The chronic steroid use does weaken your bones. I was diagnosed with osteopenia and prescribed Boniva, which is a pill you take once a month. But I don't take it I must admit, as it is expensive (I am already on eleven medicines per day) and you have to take it while sitting upright for like an hour in the mornings. My mother has been taking it and her osteopenia has improved. Some sort of medicine for osteopenia is probably a very very good idea. Maybe you can ask your doctor what he/she thinks about Boniva or some other alternative to daily injections. Yuck!

Thanks so much for your reply. I was on Fosamax for years after being diagnosed with osteopenia. When I had esophageal trouble, I was put on Evista. I've never been without meds to help slow the advancement of bone thinning. However, I have full blown osteoporosis now and have been advised to take Forteo.

Osteoporosis is evil. I have it and keep getting spontaneous fractures and that is just a royal pain in the wherever! The Forteo can help, and if you are not getting enough improvement with the biphosphonates, its worth a try. Do you take calcitonin already? calcium and vitamin D? I had to stop taking fosamax due to reflux as well, and my doc gave me the once a year IV drug Reclast - which is a biphosphonate and thus bypass the esophogeal problems. Maybe you could do that instead of daily Forteo? Just a thought. I do not take forteo and am not familiar with all the side effects off the top of my head. BUt if you are leery of it, ask your doctor about calcitonin, and/or reclast. Good luck

Vaneyl

I spoke with my mother about her experiences and she had a VERY bad time with Forteo and hurt all over. It took a while to get it out of her system. She is now taking Citrical Max w/D and she is about to start taking Prolia, which is one of the newer ones. I can let you know how she responds if you want to know.
I am kind of afraid to take ANYTHING because I have strangely high calcium levels in my blood. I don't know if anyone has any advice for me on that...

matthrobinson
How high is your calcium? High calcium can be a problem for your body. I'm sure you know that already. Have you ever have your parathyroid function checked? Vitamin D Level? Magnesium? Just curious . .. ..

Vanyel

Thanks, guys. I do not take calcitonin. I stopped taking calcium when my blood calcium got too high...never got back on it. I do take 2000 IU
of Vitamin D daily. My insurance approved the Forteo, but I am going to postpone getting it until I can study the other meds you have mentioned.

So sorry about your fractures, Vanyel. If I remember correctly, you're on predniisone aren't you? I am. Is it worse on the bones than hydrocortisone?

I'm responding to this question about Forteo, which I see was posted in September, so maybe AlabamaBMW has made a decision one way or the other by now. But I'm still wrestling with a decision. My rheumatologist wants me to take it since my my most recent DEXA shows that the bone density in my spine has decreased by 6 percent in the last 18 months -- which was predictable, since I had been taking HRT for years but had to stop in 2009 when I developed breast cancer. The HRT was really helping and I knew I was rolling the dice because of the increased risk of breast cancer and other horrors, but it was worth it to me! (And it still is, breast cancer notwithstanding!) So, yesterday, I went to a Forteo training session run by the drug company (Lilly), and the two other women in the training were convinced enough to start injecting themselves then and there, but I have put it off. And after reading some of the posts about Forteo on this list, I feel pretty negative about it. I would love to hear from people who have decided against Forteo, in regard to what they are doing instead. Thanks in advance!
Susan

Hey, Susan. In addition to the negative feedback
and potential side effects of Foteo, I felt like the
daily self-administered injections would affect
my quality of life. Don't get me wrong, if that were
my only option, I'd do it and be thankful for it.
I chose to take the semi-annual Prolia injections
instead. Prolia has some serious possible side
effects too. I'm due for my second injection in June.
The only side effect I've experienced thus far is severe
pain in my right arm for several hours on two consecutive
days. I will not know if Prolia has helped after December
2013 when I'll have my last injection and a DEXA scan.
Since my last post, I've added 1200 iu of calcium daily.
And yes, Vanyel, I now take magnesium, Co-Q 10, and thermotabs
every day, which have lessened my cramping tremendously!