Fosamax and joint pain

After being on Fosamax for 6 years, my yearly bone scan didn't show much difference in my bone loss. I started wondering about the pain in my knees, right hip, hands and fingers. It wasn't until I started noticing my index and little fingers starting to grow in the opposite positions and hardening around the first joint, and shooting pains that I started looking up side effects of Fosamax. I have taken myself off this medication since reading that it can cause joint pain. I'm not sure this is the problem with my fingers, but time will tell. Who wants crooked fingers caused by Fosamax.

53 year old female who has taken "F" for almost 2 years - the past two months was the generic version. Have noticed a gradual onset of joint pain and heart palpitations, but am not one to see a doc unless I feel like I'm dying... So I wrote it off to aging. (-:
A friend recently mentioned that she had heard that Fosamax causes bones to be brittle, which caused me to wake up, look around and see what people are saying and what new articles or research are out there. Yeah, sure - there are lawsuits. Not a surprise in our litigious society. More importantly, however, are the comments from real people. Thanks to you who've posted your experiences!
I stopped the drug several weeks ago and seem to have an increase in joint paint. But I'm not going back to Fosamax! Also interesting to me is that around the same time I stopped the drug, I experienced an uncharacteristic downward shift in my mood/mental state. Not sure if there's a correlation to the drug or not...
It is reassuring to see some comments from people who indicate they feel better after weeks/months of being Fosamax free. I am a "gym rat" and very fit/weight appropriate. Weight training and nutrition will be my treatment of choose for osteopenia for now. With time, I am confident that the symptoms I'm experiencing will subside. And any future ailments for which I am prescribed a drug will be very carefully researched by me beforehand.
Be careful out there and stay informed!

Hi,I am a 54 year old male and a recipient of a kidney transplant in mid 2006. I have been on a variety of different drugs mainly the two that i am most concerned with are Prednisone and Fosamax. I stopped the Prednisone with my doctors blessing as my transplant went very well. However i have been suffering from joint pain first in my feet at the joint of my big toe and then my knees and right hip, next my neck. The knee pain is the worst and my legs feel fatigued most of the time. I am active however it is difficult to remain positive when you experience constant pain. I don't know if this is being caused by Fosamax. I now believe that the Prednisone was masking the pain. Any thoughts?

I have been on Fosamax since 2003. In 2004 my left hip starting hurting so bad it would wake me up during the night. I had dislocated my left hip in 1994 so we put the pain down to complications from the accident. The x-rays were fine however so she sent me to a Rheumatologist to see if something else was going on. He told me I had Inflammatory Arthritis (even tho there were no markers in my blood) and put me on Plaquenil. After 6 months, the Plaquenil had done nothing but the Rheumy wanted me to stay on, and truthfully, I was afraid if I went off, the pain would become worse. Next came wrist pain so severe at times I couldn't lift a glass without wincing.To make a long story short, the joint pain has continued to migrate throughout my body. My thumb joints (where they join the palm) are so painful I can't undo jars or bottles, the small bones in my fingers ache all the time. I also get shooting pains in the long bones of my left leg and both arms. Back to the Rheumatologist last week. He said the Plaquenil was not working so he gave me an RX for Methotrexate 20 Mg once per week. This drug is one of the first-line chemo drugs for Cancer and it's effects on the body can be devastating. I have been crying since last Wednesday and had just decided yesterday to start taking this medication. I sat down at the computer to just test the drugs I am currently taking and one by one entered the drug name with "and joint pain". Plaquenil came up with only good things such as "less joint pain" etc. Mobicox also came up with good things. I entered Fosamax "and joint pain" and the top 15 hits were unbelievable. It was my problem in each and every article. I am dumbfounded. I have been seeking Dr.s help with my pain for 4 years, a GP, a Rheumatologist (2 actually) and an Orthopod, not one of these people ever mentioned a problem with Fosamax! What is going on. I am NOT going to be starting the Methotrexate and I feel I have been given dangerous medications over the past four years which I should not have been taking. I was a Personal Trainer and aerobics instructor for 12 years - now I can barely get through a yoga class without modifying the stretches because the pain is so severe.

Thank goodness for this site. I have made an appointment with my GP but I am stopping the Fosamax today (it was my day to take it). I pray I can regain some of the pain-free movement I used to have. In closing, I do have to say that I have regained some bone mass on Fosamax but...was it worth it? Was there another way I could have done this? Who knows. How long does it take for the pain to lessen after dropping Fosamax?

I started taking fosamax 3 weeks ago. The evening after I take the pill, I experience severe joint pain in the knees and back. Once it felt like my shoulder blades were lit on fire. These symptoms only happen while I sleep and leave after I am up for 10 minutes or so. I am scared to keep taking it; but, my bone mass has dropped 10%. My doctors cannot tell me if the pain is good (it's working) or bad. I am so confused and worried.

rectal bleed ,joint pain

Continually worsening diarrhea, nausea, and joint pain.