Is Fosamax Causing Serious Femur Fractures?

Castle Rock, COIt is one thing to take a medication that does not quite work in the way you expect or that causes side effects, but it is quite another thing to take a medication like Fosamax that reportedly causes exactly the side effects that you were taking the medication to treat. Specifically, Fosamax side effects are reportedly linked to an increased risk of bone fracture. Bone fractures can also be caused by osteoporosis, which Fosamax is taken to prevent. A report from ABC News, however, indicates that some very serious fractures may be among the Fosamax side effects.

The ABC News report, which can be viewed at YouTube, was conducted by Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News senior health and medical editor. In the report, he expressed surprise that federal agencies were not doing more to warn women about the reported link between Fosamax and bone fractures.

One doctor interviewed in the report said the femur fracture in the X-ray he showed was typical of a car accident victim. But this was no car accident; the X-ray belonged to a woman who had been taking Fosamax for more than five years. Her femur fractured when she was walking down steps and her leg gave way. Even more surprising is that it was her femur that was fractured, because the femur is one of the strongest bones in a person's body.

Another woman included in the report, Sue Heller, took Fosamax for approximately 10 years. She wound up breaking both her femur bones.

According to the ABC News report (03/09/10), the FDA asked Merck, maker of Fosamax, about the fractures. Merck's response, a year later, was to change the label to include the phrase "low energy femoral shaft and subtrochanteric fractures." Dr. Besser noted that the sentence was in section 6.2 on the label, on the back.

Neither the FDA nor Merck would be interviewed for the report, but Merck did issue a statement that a causal relationship between Fosamax and the fractures was not established.

Doctors are quick to note that bisphosphonates can be vital to preventing hip and spine fractures. Some doctors, however, recommend that women not be on bisphosphonates for more than five years. Meanwhile, women who experience any thigh pain while taking a bisphosphonate are advised to speak with their doctor immediately.