draining from their jaw wounds; and their risks of loosening and lost teeth continued (July 2005, Cancer).
If you are taking or considering a bisphosphonate drug for osteoporosis, I urge you to reevaluate. You can maintain and develop strong healthy bones without the use of harsh drugs and the risk of serious side effects. I recommend whole body vibration therapy as means of regulating bone health. Check out other articles on this site on how to improve your bone density using the Power Plate.