A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

My doctor wants me to take Boniva

Posted: Feb 17, 2016

with this or can you suggest more "natural" treatment? TIA

;

Lots of balanced calcium and magnesium, vitamin D3, vitamin K, and - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
general good nutrition plus weight-bearing exercise. Also limit your alcohol and caffeine consumption.

I refused medication...SM - Old Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
for osteopenia and told my doc I would increase by food-based calcium (can't take calcium in pill form because I get constipated), so drank more skimmed, lactose-free milk and ate yogurt, started vitamin D3, and increased my weight-bearing exercise. Both of my last 2 bone density tests have shown an increase. I hate it when docs want to throw a pill at you when lifestyle changes could do the trick. I stood firm against him and could say "I told you so." He did the same with me when my cholesterol was a little too high. Told him I'd fix my diet, more exercise, etc. Well guess what? My cholesterol numbers got better. Now, if you are seriously osteoporotic, maybe you do need the Boniva, but you should also make the lifestyle changes too.

Old Anon - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I betcha I am older than you are! ;)- In any event, I also refused Boniva, after doing a careful research study. I have increased my walking, time in the gym, etc. I also love yogurt, so that helps. I think too many M.D.'s are in bed with the drug companies and like to push drugs for Big Pharma. If there is a natural way to do it, I'd rather go that way.

The big problem with meds like Boniva, statins, etc. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
is that the claims for them are based on their changing a single test result, not on their changing long-term health outcomes.

Boniva will increase bone density, yes. However, it will do it by interfering with the natural cycle of bone replacement, so you end up with a lot of dense, old bone that is more brittle and fragile than flexible young bone, which you are no longer making much of because Boniva has blocked the metabolic pathway for that.

If you want to increase your bone density score, Boniva will do that. If you want to avoid bone fractures, though, it's not going to be helpful and may well be very harmful.

Much the same applies to statins--they will effectively lower blood cholesterol. They will not, however, significantly reduce your chances of developing heart disease, and you may well end up with cholesterol deficiency problems you would not otherwise have had, including permanent muscle damage and dementia.

Statins also have neurological side-effects. - When my doc suggested a statin, - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I said 'Thanks, but NO thanks.' As an MT, I'd all-too-often typed up medical records that included that dreaded 'statin shuffle' - a gait disturbance caused by the drug. I'd rather take my chances with cholesterol.

To Old Pro...sm - Old Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I'll be 67 shortly; and if I remember correctly you're around 70, so not too much older. I think the docs are also lazy, too lazy to counsel to their patients about how to increase their bone density naturally or how to lower their cholesterol naturally and also to do the necessary followup appointments to keep on top of things and to offer their encouragement and advice. A while back, I heard an interview with the man who actually developed the first bone density med, and he said it was meant to be used for serious cases of osteoporosis, NOT osteopenia or mild cases of osteoporosis. It was Big Pharma's idea to start pitching it to women with osteopenia in order to make more money with it. It was not developed for that, and he fought against it, but of course, money talks louder. So sad.

Old Anon - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Yep, I am 70. I have long been an enemy of Big Pharma. Fortunately, I have a physician (he is a traditional M.D.) who also does "alternative" medicine. I have a friend who has arthritis and her doc has her taking Dilaudid all the time. Um, they are wondering why people have problems with addiction?

Re: Boniva - HIV+ health care gal

[ In Reply To ..]
I am HIV as a result of a health care accident (long story, not relevant) and I only mention it because I have to be so careful with my health. My immunologist says that Boniva is one of the most dangerous drugs around, whether you are HIV or not. (Incidentally, he is a traditional M.D., did his residency at NYU has all the "right credentials," but also does alternative medicine.) He has me on a vitamin regimen which includes vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, and calcium for my bones. I personally have a friend (she is not HIV) who has severe osteonecrosis of the jaw because of taking Boniva. It has severely impacted her life. My doc also says that if in later life (I am relatively young) I should ever need something like, say, a hip replacement, a total knee, etc., there would likely be problems. He says that Boniva has been known to cause spontaneous fractures of bone. You could do a Medline search and see specific articles. Anyway, just passing that along for what one person's opinion is worth. I would not take Boniva for anything. It scares the socks off of me, especially after seeing what it did to my friend's jaw. Good luck, whatever you choose to do.

