Thx for the link, I saw this on NBC news also. But seems to me this is kind of old news, in the sense that have read for years that the calcium alone, without adequate Vitamin D and Magnesium and such to get the Calcium out of circulation and into the bones, is worse than worthless. Although I also see a reference in this article that D may be worthless also. The article seems a bit all over the place, 1st saying "In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued new recommendations saying there's not enough evidence to recommend taking calcium or vitamin D supplements, and recommending against it in some cases. " and then " Women over 50 are advised to get 1,200 mg of calcium a day and women under 50 are advised to get 1,000 mg a day. Men are advised to get 1,000 mg a day although men over 70 are supposed to get 1,200 mg. Dairy products are rich in calcium but so are leafy green vegetables, fortified milks such as soymilk and some juices and breakfast cereals.
And vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Sunlight helps the body produce its own vitamin D. The vitamin is added to some foods such as orange juice and dairy products and is found in some fish. ".
But the studies apparently don't support the last part of that paragraph.
I am such a cynic and skeptic about
studies such as this. Now I am sure that there are plenty of folks who desire to sell me some calcium. But I feel certain there are a whole lot more folks who would like to sell us expensive prescript
ion drugs that have sometimes horrific side effects. If there is one thing lots of docs would like to have every one on almost as much as much as statins(like my doc told me as a reason to order my Calcium scoring test: "most other docs would have already had you on statins"), it is the various bone drugs.
And after all: if calcium won't help, what's the next step? Yep, Boniva et all.
Anecdotal warning, look away if you hate anecdotes: A few years back(09) my wife was diagnosed with oste
openia, which is just shy of full blown osteoporosis. So they put her on the Boniva(I think that was the one). I think it was a pill you take once a month. Though I was less than enthusiastic because of the SEs I had read about
(including fractures of all things), I kept quiet as I didn't want to influence her into some sort of placebo effect SE. But I was shocked at the result. She had extreme bone pain for a few days, and it did not let up totally for several weeks. So she said to heck with that, and her doc said "OK then just try supplements". So she took the Calcium along with magnesium and vitamin D. So far so good, she has remained completely stable for 6 years now. I hope her luck holds.
Anecdote #2: our friend at church, same age as us, was on one of the Boniva type drugs for 5+ years. In the mean time she has suffered multiple fractures, including the "atypical femur(thigh) fractures". Her bone studies have improved on the drugs, and now show normal, but she keeps having fractures anyway. The bone breaks, and THEN she falls!
www.drugwatch.com/fosamax/Somebody said...
Intended to prevent and treat certain types of bone loss and bone disease in adults, Fosamax also has been linked to esophageal cancer and chronic irregular heartbeat, among other side effects...............Introduced in 1995, this drug was hailed as the superior treatment for the some 40 million Americans who have or are at risk for osteoporosis and Paget’s disease of bone, which causes severe bone loss. Fosamax (alendronate) belongs to a drug class called bisphosphonates, which are supposed to boost bone density by slowing the body’s natural process of bone breakdown. But researchers have now found that this drug actually causes bones to weaken and crumble..............Over the years, Merck has been rebuked several times by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for falsely advertising the Fosamax’s benefits. Within years of Fosamax entering the market, patients started reporting a host of medical problems associated with it. The FDA required Merck to add more and more warning labels as research unfolded.(but FDA appoved to start with right?)..........Within several years, women started reporting thighbone breaks and jawbone death, although the FDA continually overlooked the problems. It wasn’t until 2004 that the FDA found that long-term Fosamax use was conclusively linked to osteonecrosis of the jaw, which causes the jawbone to deteriorate. Then, in 2008, the FDA warned that bisphosphonates were also linked to debilitating bone, muscle and joint pain.
By 2009, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine linked long-term Fosamax use to esophageal cancer............For patients taking this drug, some of the more surprising side effects are random bone breaks. Researchers linked the drug to low-energy fractures, which means they happen after some kind of low-impact repetitive force. But for some Fosamax patients, these fractures — also called stress fractures — occurred even without a fall. Women have reported turning their bodies the wrong way, coming to a short stop in the car or simply walking and suffering a broken femur.Even more alarming to many patients is the link between Fosamax and a severe bone disease that causes the jawbone to die. Also called Dead Jaw Syndrome.........
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm229127.htm (this is old, but having trouble finding newer detailed info)
Somebody said...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning there is a possible risk of a rare type of thigh bone (femoral) fracture in people who take drugs known as bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis.
The agency warned patients and health care professionals of this risk on Oct. 13, 2010, because the rare type of femoral fracture has been predominantly reported in patients taking these prescription medications..............
So my friend from church used some of these meds for 5 years or so, her bone tests all look great, but she keeps breaking bones, including thigh fractures. Some of her doctors insist she stay on these drugs, 1 says she should come off. I'm wondering how much worse she would have done in the fracture area if she had never taken these drugs, since she is about
the worse I have known.
Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 10/5/2015 9:25:18 PM (GMT-6)