Nexium, as well as the over the counter Prilosec, reduce stomach acid production which inhibits the absorption of certain electrolytes, minerals, and vitamins. They can work so well on stomach acid that you may end up with a slightly different problem. In particular, magnesium is not absorbed well in a low acid environment. If you don't get enough dietary magnesium, then your body will pull it from your muscles and bones. Sometimes, supplementing with calcium can actually further upset the balance because your body has a ratio of calcium to magnesium in the blood (I want to say it's 8:1, but can't remember for sure), so, if you add a bunch of calcium, you essentially further "decrease" the amount of magnesium available. One way to help differentiate the type of imbalance is with the type of cramp - if your toes point in, your ankle locks, and the muscle on the top, outside of your shin hardens, then it is may be an extensor plantar reflex, associated with low magnesium. You may be describing tetany - usually caused by low magnesium or calcium. You can ask your doc about it, but they are generally not very familiar - try looking online some more. Also, it is uncommon for doctors to test for low magnesium as the test is not standard, expensive for the proper one, etc. You can try wikipedia too, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypomagnesia. I fought that problem for a long time, in part because of a copper IUD (copper inhibits magnesium absorption too). Hope that helps!

"4. Most osteoporosis experts believe that to maximize its positive effects on bone mass, estrogen replacement therapy should begein at the first signs of the onset of menopause, and should be combined with increased calcium intake. They also indicate that the greatest benefit occurs when estrogen is continued for FIVE YEARS OR MORE, since the greatest amount of bone loss occurs in the first seven years after menopause." When you stop taking estrogen you again begin to lose bone mass at the same rate as during early menopause. Two years after stopping estrogen your bone mass will identical to that which you would have had, had you taken no estrogen. "But I've come to the conclusion, that there's a LOT we don't know. Maybe there's a reason why bone starts reabsorbing more as we age. Are we stopping a process that we shouldn't?" This is an interesting question. The best indicator of breast cancer risk is bone mass at age 70. Those in the highest quartile of bone mass have a doubled risk of breast cancer. At this point the connecting factor is assumed to be lifetime exposure to estrogen including endogenous estrogen. That may or may not be the case. No one knows. But it would certainly indicate that women with normal bone mass after menopause might be well advised to avoid estrogen "therapy" since their exposure is already high and it appears that estrogen exposure like x-ray is cumultative and irreversible. Like you I have long wondered what purpose is served (or thwarted) when we desperately add those elements that the body is equally desperately trying to shed, primarily estrogen and calcium.

I always kind of wonder why some people see improvement with this medication and some don't. I think I did walk more last year than I ever have as an amputee. Just better prosthetics in recent years and since. that happened I've gotten to the point that I can just walk a lot farther. I also played tennis quite a bit this past year which I really hadn't done much since becoming an amputee. So I wonder if this activity makes a difference. I also drink a lot of milk and really try to get most of my calcium from milk rather than supplements. Not sure if that matters but I don't believe any supplement is as good as the real thing - just my opinion.

I've taken them both and some others, I'm sorry to say. An uncommon side effect of Fosamax is femur fracture (I know, it sounds crazy). However that doesn't seem uncommon to me since I did experience a femur fracture while taking Fosamax and needed surgery to remedy the situation. The femur is a difficult bone to heal w/o surgery, so after many months on crutches, I went ahead with the surgery (rod). Should have done it in the first place. The problem with these drugs is that women are afraid to take them and afraid not to take them. Also, when you are taking these drugs or any other (Forteo, Prolea, etc.)--when you find out your DEXA scan results, you feel unsure if the drugs have helped or not because you don't know what the results would have been without the drugs. It's not a happy situation. These drugs have side effects you don't want, but you don't want a broken hip either. Have the collection of drugs I've taken helped me? Will I be having bad side effects? Someone pass the crystal ball, please!