Thanks, all - OP

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not going to take it. Will try your suggestions.

Similar Messages:

Dec 29, 2011
x ...

Jun 07, 2011
I have been having hand and wrist problems and needed to go in for a nerve conduction study. The doctor who performed it is very attractive, charismatic and intense. I'm not a flirt at all, lol, in fact rather stoic and more on the intellectual side (if you want to call it that, i'm just the extreme opposite to charismatic). So, he tells me to lay down on the table, and sort of said it with an embarrassed smile. I could tell he was embarrassed to say that. ...

Jan 31, 2011
Don't think I want to go to him though. LOL ...

Mar 28, 2012
Two days in a row I get something funny! "The patient is complaining of pain on palpation to his first psychotic dermatologist." I think I'll skip this doctor. ...

Apr 19, 2010
Do any of you not get the annual tests done that your doctor advises? I am getting tired of always explaining why I won't get a mammogram, pelvic exam or colonoscopy. He gets very perturbed with me but I am a true believer that the patient has to take responsibility for their medical care or else the doctor will test you for everything under the sun, especially if you have insurance (which I do). He always says "what does it matter to you, it's not your money". ...

Jun 05, 2010
Was typing an ER report when the doctor says: "He states he has had these episodes for many years and has never died from them in the past." I could not stop laughing. ...

Dec 09, 2013
This is funny ...

Sep 04, 2014
This morning he said "His sleech is slightly spurred." ...

Jul 08, 2015
due to my kidney function. Now my back, neck and shoulders ache like crazy! Does anyone have any suggestions for something I could take or do for the pain? TIA ...

Sep 17, 2015
four cell phone calls from his wife discussing the sale of their automobile? ...

Mar 08, 2010
Never, ever leave flashlights, shampoo bottles, beer bottles or any long, circular object on the floor because someday you will fall on it and it will somehow, work its way up your rectum. ...

Sep 08, 2016
So, I'm one of those people generally don't go to the doctor unless they are spurting blood across the room, but... A couple months ago, I found a lump in my breast, so I made an appointment with a GYN. I went there, they had me leave a urine sample, he felt the lump, wrote me a referral to a breast surgeon and for a mammogram/ultrasound and told me it would definitely need to be biopsied (freaking me out some more) and that was it. I had the mammogram/ultrasound. His office call ...

Sep 20, 2010
My husband has had eight surgeries in the past three years to repair damage done to him during a pituitary tumor removal surgery. We are in desperate need of a neurosurgeon and an ENT that would be willing to be our expert witnesses in the lawsuit. We really aren't ones to sue, but this has changed our lives forever, as my husband will never be able to work again, and has gone through more than most people can even imagine! Any and all prayers will be greatly appreciated. I know God has a p ...

Aug 18, 2010
Wall Street Journal. This is from '09 but is well worth the read. Find out how CommieCare will affect your doctor (and/or CLIENT). The news is NOT good! As expected, as expenses soar many private-practice docs will be DRIVEN OUT OF BUSINESS, which of course, has been the plan all along as we move toward centralized medicine. ...

May 13, 2011
Dictated: dog took off and the leash Speech Rec: Dr. Kaufman the leech ...

Jun 07, 2010
1. A man comes into the ER and yells . . . 'My wife’s going to have her baby in the cab.' I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, lifted the lady's dress and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs - - - and I was in the wrong one. Submitted by Dr. Mark MacDonald,San Francisco2 ...

