Osteoporosis - It's a long road to hard, solid bones

If there is ever a good time to take Boniva then this was it. A beautiful Sunday morning in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

A few energetic people out on the beach early,  dogs being exercised and pelicans flying overhead in formation.  

Boniva is a once a month medication to try and improve bone density. It's not that difficult to take - a little difficult to swallow but then you have to stay on your feet for at least an hour. This is to guard against partically digested particles of Boniva coming back up into the esophagus and causing irritation and possibly ulcers.

Walking is a great way to take up the precautionary hour.

News had just come out that Amgen's Prolia ( refered to scientifically as denosumab) has had the next stage of FDA approval. The committee which advises the Food and Drug Administraion voted 15 to zero that denosumab should be approved to treat menopausal women with osteoporosis. The committee voted (12 to 3) against recommending denosumab for treatment of moderately weak bones (osteopenia). 

The big advantage of denosumab is that you get an injection every 6 months. So far I've been taking Bonivia on schedule exactly as recommended but the general experience is that within thefirst year most people stop taking the medication because it's both unpleasant and you have to keep track of when it's time to take the tablet again.

Listen to the video of Professor Stevens talking about the denosumab trial which lead to the FDA committee saying yes. The New England Journal of Medicine paper mentioned in the video is this one.