Savannah, GAPenny Jones (not her real name on her lawyer's advice) started taking Fosamax in 2000. "I am an African-American and my doctor said osteoporosis is common for someone my age and build. He told me to take Fosamax because it would make my bones stronger," says Jones.
"I didn't realize that anything was wrong at first. I am a small-boned woman and had osteoporosis in my spine. Each year up until the present, I would annually go for a physical examination and have bone density tests. In 2003, the doctor told me that he saw some improvement in my spinal area.
"So I continued to take Fosamax, right up until a few months ago, when I saw on the television a news bulletin about how it affects people. It made me realize why my mouth hadn't healed after I had a tooth extracted.
"At first, I had developed an abscess and the dentist gave me antibiotics before he could do a root canal but he was concerned because it wasn't healing properly. Then I decided to get a second opinion. The peridontist advised me to have the tooth pulled. He said it was infecting my bone and had to come out. But before this happened, he said that I have a bone disease in my mouth and should have hyperbaric treatment to help the healing process once I have the tooth extracted."
(Hyperbaric treatment is used for a variety of reasons including bone infections.
Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone, that does not respond to standard treatment may benefit from hyperbaric oxygen. It inhibits bacterial growth, increases the killing power of white blood cells and enhances the effects of some antibiotics.)
"I had the procedure pre-approved through my insurance and had 20 hyperbaric treatments at Georgetown university hospital clinic before they pulled the tooth and 20 afterwards. I was put in an oxygen tank for two hours each session. After I had my tooth extracted I had to stay in bed for a few days.
"The doctors at the clinic told me it will be a miracle if it heals totally. I am sure that Fosamax is responsible for my infection. I had a tooth extracted prior to taking it and it healed just fine. If I had known I would never have taken this in the first place. I am now taking another drug for osteoporosis.
"And that's not all. In 2003 I had to have artificial bone put into the other side of my mouth because they had to build a bridge and I didn't have enough bone to anchor it. I called my dentist and asked him what is in Fosamax that could affect my mouth and bone like that. He said that I should not have been taking it and that my doctor should have warned me. If we know the dangers of these drugs, why don't doctors?"
Jerry Floyd of Pendleton, Kentucky:
"Almost three years ago I was taking steroids and then my doctor prescribed Fosamax so my bones wouldn't get brittle. But I kept getting these chills combined with a high temperature and my muscles were aching so badly, the pain was excruciating. It was like a car was on top of me, I couldn't move. My health had got so bad that my wife had to help me out of bed in the morning. I had made plans to take out my granddaughter but had to disappoint her.
I wanted to get off prednisone but when I dropped down to taking only 5mg. I would break into a cold sweat, my temperature would go up to 103 and I wouldn't be able to move, so the doctor told me to take more prednisone. But the pain was really bad. I was scheduled to go to the Mayo Clinic on May 1st. Nobody knew what I had wrong with me.
Well, to make a long story shorter, last February I was surfing the Internet and a red flag waved in front of me when I saw something on medicine.net. It said that if you are taking Fosamax and Zoloft together (I had been on Zoloft for some time) they could cause muscle rigidity. That explained everything.
After that, I went my urologist (originally, my rheumatologist told me that something was going on because the chills started around my kidney area, so I was referred to the urologist). When I told him, the urologist said 'What the hell are you on Fosamax for, that will cause stones and you should stop taking it right away.' Which I did. Two days later, the pain went away. I can exercise and ride a bike now but I have two cysts on my kidney that is a side effect from the Fosamax.
I went back to the doctor who prescribed me Fosamax. He said he did the best he could but sometimes they miss things. I can go on the internet and find out more than some of these doctors. I was prescribed a deadly cocktail - this could have killed me if it continued.
I didn't pay any attention to Fosamax until I started searching the internet. Now I thought I should tell you my story so more people don't suffer from this drug."