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My mother has taken Fosamax for several years. She has just started to take the generic version of the drug. She says that it is causing her a lot of digestion problems. Has anyone been able to use Fosamax and NOT been able to use the generic version?
Exercise Osteopenia Actonel Heartburn Osteoporosis Alendronate Fosamax Mannitol
Hi Poet-Lady: I've never taken Fosamax, but I would talk to your pharmacist, the one that filled the rx, and ask if the generic version has any other things in it that the Brand name doesn't like fillers, preservatives, additives, etc., I know from personal experience that some generics have additives that the Brand name med doesn't. You can look this up, but generics sometimes differ up to 20% from the Brand name equivalent. Do you have a PDR or access to one? You can look up the ingredients of both brand and generic in that book (Physicians Desk Reference), but look for the 2008 version of the PDR.
Do you if she was taking Fosamax or Fosamax +D? They wanted me to switch to generic but I refused because I wanted the one +D. I had problems with plain Fosamax but no heartburn problems with the +D version. I used to work in a doctor's office and talked to Merck rep one day about it. He said he had heard that report from others - that they don't have the heartburn with Fosamax +D - but they were unable to advertise it that way. So you might want to go back and see which one she was taking before.
Peggy
I have been on Fosamax and when the generic came out my doc told me to take the one that Watson Pharma produces because it is actually the exact same formula as the original Fosamax. (and on the package it actually has the info that it is a Merck product) My regular pharmacy didn't carry that brand, so I changed to another local place that does. The cost is the same no matter what generic you use.
Marion
Hi Poet-Lady, I hope this reply finds you and your Mom doing well. I joined Team Inspire yesterday. Last week, after I was told that I have Osteopenia and need to take Fosamax, I didn't think much and got the generic by Barr, 70 mg tab. After I checked into all the potential problems, I called my Doc and asked for the 35 mg. I got the brand (Merck) this time. Comparing the two "official" descriptions, the Alendronate sodium structural formulas and diagrams are identical, as expected. The Molecular weight, color, shape, are also the same. The 35 mg is smaller than the 70 mg, not sure if it's because of the dose or the maker. However, the inactive ingredients are slightly different. Merck has microcrystalline cellulose, anhydrous lactose, croscarmellose sodium, and magnesium stearate, while Barr has croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, mannitol, and microcrystalline cellulose. I am not a pharmacist and don't know if the order of the items indicate the quantities and if anhydrous lactose is similar to mannitol. Hope this info. helps you and other team members.
<3 Sylvia
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you for your post. My mother is no longer
taking the generic Fosamax. She has switched to
Actonel. She has osteoporosis.
I was diagnosed last May with osteopenia. The
doctor prescribed Fosamax, 35 mg. (This is half
of the 70 mg dosage that is given for osteoporosis.)
I took it for 1 month. I went to a different doctor who
prescribed Fosteum. I have taken Fosteum for
several months. Fosteum is classified by the FDA
as a medical food and is made from soy. I plan to
have another bone density test when I have taken
Fosteum for one year.
Have a nice day,
Poet-Lady
Hi Poet-Lady,
It's good to hear from you, especially since this is my first correspondence in this team site.
I am happy to hear that you Mom is doing well. Is the Actonel agreeable? I am sorry to hear that you now have Osteopenia. Hopefully, it's not too serious. The Fosteum sounds good. I am definitely looking into it. Since the DEXA T-score is not too good for my spine ( -2.0), I did take the first tab ( 35 mg Fosamax by Merck) Saturday morning. It's been a couple of days and I feel fine. However, I am looking into natural ways to improve my bone also. You probably already know, the Viactiv milk chocolate chew is delicious and it has 500 mg, as well as Vitamin D & K. I will also learn more when I get the books from Amazon (e.g. The Bone-building Solution, Yoga, Acid-Alkaline food guide, the bone building body shaping workout, and some pH test strips to conduct some fun testing. ) I am looking forward to healthier bone ;-)
Have a great week,
<3 Sylvia
Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for your reply.
There is a website for Fosteum --
www.fostuem.com
I have the exercise tape "Be BoneWise" from the
National Osteoporosis Foundation.
If you have questions that I can answer, please ask.
Have a nice day,
Poet-Lady
Hi Poet-Lady,
Thank you for the link to Fosteum. It looks good and I wanted to get some, but it looks like it has to be prescribed by your Doc. I have a new Gyn, who is very busy with all the additional patients he recently received from my former Gyn who just retired. I already took his time in asking for changing from 70 mg to 35 mg. It's has been almost 5 days since I took the 35 mg Fosamax, I feel fine ;-). So, I will continue and ask him about switching to Fosteum in 11 months.
Thanks for the info on "Be Bone Wise". Are you using the tape? Is it easy and fun?
I have not received the stuff I ordered from Amazon yet. Once I tried them out, I will let you know.
Have a great day,
<3 Sylvia
Hi Sylvia,
You do need a prescription for Fosteum. Some
prescription plans will not pay for it.
I found a copy of "Be BoneWise" at the public library and was able to view it to see if I would like it.
There are five sections. I do the first three -
warm-up
aerobics
wall exercises
I have been using it for several months.
Have a nice day,
Valentina
Hi Valentina,
How are you doing? Hope everything's going well for you and your Mom.
This is a follow-up on our discussion regarding Fosteum vs. Fosamax. I went to see my family physician yesterday. Informed her about my DEXA test and that my Gyn wants me to take Fosamax. I said I would rather take Fosteum instead of biphosphonates.
I was somewhat surprised that she told me that I don't really have to take anything (i.e. the T-scores are not that bad), except for Calcium, Vitamin D, etc. But, if I want to take something to help my bones, I should take Fosamax, not Fosteum. The reason is that Fosamax is established, with a lot of data, etc. The second reason is: since I don't have significant bad side effects last month from taking the first 4 tablets, I can continue with the 35 mg weekly dose.
Valentina, In case you're interested, the following website has patients' comments on both Fosteum and Fosamax, and many other drugs. Fosteum does rate better than Fosamax, but only has 10 reviews. And, some people do have side effects from Fosteum. So, please beware.
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drugreview-148585-Fosteum+Oral.aspx?drugid=14858 5&drugname=Fosteum+Oral&pageIndex=1&sortby=3
Take care and stay healthy,
Sylvia
Hi Sylvia,
Last year I had my first bone density scan. It showed
that I had osteopenia in both the hip and the spine. My
rheumatologist ordered the test. He immediately put me
on 35mg of Fosamax. I took it for 1 month.
I then saw my gynecologist and asked her if she
agreed with the rheumatologist. She did not. She
thought that I was too young to start taking Fosamax. I was 53 then. She said that it was not known what taking Fosamax for 25-30 years would do. She said that doctors don't always agree on when to start to treat osteopenia. By that she meant how severe do the scores from the bone density test have to be before treatment begins. She suggested exercise. She also said that she recently had learned of Fosteum from a drug representative. She had never prescribed it. I read up on Fosteum. I contacted the company that makes Fosteum and asked some questions. I then requested that my gynecologist prescribe it. I was the very first person that she ever prescribed Fosteum to. I started to take it in September of last year.
I just saw my gynecologist yesterday. She told me that she has written prescriptions to other patients for Fosteum since she wrote one for me. None of these patients have had problems.
The National Osteoporosis Foundation has the FRAX model and this was designed to help doctors to decide when to begin to treat osteopenia. You might want to look into this. You can impute your information into the model on the web site for the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
I am glad that your scores were not too severe.
Thanks for the information.
All the best,
Poet-Lady
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