Mom had problems with Fosomax & quit, she talked to her 7th day Advent sister 1st. Sis says Fosomax turns your bone hard & useless. ACtonal has 6 pages in Physicians' Desk Reference book(1 dr. uses in his office) I got 1 since my mom had so many bad reactions. Now I check the drugs out 1st before she takes them. Detrol LA nearly killed my mom 2 yrs ago she took it for 2 weeks got unbelieveable muscle pain, hospital didn't have a clue, did MRI's after 10 days in hospital they put her in nursing home for month. I asked them for list of what she was taking- they were giving her Detrol LA -she was so dried up I was rubbing her feet with lotion, chapstick for her lips.I told them to get her off it & Bingo- I checked her out & she started getting well. It works well on some but on others it takes water out of cells of body, without it nothing works right!! DIL took Zocor-statin to lower cholestrol- got thyroid tumors- needed surgery- I told her to get off it before she went to appt in 2 weeks- by then dr. said he couldn't understand why they shrunk- no more zocor-so moral of this is check out what they are giving you & if you feel lot worse, wise to stop taking it. Oh MOst osteoporosis drugs are estrogen based. Actonal isn't. Safer is take calcium & be sure you take Vit.D some magnesium & zinc.Jan

I don't know if you know Dr. Phil on TV. He had a program on this very subject. His wife went through this and she told of her experience. Her formula's are on his web site. I am 51 and suffer from hot flashes and have had headaches at least 2 weeks out of the month ever since I can remember(Dr. said period related). Once I started taking them I noticed no headaches. I stopped taking them they came back. I started they went away. I have done this again same thing. I also don't have the sweats either. I plan on staying on them I feel so much better.

Thanks, June I was on a low dose of HRT, taking FemHRT every other day but after being on HRT for 5 1/2 years my doctor and I decided that I should get off of it. I have been on Remefemin for about one week and so far so good, and except that at times I feel a little jittery, I am doing well. I do have to take something for my bones now because I have some bone loss and once you stop HRT; the loss of bone can escalate...so I am going to try Fosamax for a while. We both decided against Evista because of the risk of blood clots. There does not seem to be any natural form of HRT that is safe. Even if estrogen/progesterone are from natural sources they can still cause problems with your thyroid and can also create a risk for cancer. Maybe someday, they will find something that will be good for all of us. Take care. Lou

Many of these posts are confusing osteopenia with osteoporosis! No one is saying that osteoporosis is not a real condition. Whether to treat it or not, should be a joint decision between one and ones doctor. I have chosen not to treat my osteoporosis and my doctor is very comfortable with my decision. I tried Fosomax when I was first diagnosed - could not take it due to my GERD. We have talked about the once or twice yearly injection, but I seem to be the poster child for adverse reactions to drugs. I take a LOT of meds for my pulmonary condition, and one med for my GERD. I'm very reluctant to add another drug to my "witches brew", especially one that lasts for 6 months or one year - if one has an adverse reaction, it's not just a matter of stopping the drug - great harm can be done. I have no risk factors with my osteoporosis and while both my parents had this, no one ever had a break and my father fell constantly. If I have a fracture, I might well revisit this choice, but for now, I'm comfortable with it as is my doctor.