Last year I suffered a nontraumatic femur fracture of my left femur. In July, 2008 I read an article that described femur fractures identical to mine and a possible link to long term use of Fosamax. Since then I have had a bone scan which shows increased activity in my right femur which could very possibly be a stress fracture. I am very worried about the risk of a fracture occurring in my right femur. I would love to communicate with others who have had this experience. I am also interested in learning about how I can protect myself from this happening again.
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I'm back!! It is now 29 months since my bilateral femoral rodding. There is not much I can't do at this point. Exercise is very important. I do Zumba, cardio and core exercises. I have found that balancing on one leg is difficult if not impossible as is running. I, too, hoped my legs would heal after three months of limited mobility, alas, they did not. I was fortunate to be referred to my surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Wolf. The rods are still in place and he sees no reason to remove them and neither do I. Hang in there ladies. The word is finally out about Fosamax and the damage it has caused. We now have options, and no, it is not in our heads. Our pain is real and the cause was this drug. God bless and help us all. Cee
July 2, 2011 - 12:16amThis Comment
I have been having pain in the exact spot they are showing where these fractures are happening. I wrote it off as to much exercise. I saw a commercial on tv today about the fosamax and this pain leading to full fractures. I don't have a break yet, but I am going in to the Doc to see if this is my problem. The thing is, I took fosamax probably for 1 1/2 years about 5 years ago...so I don't know. To big of a coincidence for me though, I don't want a break.
June 16, 2011 - 7:14amThis Comment
Great news Cee!
I too suffer with bursitis and sometimes it is bad enough that I can't hardly walk, but then again, i am not as far along in the process as you. I look forward to that day--and our day in court! However, having said that, there is not enough money on earth to make up for the losses we have suffered and will continue to. My grandkids are growing and I have missed out on so much playtime that will never be found again.
Blessings to all!
December 10, 2010 - 4:26amVicki
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I posted in October 2010 regarding my femur fractures (Jo from Mo). I can now report that I underwent bilateral rodding in November and now 3 weeks after surgery I am improving nicely. My right femur fractured as the rod was being inserted, so that is the most painful part. All in all, the procedure was not as bad as I thought it might be. Much better to have than suffer a complete fracture. The doctors in my area were totally unaware of the connection until my case arrived on the scene. They have studied very quickly now and are trying to get all their patients off of bisphonates if they have been on them for very long. I am now getting stronger and beginning to get to the point of looking for legal advice. Too many of us have had our lives altered for years and probably in to the future as well. Is anyone trying to fight this alone or is class action the way to go? Also curious about how many are taking Forteo. I have been on it for over 2 mos. and not sure whether I want to continue it or not.
December 10, 2010 - 1:26pmThis Comment
Hi Olive,
The exact same thing has happened to me...I am a Canadian & I know of a law firm that has begun a class action suit against the makes of Fosamax. I am now on Forteo, an injectable drug. My Rheumatologist said that my fractures are definitely a result of being on Fosamax
December 9, 2010 - 3:09pmThis Comment
Hello to all of you that have become victims of Fosamax. I posted a few times in the past (look for Cee) with my ordeal. It has now been 22 months since my last surgery. Bilateral femur rodding. I had an awesome orthopod who knew immediately what caused my fractures. He was very careful to use the words, "could be related to Fosamax use." Nonetheless, he gave my hope. I have been back to work as an RN, 12 hour shifts, and the only pain I have is bursitis from time to time at the rod insertion site in my hips. Nothing that a few Motrin can't take of. For all of the Doubting Thomas's out there, try to find Diane Sawyer's TV article on the internet, Fosamax and Femur Fractures that she did this past summer. Then, have your Drs. look at it too. Boniva, Actonel etc are all of the same family. I am afraid to try Forteo (black box warning). Instead, I take calcium, Vitamin D have Dexa scans annually and do weight bearing exercises. I also see a Bone Metabolic Specialist in Philadelphia who monitors me. So far, so good. Good luck and God bless all of you. See you in court. Cee
December 9, 2010 - 7:04pmThis Comment
Thank you Jo,
And I wish you good healing as well. My prayers will be that your femurs do not break in this waiting time. Doctors are just now getting info from the FDA whose task force just released their findings two weeks ago. For those who took bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Actonel Boniva, Reclast) for more than 5 years, 94 % suffered femur fractures. Other breaks are attributed to the drug as well and it stays in your bones for 10 years. So healing and further breaks are a possibility. I never envisioned my life to turn out like this. i was very active before, but right now, my hopes are greatly diminished of ever getting back where I was a year and a half ago.
