You cannot take a bisphosphonate if:.
You may not need to continue taking a bisphosphonate.
Bisphosphonates sometimes react with other medicines that you may take.
In some circumstances, Bisphosphonates can also be given by injection.
However, some people need to take a bisphosphonate for longer.
Bisphosphonates are also useful for the treatment of pain and hypercalcaemia.
This pain normally goes away after you stop taking a bisphosphonate.
Dr. Eastham: The common theme in both of those treatments is intravenous Bisphosphonates.
Bisphosphonates are a group of medicines used to treat
conditions that affect your bones.
Dick: You have talked about the positive impacts of bisphosphonate treatment on bone health.
Many doctors will usually also prescribe calcium and
vitamin D if you take a bisphosphonate.
Most doctors recommend that a bisphosphonate be taken for at least three to five years.
Calcium and vitamin D are normally taken every day at a different time to the bisphosphonate.
There are some intravenous Bisphosphonates, of which Zometa is the most potent,
that have been shown to help.
Bisphosphonates: these drugs can be used to stabilize
bone mass and slow down the degenerative process of metastases.
Risedronate sodium, a bisphosphonate medicine, is prescribed for the treatment of two conditions which affect the bones.
Given this apparent absence of bone involvement,
what are the pros and cons of taking Bisphosphonates at this stage?
Bisphosphonates are a group of medicines and there are several options,
which are available as tablets, liquid or an injection.
The rationale for using Bisphosphonates in men with prostate cancer is really threefold, and we
have touched on all of them.
But you can still have a fracture while you are taking a bisphosphonate- they do not totally reduce your risk.
If you take a bisphosphonate with food, or drinks other than water,
only a small amount of the medicine is absorbed.
Dr. Eastham: Bisphosphonates are a category of medications that inhibit one of the bone cells,
called an osteoclast, that eats up bone.
There is some evidence from studies that Bisphosphonates keep working on the bone for a few years after the medicine
has been stopped.
Dick: This is a drug that is known as a bisphosphonate, and in your case it was given with an infusion or IV?
Dick: Here we have a patient, Dr. Eastham,
who is taking Bisphosphonates to protect his bones while he continues his hormone therapy
to control prostate cancer.
This medicine may be an alternative for
women with osteoporosis who have been through the menopause if a bisphosphonate is not suitable or is not tolerated.
In some cases- for example, if the tablets give you too many side-effects,
or if you are at greater risk of fractures- bisphosphonate injections might be used:.
If you buy any medicines'over the counter',
make sure your pharmacist knows that you are taking a bisphosphonate medicine, as some medicines will prevent risedronate
sodium from working properly.
Chemotherapy will improve equality of life and decrease pain, Bisphosphonates will decrease pain,
and there are some targeted treatments such as strontium or samarium, which can decrease bone pain.
There have been tens of thousands of patients on Bisphosphonates, and I think the number of cases reported of this jaw
problem is probably in the realm of about 100.