What is Alendronic Acid? (Alendronate, Fosamax, Binosto)

Osteoporosis is a bone disease which causes your bones to become brittle and fragile, making them prone to breaks and fractures.

Alendronic Acid slows down the rate at which old bone is lost. This reduces your risk of broken bones and fractures.

Find out more at:

https://patient.info/medicine/alendronic-acid-for-osteoporosis-fosamax-binosto#nav-0

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/5697/pil

How likely is Alendronic Acid to help me?

Key

  • This grey face represents the number of people in the survey group.
  • This green face represents the one person in the survey group that the medicine has helped.

For women who are past the menopause and have already had a vertebral fracture, research  suggests that the benefits of Alendronic Acid vary with age:

  • In a group of 80 women aged 65-74with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  a second fracture in the course of one year.

1in80_womenAged65-74

  • In a group of 45 women aged 75- 79with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  a second fracture in the course of one year.

1in45_womenAged75-79

  • In a group of 60 women aged 80-84 with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  a second fracture in the course of one year.

1in60_womenAge80-84

 

For women who  are  past the menopause and are at risk, but have not yet had a fracture, research  suggests that the benefits of Alendronic Acid vary according to age:

  • In a group of 740 women aged 65-69with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  having a fracture in the course of one year. 
  • In a group of 335 women aged 75- 79with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from having a fracture in the course of one year.
  • In a group of 485 women aged 80-84with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  having a fracture in the course of one year.
  • It is not possible to tell what will happen to you as an individual.
  • Read the research at http://www.cochrane.org/CD001155/MUSKEL_alendronate-for-preventing-fractures-caused-by-osteoporosis-in-postmenopausal-women

What are the possible risks of taking Alendronic Acid?

You can discuss with your health professional  the possible side effects and other risks AlendronicAcid might have.

side-effects are unwanted affects that can happen to your body when taking a medicine. 

Not everyone will get side-effects. These usually improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following side-effects persist or worry you.

The most common side-effects of Alendronate, affecting less than 1 in 10 people, are:

  • Indigestion, abdominal pain, bloating
  • Constipation or Diarrhoea
  • Headache, muscle or joint pain
  • Dizziness, itching.

Find out more at: https://patient.info/medicine/alendronic-acid-for-osteoporosis-fosamax-binosto#nav-4