anyone on zometa for osteoporosis?

I was put on zometa to prevent bone loss. Started on eligard(lupron) to out me into menopause & started on femera. Zometa 2x per year, I've only had 1 dose.

Hi. I'm on zometa (5mg) once a year, as I'm on zoladex & letrozole & have osteopenia. I had nausea & vomiting for 2 days as well as the flu symptoms & bone pain (short-lived thankfully).

If you do decide to go ahead with the infusion I would recommend have anti-nausea meds handy just in case. Rehydrating is important before & after, but hard to do if you can't even keep sips of water down. Of course it may not effect you like that .

Unfortunately the onc says because my infusions are so far apart I will prob get the same SE's each time- you are supposed to have lessening SE's each time- but not sure how close together the infusions have to be.

I prob will have it again, but will be prepared- I want the extra insurance it provides against recurrence. 

I'm pre-menopausal (just turned 46), was on tamox but decided with onc to shut down ovaries with zoladex and start letrozole because of ?progression.

Just throwing in a little "for what it's worth" experience here, which may or may not be relevant to your particular situation.  I have osteopenia (right on the edge of osteoporosis) and am surgically post-menopausal.  I started Fosamax about 5 weeks ago (weekly dose of 70 mg--my doctor discussed the IV options but we opted to try this first).  This is my first experience with this type of drug.

To my understanding, Fosamax and all similar drugs carry a risk associated with weakened jaw bones (and thigh bones, too...interestingly), which is why you'll often see signs posted in dentist offices telling you to let them know if you are on one of those drugs.  A few years ago I had to have a tooth pulled and an implant placed and the surgeon was crazy over the top about warning me of potential complications of those types of drugs when it came to your jaws and dental work.

Also, I know side effects are different with everyone but here is my experience.  The first week on the Fosamax was awful, awful, awful.  Terrible stomach pain starting late the first night and continuing through the whole next day.  By afternoon of the day after my first dose, I had crippling joint and back pain that settled down the third day into general achiness joint/back pain for a couple of more days.  Almost quit after that dose.  Second week was much better and now it seems like I do get some minor flu-like symptoms (achiness, mostly) but so much better than that first week.  The worst part of it now for me is just taking it and making sure I am following the instructions to the letter (which I did with the first dose, too...guess it was just my body's initial "ACK").

The dr. did tell me that doing an IV infusion monthly or annually would create similar side effects that would last longer since I was getting such a large dosage at one time.  Don't know if the infusion is overall better for your jawbone health or not, but have my teeth cleaning appt. on the 23rd and plan to discuss this with my dentist in depth.  I've seen him for over 10 years and really trust his judgement on that.

Also, it is critical to take a calcium and vit. D supplement with these drugs.  My PCP recommended a minimum of 600-800 mg vit. D and 1200-1500 mg calcium daily AS A SUPPLEMENT (not just in your general diet). 

I still think it's weird that drugs that are supposed to build bone density actually create fracture risks in some bones and you still have to take calcium to offset some of the damage they do.  Yeesh!

I've been on Fosamax for 3 years with no SEs worth mentioning until 2 months ago when I got a terrible pain in my lower right gum. There are no molars there - had them pulled years ago and never could get used to a bridge. The dentist said the x-ray showed two old roots from years ago which are now trying to work their way out. He didn't want to dig them out due to possible bone damage so we are taking a wait and see attitude; eg if it gets too painful he will pull. 

 I was sure the pain was in my jaw and was fractured from the Fosamax. He said there was no sign of a fracture.  But I decided to skip the Fosamax for a few weeks. Guess what? the gum pain went away completely.  Last week I tried the Fosamax again and the gum pain is back. I either need a second opinion or maybe I need to see the doctor who did my hip pinning.  Hm---

I was 40 when dx with BC, I developed osteopenia from chemo induced menopause.

I took Arimidex for 1 yr and developed osteoporosis, ceased Arimidex and commenced zometa every 6 months, period returned after 18 months, so now pre-menopausal again.

Will have one more zometa to make it a total of 4 infusions, then wil monitor my BMD yearly - still have osteoporosis despite being pre - menopausal again and having the zometa, but hoping to see improvement next yr as I also run a lot.

I tolerate zometa well, had mild flu like symptoms after the first infusion but no SE's after the last 2.

I discussed any long term SE with my Onc before I started and decided the benefit out weighed the very smal risk of long term renal probs or ONJ.

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Dec. 2011. Clinical Trial ABCSG-12 (Austrian Breast and Colorectal Study Group) Results here: http://www.sabcs.org/PressReleases/Documents/Gnant.pdf

When I discussed this with my MO, she agreed that I fit the profile perfectly and said that if it was her, she'd want the Zometa, too. She made a point of saying it had to be Zometa and not another bisphosphonate. Others have been studied but have not yielded the same results.

HTH,

PLJ

I wrote an article on the Inspire dot com page if anyone is interested-the title is Strontium versus Bisphosphonates and my friend also has one too, hers is Strontium instead of Bisphosphonates-we are both listed under the Advanced Breast Cancer Forum, just look for title in the help bar