Anyone on Boniva?

nastazia_s

Does any of you are on Boniva?

I would like to hear your experience and views for this oral medication as my doctor recommended it for me to have it as i have dental issues and scared to have Zometa.........

cycle-path

What are your "dental issues?" Why is your doctor recommending it? What's your other medical history?

nastazia_s

There is one year now im repairing teeth.......finishing one repair and after another issue with another teeth......

I was diagnosed sept.2009 with triple negative, had dose dense chemo and radiation and a year after diagnosed with increased osteopenia.

My oncologist insist for Zometa because he says is an anticancer and preventing osteoporosis and my surgeon believes that it is better to start with boniva which is more mild for osteopenia treatment....

I'm very confused and don't know what to choose..........

cycle-path

nastazia, I think it's time you saw an endocrinologist. In reality, neither the BS nor the MO should be prescribing either Zometa or Boniva. Those drugs ought to be prescribed by an endocrinologist. I've been on bisphosphonates for years, and both my BS and MO refuse to prescribe them. They send me to an endocrinologist. The endocrinologist is the correct specialist.

Cynthia1962

Boniva only works on the spine, not the other bones in the body so it's not very helpful, imo.  Perhaps, you can wait until you are through with all your dental work to go on Zometa?  There are also other oral bisphosphonates besides Boniva that have a lower risk of ONJ than IV ones.  Good luck with your decision.

ICanDoThis

I've been on Boniva for a couple of years now - I hadn't heard anything about it working only on the spine. I have seen improvement everywhere except one hip, which has actually gotten worse.

I have had no side effects - Fosamax had started given me some stomach pain, because treatments are more frequent. My biggest problem with Boniva has been REMEMBERING  to take it. You need a big calendar, with regular date marked.

It's important to take care of our bones, so that when cancer is all over, we have our bodies in good shape. It need not be scary.

cycle-path

Cynthia, I'm sorry but I must contradict you. Boniva works on all the bones in your body, not just the spine. Some of the bisphosphonates have been shown to help the hip bones more, and some have been shown to help the spine more, but all of them work on all your bones.

The reason the hip and the spine are monitored is that those bones are the ones that, when they fracture, have the greatest effect on one's life and health. A wrist fracture, for example, doesn't have much effect on one's health or lifespan so the strength of wrist bones isn't measured.

Moderators

There's more information about the various bisphosphonates at the main Breastcancer.org site, in this section: Bisphosphonates for Osteoporosis and Bone Protection.

Judith and the Mods

Cynthia1962

What I should have said was that some of the bisphosphonates have been shown in studies to prevent factures in certain parts of the body regardless of it's impact on bone mass in other areas.  This from Healthcentral.com comparing Actonel, Fosamax, & Boniva:

All three drugs have FDA approval for the treatment and prevention of post-menopausal osteoporosis.  Actonel has approval to reduce fractures at vertebral and nonvertebral sites (hip, wrist, pelvis, clavicle, leg, humorous), Fosamax at vertebral and hip, while Boniva has approval for the spine only.

My opinion is that if you're going to take a medication that could have serious side effects, it would be worth considering one that protects you from fractures in other areas as well, unless you are only at risk of a spinal fracture.  Sorry for being unclear.

nastazia_s

I have increased osteopenia in spine......maybe thats why doctor prescribed boniva.

i have vistited an endocrinologist who advise for boniva but oncologist recommends zometa because it is used for woemn who had history of breast cancer as it is used as an anticancer also....

zometa is not too strong to take it...?

does any of you have it for osteopenia?

Eileenohio

I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in April 2010. I have been on Boniva since.  Hugs  Eileen

greenfrog

I have one osteoporotic vertebra and osteopaenia in pelvis. I had an oopherectomy after diagnosis and I now take Arimidex. I started out taking weekly Alendronic Acid (Fosamax in USA?) and then switched to monthly Boniva. I had an appalling time with Boniva - really dreadful side effects that seemed to escalate over time rather than diminish.

I am not taking any bisphosphonates at the moment because I have some problems with impacted wisdom teeth (they were fine for 20 years and then chemo triggered off all sorts of problems.) The dental surgeon thinks that the amount of bisphosphonate I have already consumed (3 years) means that jaw necrosis is a very real risk.

The whole situation Arimidex/osteoporosis dilemma drives me nuts - what you win on the swings you lose on the carousel!

cycle-path

So sorry about your situation, greenfrog! I agree that some of these treatments are a real double edged sword. You beat one thing, only to have a different thing crop up. 

I think most women who are worried about ONJ have entirely needless concerns, but in your case the need for caution is real. I hadn't heard about the possibility of chemo causing tooth problems, though I guess I'm not surprised.

Best wishes to you. I hope your dental situation improves.