Thanks again!
October 11, 2010 - 1:04pmVicki
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Dear Jo,
I just happen to turn on my computer and got the note that you had commented. Please read my story, Two Broken Femurs and a Broken Back Caused by Fosamax! on this web site. I have had both femurs broken. There is no way around the rodding. Healing is a big IF. I am having surgery tomorrow, Oct. 12 to re-rod my left femur which has not healed in 15 months. Fosamax can be a killer drug!! I personally opted not to use Forteo as it had a big black box warning for bone cancer and since my bones are totally porous, I thought that might be too much. However, having said that, I know some gals in my support group who have experienced healing along with the rodding, both in their fractures and as a preventive measure. The femurs snap, literally at any time, totally non-traumatic in nature. Please get your legs rodded as soon as is humanly possible. The trauma and pain it causes are the worst thing I have ever experienced.
Take care!
October 11, 2010 - 11:10amVicki
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Dear Vicki,
October 11, 2010 - 12:28pmI am so sorry that you are having to have your femur re-rodded tomorrow. I will be thinking about you and wish you a speedy recovery. I understand your hesitancy about using Forteo. I too am concerned because of the black box warning. I have a friend who took it for two years and so far has had no problem. The problem I am running into is finding doctors that are even aware of the connection to long term use of Fosamax. I feel that rodding will probably be my destiny, but I am just so tired of dealing with fractures and recuperation. In the past 6 years I have experienced a fracture on my right foot which took 5 months to heal (over 2 mos. non-weight bearing). That was followed by months of physical therapy. Then in 2008 I was injured in a freakish fall which crushed my left shoulder and chipped my left knee. These bones healed in a normal length of time, but again numerous months of physical therapy. And this year, two more stress fractures in both feet and now the stress fractures in both femurs. All of these fractures began in year 6 of being on Fosamax. I don't believe this is a coincidence. For now, I am doing the Forteo and when we find an orthopedic surgeon that has dealt with this type of fracture, I will see what he recommends and then make my decision. Thank you for your response and I do wish you all the best in your surgery tomorrow. Jo
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It appears that I am another "rare" incidence of femur fractures related to Fosamax. I have been taking Fosamax for approx. 12 years! In January I began having pain in the thigh area of both legs. I saw my doctor who ran numerous tests, with no answers. He referred me to a Rheumatologist who also ran tests and had no answers. My doctor then suggested I start physical therapy. After a few sessions I mentioned to the therapist that I also had pain in my feet. I then saw a Podiatrist who discovered I had stress fractures in both feet. I wore "boots" for over 2 months, and fortunately they have healed. However, the pain in my legs never left. In July my doctor had no more answers and suggested I start research on my own. I found your website and with no problem finally had the diagnosis. After 3 weeks of attempting to get my Dr. and my Orthopedic Surgeon to run tests for stress fractures, I finally convinced my Dr. to do a nuclear bone scan. To his surprise, it showed that I do have stress fractures in both femurs! My Dr. did take me off of Fosamax in April feeling that could be causing the pain, but I am so disillusioned that it took my insistence before he even ran any tests on my legs. I had back CT scans, X-rays of my hands, etc. but nothing on my legs. I was just diagnosed with the stress fractures last week. My Dr. was able to get an appointment for me to see an Endocrinologist on Tuesday. She has now put me on Forteo and I have given myself 4 injections. She is planning to confer with an Orthopedic Surgeon when she finds one familiar with this type of fracture. Has anyone been able to heal stress fractures without having to have rods placed? I am so afraid of the surgery, but also so afraid of the possible complete fractures. I have been taking extra calcium and Vitamin D and I am using a walker to try to protect my legs. I am only 63 and this is not the way I hoped to spend my early retirement. This website has been so much help to me and I have appreciated everyone's comments. My greatest concern is how do I deal with fractures in both legs at the same time. Has anyone else had to deal with this?
October 11, 2010 - 10:33amThis Comment