Multiple Myeloma Support Group

1 Zometa and the other bisphosphonates will cause an immune response with soreness not unlike the flu following your first dose.
2 These drugs can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw so that you want to take care of any invasive dentalwork before you begin them, and you want to keep your dentist aware that you are on them. They stay in your system about 10 years.
3 They do repair bone but over the long term may need to be discontinued if your bones become "static" and the turnover of bone tissue gets impaired.
Good luck,
Tom

Hi Sarah~~ Zometa is a bisphosphonate which means that it is a bone strengthener. I use the other main one called Aridia, but they do the same thing. The difference is that Zometa can be given in less than 20 minutes whereas Aridia takes over 2 hours. Therefore most doctors and hospitals prefer to use Zometa because they can treat more people in the same time frame. As Tom has mentioned, there is a chance of getting ONJ - jaw cancer, from them so you have to avoid all dental work while you are on them and for a very long time afterwards. As far as side effects, apart from having yet another needle I don't get any side effects at all!! And the great thing is that they really work -- I was hit by a car after I'd been on Aridia for over 2years and miracle of miracles, not one bone in my body was broken! And this was inspite of the fact that I have lesions on all of the bones in my body -- my bones look like swiss cheese on x-rays -- but they were so strong it was amazing. The staff joked that I should be made a 'cover girl' for Aridia magazine because of what had happened. After that I stopped taking it for three years because of fear of ONJ -- but since a recent MRI which shows that my bones are starting to crumble again, I have started taking it once every three months. You might like to ask the doctor if it is really necessary to have the Zometa on a monthly basis -- perhaps every other month or even quarterly might be good enough. It never hurts to question -- and this is a strong drug which can cause a lot of other problems. I hope, that like me, he gets good things with no side effects at all!! Best wishes, Cath

Good advice from Tom and Cath.
I have written a posting on my blog about bisphosphonates: side effects, advice and my experience.
Link: http://supersidnz.blogspot.com/200...
Sid