Fosamax: "It's Been a Bad Ride"

Brentwood TN"My physician advised that I get a bone density test, and he determined that I have the beginning of osteoporosis in my back and hip," says Linda, age 58. "He prescribed Fosamax in January and I have been in pain ever since—after two oral surgeries."

"My doctor said, 'You'd better take Fosamax in case you are ever in a car wreck because this drug would help my bones not completely break.' So I started taking it in January, not that I planned on getting into a car crash! I didn't experience any side effect, nor did I know of any, until I went to the dentist."

Linda had a bridge that was connected to two of her back teeth, but one tooth was broken. Her dentist said the bridge needed to be taken off and the tooth extracted. He referred her to an oral surgeon, who took one look at Linda's x-rays and told her she need bone reconstruction done on her jawbone.

"After the surgery I was in severe pain," says Linda. "During the healing process I had a bone coming through the back of my jaw that protruded toward my tongue, and this was after the surgery. I called the surgeon and said I couldn't deal with this pain, so I had another surgery scheduled. They had to shave off this bone so I had to have another general anesthetic.

"This time the anesthesiologist asked me if I was taking Fosamax. 'Yes; why do you ask?,' I said, but he just looked at me and wouldn't respond. That set off the alarm bell for only for a minute. I still didn't connect Fosamax to my jawbone until I got sick and went back to my doctor, who prescribed the drug. I asked him if Fosamax could have anything to do with me being sick. He said the only thing it does is hurt the jawbone. I told him what had happened. He told me to go online and look up Fosamax jaw trouble. I was aghast.

"I feel stupid about this, about not questioning my doctor when he prescribed Fosamax initially, but I didn't know what to ask. 'You need this—have you seen all those little old ladies bent over? That is what will happen to you if you don't take this drug,' he told me.

Linda asked him about Boniva, an oral prescription medication used for treating osteoporosis in women after menopause, and why he hadn't prescribed that med instead of Fosamax, with known side effects. "He told me that I had Fosamax because it was cheaper—that was the only reason," Linda explains, "But it cost me a lot more in pain and money. My insurance company said I had reconstructive surgery so I had to pay for that too!

"I was very disappointed that I didn't know ahead of time; had I been given a choice, I may not have taken Fosamax. A few of my friends have been on Fosamax for some time but they also haven't been to the dentist lately. I am scared of getting implants because I don't think my jawbone is strong enough to hold them. Now I have a mouth without teeth in the back. I can hardly eat anything on that side and I am worried about my top teeth because they don't have anything to connect to.

"My mouth is still sore and sometimes it seems that I can still taste the anesthesia. My mouth just doesn't feel right anymore. My attorney suggested I get a jaw bone density test, but the surgeon said there is no test that can prove I have bone loss in my jaw. Evidently my attorney thinks otherwise. If my lawyer wants me to, I will get a second opinion from another surgeon.

"I signed some papers recently that allowed my attorney to obtain all my medical records, from everyone concerned. I am definitely going forward with a lawsuit against the makers of Fosamax."