Actonel drug by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Actonel side effects Actonel information

Actonel is a prescription medication used for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Actonel side effects
Side effects for Actonel (risedronate sodium tablets) may include back, muscle, bone or joint pain, stomach pain or upset, or constipation. Sometimes a doctor who prescribes Actonel does not tell their patient all the potential bad side effects from Actonel. A very serious long term Actonel side effect is osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Once or twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including Actonel side effects and benefits, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Actonel and osteonecrosis
With the millions of patients receiving various oral bisphosphonates such as Actonel for osteopenia and osteoporosis, many more cases of osteonecrosis are likely to emerge.

Osteonecrosis of the jaws associated with use of risedronate Actonel : Report of 2 new cases.
Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2007 Jan 11;  Clinical Professor, Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Pathology, University of Maryland Dental School.
More than a thousand cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw attributed to bisphosphonates have been reported in the English-language literature. Approximately 96% of these published cases were seen with administration of the intravenous agents pamidronate and zoledronate, whereas only 26 cases have been associated with oral bisphosphonates, 25 of them with Actonel alendronate. Only a single case of osteonecrosis of the jaws associated with the oral bisphosphonate risedronate has been previously cited. We report 2 cases of osteonecrosis of the jaws attributed to risedronate Actonel administration. The patients developed osteonecrosis 15 and 24 months after treatment for osteopenia. A regimen of antibiotics and chlorhexidine mouthrinse resolved the osseous defect in the mandible caused by complete exfoliation of a lingual torus in 1 patient. The other patient required sequestrectomy, repeated courses of antibiotics, surgical debridement, and steroids to promote closure of an oroantral fistula and management of sinusitis after bone grafting and implant placement in the posterior maxilla.

Actonel medication - Actonel 35 mg and Actonel 5 mg
Actonel tablet 35 mg once-a-week and Actonel 5 mg tablet daily are indicated for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Actonel tablet 5 mg daily is also indicated for the treatment and prevention of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in men and women who are either initiating or continuing systemic glucocorticoid treatment (10 mg/d of prednisone or equivalent) for chronic diseases.

Fosamax Actonel pill
Fosamax vs Actonel pill - which medication is better? The drugs, Fosamax (generic name, alendronate) and Actonel (generic name, risedronate sodium), belong to a group of drugs called bisphosphonates. Fosamax and Actonel are commonly used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. Fosamax and Actonel are not estrogens and do not carry the associated risks or benefits of estrogen (see the hormone replacement therapy section above), but they carry their own set of risks. Long term studees are not available comparing Fosamax to Actonel and hence it is too soon to tell which medication is better or worse. In the short term, it appears Actonel works faster.

Actonel osteoporosis
Actonel and Fosamax both help with osteoporosis after menopause. Actonel (made by Procter & Gamble) and Fosamax (made by Merck) are both effective treatments for age-related osteoporosis. This kind of bone loss is a particular problem for women after menopause.

Actonel alternative
Since Actonel can have serious medication side effects, it is a good idea for doctors to think about an Actonel alternative to avoid potential long term health problems. Actonel medication should only be prescribed if absolutely necessary. Increased calcium intake, vitamin D, sun exposure and weight training are excellent alternatives to Actonel.

Actonel medicine questions - info on Actonel
Q. Where is the best place to buy Actonel online
   A. To buy Actonel online you can do a search on google. However we don't have any experience buying Actonel on the internet.

Q. Which is better to take Actonel 35mg once weekly or Actonel 5 mg daily?
   A. Not enough long term studies have been done to determine whether weekly Actonel 35mg is a better option than daily Actonel 5 mg. Many people gradually reduce their use of daily Actonel medication use which may be a good thing since this could reduce side effects. Up to 40 percent of Actonel 35mg users eventually stop taking their medication.

Medication persistence with weekly versus daily doses of orally administered bisphosphonates.
Endocr Pract. 2006 Sep-Oct;12(5):522-8. Radiant Research Center, Stuart, Florida 34996-3326, USA.
To compare medication persistence among patients receiving daily orally administered bisphosphonates with persistence among patients receiving weekly orally administered bisphosphonates to ascertain whether less frequent dosing is associated with better long-term treatment persistence. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that weekly dosing of orally administered bisphosphonates is associated with higher medication persistence than is daily dosing. Nevertheless, more than 40% of patients did not persist with weekly bisphosphonate therapy for at least 12 months. Thus, medication persistence was inadequate even with use of the weekly regimen. Additional research is needed to determine whether persistence can be further improved by extending the dosing interval beyond once weekly.

For additional links
Multivitamin information
Hoodia information

actonel calcium plus
Actonel risedronate sodium tablet
Actonel prescribing information
generic actonel
actonel and calcium
actonel medication prescription