Jun 18, 2012
A member of my family has been on pain medication for about five years now. It started with OxyContin and has slowly progressed to a combination of OxyContin, Oxycodone, Roxycontin, Percocet, and Fentanyl patches - all used on a regular basis, some for breakthrough pain. This family member does have several medical conditions that do cause her pain, but DH and I have been thinking for a while that this amount of medication seems a bit much. We found out that the doctor prescri ...

Dec 02, 2013
Doctor dictated - The patient's phyisician is ---- (gave the name of the physician). VR spit out - Patient's physician is in his backpack. LOL ...

Jan 07, 2014
This is just a small part of why many of us believe there will be a change for the good this November. This is a commercial here and a very good one at that. The people in charge right now are just outright lying. They have no conscious. Our health care is not a game. Looking forward to Nov. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiT4yg8OSbM Our state is very concerned and we have a right to be. ...

Feb 21, 2011
This is apalling that "doctors" would do this. I have a feeling they are not real physicians, but they are handing out these notes to anyone who needs one. Really teaching our children right, aren't they? This is disgusting! Those that show up with those notes should be FIRED IMMEDIATELY. It's bad enough that this is an illegal strike, although they don't call it a strike, but it is just as bad. MacIver News Service | February 19, 2011 12:05pm Updated 2:40pm &nb ...

Jul 08, 2010
Went to a new doc after many years of not going. As I was speaking of a series of upsetting deaths and started to cry a tiny bit, he just kept clicking away on his lap top (and maybe nodded a couple times). Aside from that, my TSH was in the normal range (but near one end) and no free T3 or T4 were done, but I have had numerous thyroid symptoms for 12 years or so (didn't realize they correlated for several years and never had it assessed). He said my TSH was VERY normal so ...

Oct 29, 2013
LETTER FROM YOUNG DOCTOR TO THE PRESIDENT: (A doctor's point of view) Barack Hussein Obama The White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.Washington, DC 20500 Mr. President, I was born at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. My mother would later take a job delivering babies in that same operating room only a couple years later. My parents got a divorce when I was young. There were many times during the summer when she would be forced to take my sister and me to work ...

Oct 23, 2014
nm ...

Oct 27, 2014
I got out of bed Saturday, and when I stepped down, there was sharp pain to my medial knee. I cannot walk on it. Thankfully, there is next to no pain when there is no pressure on it and it is not fully flexed or fully extended. Medial meniscal tear and/or MCL tear? I have leftover NSAIDs from a neck problem years ago and some old tramadol, which are helping. On his way to borrow a walker from a friend, my husband passed a yard sale and noticed a pair of crutches. &n ...

Sep 09, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr1IDQ2V1eM This is very interesting especially to medical transcriptionists. ...

Aug 28, 2016
"If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor" was President Barack Obama's signature catchphrase he used to sell the Affordable Care Act to the American people. Now Obamacare's flagship website, healthcare.gov, no longer even addresses the issue. Ironically, the section in question was the first public (if indirect) admission by the Obama administration that the president's promise was less than a "guarantee." The original website contained a section entitled "Can I ...

Jun 07, 2012
is on...3rd!! LOL!! Kinda funny how the address is in the 6000 range. ...

Jan 01, 2013
nm ...

Aug 29, 2013
IMHO, he NEVER should have been on trial to begin with and the U.S. should have gotten him out of Pakistan immediately instead of letting him rot in prison. Doctor who helped find Osama bin Laden gets a new trial PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN— A senior judicial official on Thursday overturned the prison sentence of a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden and ordered his re-trial, citing procedural problems with the initial trial. The official, Sahibzada Mohammad Anis, issu ...

Apr 14, 2017
Jumana Nagarwala, 44, of Northville Michigan is accused of performing female genital mutilation on underage girls. According to a criminal complaint, Nagarwala performed the procedure on girls ages six to eight years old at a medical clinic in Livonia. Some of the children were brought from out of state for the illegal procedure. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is considered the complete removal or partial removal of the clitoris, known as a clitoridectomy. FGM is internationally recogniz ...