Far, far, far more people are suffering and dying from osteoporotic fractures, which could have been prevented by treatment with a Bisphosphonate, than anyone getting complications (subtrochanteric fractures, osteonecrosis of jaw) while on it. And the causal link is not even proven!
Unfortunately, many patients with mostly asymptomatic metabolic diseases like Osteoporosis, Gout, Hypertension, Diabetes and Dyslipidaemia choose to believe the unfounded horror stories of medications side-effects, stay away from medical treatment in the misguided belief that lifestyle modifications alone can reverse their misfortune, but eventually reaping the irreversible dire consequences of their bad choices: disability, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and ultimately, an early grave.
Every medication, even au naturale herbs, can have side-effects. For the right indications and at the right doses, problems which rarely arise are due to sheer bad luck. That’s why new drugs have to be put through rigorous and costly clinical trials to prove their efficacy and assess their risks.
If you have a disease, level-headedly assess the risk-benefit ratio of the proposed treatment, then bite the bullet and keep a lookout for unlikely but possible problems (besides keeping your fingers crossed if you’d like).
Life itself is a gamble and holds no guarantees. Weigh your options and choose the better bet.
Parathyroidectomy Improves and Bisphosphonates Worsen Fracture Risk in Primary Hyperparathyroidism
There have been quite a few anecdotal reports and case series purporting the efficacy of Alendronate, a Bisphosphonate, to treat the pain as well as to prevent the progression of Avascular Necrosis (AVN) of the hip.
This gold standard clinical trial debunks the strongly but wrongly held belief.
Just when you thought it’s safe to take your calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis following the well-conducted large scale prospective trial by Harvey (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/862345), out comes another meta-analysis of several old retrospective studies to spook you again.
Worse still, it is based on a simplistic mathematical model drawing direct correlations without controlling for the myriad other confounding factors contributing to cardiovascular disease.
What utter rubbish.