St. Catherines, ON"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America talking about Fosamax," says Jan. "She described the exact same thing that my doctor told me in the hospital: my right femur snapped in half and Fosamax was to blame. Listening to Diane Sawyer talk, I felt shock on the one hand, but relief on the other—finally knowing the cause and that I wasn't alone. But I was furious. I was only trying to help myself and do what my doctor suggested. My husband and I had so many plans for our retirement, golfing and tennis, but now I'm afraid to do anything."
Jan was 46 when she started taking Fosamax in 1998—she had a bone scan and her doctor was concerned that she might have osteoporosis. "She told me to take Fosamax once a week to build my bone density," says Jan. "Unfortunately, you usually believe your doctor."
"Right now my right leg is one inch shorter than my left—you have no idea how much my life has changed. I used to work out three times a week. Now I can hardly walk in the shopping mall"
About seven years later Jan started having problems. Her right leg was sore near the pelvis. "The pain kept me awake at night and I was often in tears," she says. " I was working at the time and wondered if I could make it through the day. My doctor sent me to physiotherapy but there was no improvement. He suggested I have an MRI, but it didn't indicate anything, so she assumed it was a pinched nerve. I had a spinal block and after a few weeks the pain subsided. I thought it was cured.
"Then in January 2006, I was helping my daughter move, and I put my right foot down to pick up a box. As I stepped over the box and pulled up my right leg I heard it crack, like a crunch. I knew something terribly wrong happened and I fell to the ground in excruciating pain.
"Luckily I was on my cell phone to my daughter when I fell. She called 911. By the time the medics arrived my leg was actually getting shorter. I was told that my leg was actually going into my pelvis—I have x-rays. They gave me morphine and put me into a steel cocoon contraption because I couldn't move.
"They couldn't believe it at the hospital. 'We haven't seen a fracture this severe except in motor vehicle accidents,' the doctors said. Surgery followed, and I now have a rod from my hip to me knee and two front plates.
"Right now my right leg is one inch shorter than my left—you have no idea how much my life has changed. I used to work out three times a week. Now I can hardly walk in the shopping mall.
"After the surgery and I got home, a physiotherapist came to the house and my femur healed on the inside but not on the outside. Here in St. Catherines, they said I could never get the rod out, have a good life and goodbye. But I got pro-active and saw a rheumatologist with an interest in metabolic bone disease. He couldn't believe it either! 'You must have suffered a trauma,' he said. I wish I had pictures of the expressions on the doctors' faces—they were always shocked.
"They put me on Forteo [an osteoporosis injectable drug to rebuild bone] for about six months. That's when I discontinued Fosamax because the two drugs aren't compatible—but the damage was done. Also, Forteo costs $1,000 per month and it isn't covered by my medical plan. My femur healed a bit but not enough, so I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon.
"On March 4, 2009, I had a bone graft from my pelvis to my femur. That was fun too. Finally this March 2010, the surgeon said my femur was healed and the rod could be removed.
"Then my left leg began to feel funny. Back to the rheumatologist. 'It could just be anxiety,' he said. 'Have you ever had a bone scan?' Nope. Guess what, I have a fracture in my left femur. 'If it had only been the right femur, it would have been bad luck but because it is in both legs, it is definitely the Fosamax,' he said.
"I was back on Forteo, but was warned that my left femur could break in two at any time. That's where I stand now. And I won't go anywhere, not even to the washroom, without my cell phone. I am terrified that my femur can break at any time. I am afraid to babysit my granddaughter; I feel like an invalid. My bones are so screwed up; my doctor said the average woman has a one in 10,000 chance of breaking a hip in their late 50s. But my chance is one in three.
"Now I have been advised not to get the rod removed because the other leg could break too. So I will likely have this rod, which is causing a great discomfort, for the rest of my life.
"By the way, my friend is a dentist and he said that Fosamax is a very dangerous drug: he has seen cases of dead jaw and is adamant that no one should take it. My prescribing physician said there are risks with every drug and the benefits far outweigh the risks. Believe me, I am looking for another doctor."
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