May 14, 2008 10:56 pm US/Eastern
Patients Feel Painful Side Effects Of Bone Drugs
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Joanna Bonfilio of Burlington hasn't seen much of her two young boys lately. She spends most of her time helping her mother who lives in constant pain.
"I've left my job because it's really important to me to get her back to where she was before," said Bonfilio.
Just a few months ago, Bonfilio's 81-year-old mother, Edna Polcari, was living an active lifestyle. She walked daily for exercise and loved to dance.
That was before her doctor prescribed Boniva to help treat her osteoporosis. Within a few days, Polcari's bones and muscles began to ache. It started in her shoulders and then traveled all over her body.
"Brutal, brutal pain in my right hand and wrists," she said, holding up the braces on her hands. Now she needs help doing simple every day tasks. She can't even open the refrigerator door without help.
Polcari didn't know what was happening to her, but she suspected the Boniva. She asked her doctors if it was possible.
"They all said no," Polcari explained.
But just weeks later, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to doctors, alerting them that Boniva, and similar drugs called bisphosphonates, could indeed cause the kind of pain Polcari was experiencing.
Boniva uses the star power of actor Sally Field to market the drug to women fearful of fractures. But to find out about these potential side effects you have to read the fine print in the package insert.
Roche, the company that makes Boniva, issued the following statement: "The risk factors for and incidence of this effect is unknown; reports have been infrequent."
Newton Doctor Phuli Cohan says she has never prescribed these medications. She treats her osteoporosis patients with vitamins and natural hormones. Dr. Cohan says pain isn't the worst thing that can happen.
"There is actually bone death occurring," she said.
A recent letter in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests long-term use of the drugs may actually increase the risk of fracture in some women. Dr. Cohan showed X-Rays of a woman whose hip shattered after years on Fosamax, another brand of Bisphosphonate.
"People don't want to believe that this is happening, but it is a side effect of the medicine," she said.
The makers of Fosamax claim no such link has ever been proven. In a statement Merck said: "In clinical studies, Fosamax has not been associated with increased fracture risk at any skeletal site."
Dr. David Hunter of the New England Baptist Hospital says there is a potential for "Dead Bone Syndrome". He said some doctors are encouraging patients to take a drug holiday to allow bone cells to rejuvenate. Still, Dr. Hunter believes the benefits of taking the drugs far outweigh the risks.
"There is a much greater risk of osteoporosis itself," he said.
Dr. Cohan says this drug has only been on the market for about a decade so the long-term effects are still not known.
"My fear has always been that we'd be seeing spontaneous fractures and my worst fears have been realized," she said.
For Bonfilio, her boys and her job remain on the back burner while she struggles to help her mom hang on to her will to live. "We had a fear that she was just going to turn her back and give up because the pain is so brutal," she said.
We want to stress that these drugs have been proven to prevent hip fractures which can be deadly. Most women will do fine on bisphosphonates so don't stop taking the medication without talking with your doctor.
Check out the following resources for more information on osteoporosis and the risk of certain related drugs:
How to treat osteoporosis naturally FDA Warning New England Journal Letter Canadian study on Bisphosphonates
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