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Evista for post-menopausal women with osteoporosis

huessysignoret
0 Recommendations

I'm getting so much flak over my decision to use natural progesterone cream instead of bisphosphanates that I'm considering trying Evista (I tried it once before, and seemed to become depressed, but a lot of other things were going on at the time.) From my point of view, my primary health problem is chronic pain, which brought my career to a screeching halt. Have any of our members experienced bad side effects, particularly increased pain, with Evista? And if so, did the pain stop when the Evista was discontinued?

Explore topics in this discussion:

Surgery Chronic pain Forteo Stroke Miacalcin nasal spray Fosamax Constipation Pain Osteoporosis Progesterone Evista Stress

7 replies

windblown

Hi Huessysignoret: I take Evista, and haven't had any side effects--oh except my night sweats are a *bit* worse at times--not all the time. I also have chronic pain, and it hasn't had an effect on it. Have you looked into Calcitonin (nasal spray) aka Miacalcin? I've heard from quite a few people that this helps with pain. I've never tried it, but I know the FDA is looking at it for additional approval but for pain.

It's not considered a first line of defense for osteo, and evista isn't either, but I don't want to take any of the bisphosphonates.

I finished forteo, which by the way didn't help with the pain, but others say it does. My scores improved greatly on forteo so I'm using evista to maintain my gains until something else comes along.

The main concern with evista is blod clots/stroke. If you have surgery or are traveling on a plane you have to stop taking it several days or more prior to either one of these things.

I just had an ovarian cyst removed, so I had to stop the evista a week before and I haven't started it back up yet. Evista is a SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator) so I don't see how it would have an effect on pain, or cause it for that matter.

Here's a link that explains how SERMS work:
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/serms/

If you don't have an allergy to fish, miacalcin nasal spray for osteoporosis, might be a consideration.

huessysignoret

Thank you -- I'll look into everything you suggest. By the way, though, the literature on Evista does mention that pain is a common side effect (???)

Another puzzlement, I guess.

windblown

Hi: Yes you're right it does say leg cramps and joint pain, but luckily I haven't had any of that.

Possible clots can cause the leg pain, but I would be more worried about the clot. If I see leg cramps I don't usually consider that pain per se for me, but it is pain none the less.

Good luck finding something to take, I know how difficult it is to try and find something that works and doesn't have a lot of side effects. Wouldn't it be nice if there were something that had no side effects?

kojak

By my understanding, it sounds like everyone is wanting to really help their bones at any cost. There are other ways to build back lost bone and restore the bone remodeling process without all the nasty side effects. You should look into genestein. It is a SERM from the bone building side of the equation. It has no stroke or hot flash increase or blood clotting side effects. It actually can decrease hot flashes. I know genestien is relatively new but it the research i have done shows it builds bone without any of the side effects of the other products. The studies i have read all show that it only has mild side effects like constipation and the rest are associated with your daily intake of calcium. Fosteum is a product that has genestein in it currently. With regards to Evista, its own information says that is shuts down the body's process for building back bone. I don't know if that is the best sounding idea in a disease where bone loss is severe and building it back is paramount.

huessysignoret

Thanks, Kojak. I've already crossed Evista off the list of possibilities. I'll look into genestein, though.

Alli

that was interesting info Kojak posted about Genestein. I also found that Citracal plus bone builder has genestein as well. Anyone else out there tried Geestein???? or know anything more to add

kojak

There was a new study I found on genestein that actually has some interesting information on a comparison with the likes of Fosamax, Evista, and HRT. It actually has a bone stress test comparison and compares the bone building of all these agents. Here is the link http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoporosis/c/76444/45257/osteoporosis/2

Genestein is completely natural and they call it a phytoestrogen but it does not raise any estrogenic blood levels nor does it have any of the standard estrogenic side effects from what i have read. My mother is taking the product Fosteum and has had no ill side effects except for a decrease in her hot flashes. Most things seem better than the pain brought on by some of these other products.

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