While most patients who take Fosamax to treat and help prevent osteoporosis have few side effects – let alone serious side effects – it’s important to know that there are situations in which serious side effects occur.

If you have been told that you have developed atrial fibrillation after taking Fosamax or you have been diagnosed with an ulceration of the esophagus or you are suffering from osteonecrosis of the jaw, it’s important to know what your options are.

What Are Your Options?

On many levels, this is a question that is best addressed by your physician. If you do have serious side effects after taking Fosamax, it’s important to talk with your doctor to determine other treatment options that are available to address your osteoporosis and to monitor the new symptoms that have arisen.

Reducing the Impact

Unfortunately, osteonecrosis of the jaw is something that will require specialized treatment from an endodontist. Likewise, osteonecrosis of other joints – such as the knee or hip – will require specialized care, and atrial fibrillation will need to be monitored by a specialist in order to reduce the overall risks.

First and foremost, however, when it comes to reducing the impact of Fosamax side effects you need to be sure that you are working with your physician.

What Are the Risks Associated with Atrial Fibrillation?

In order to understand why atrial fibrillation is of great concern, it’s necessary to understand some of the most common complications:

• Those who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely than others in their age groups to suffer a stroke.
• The volume of blood pumped through the body is less consistent and clots are likely to form.

Additionally, there are a number of common symptoms of atrial fib that are reported (though it’s important to note that not everyone exhibits these symptoms): shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, dizziness, light-headedness.

What Causes Atrial Fibrillation?

Most patients in whom atrial fib is diagnosed fall into one of the following categories:

1. Patients with metabolic issues including thyroid problems.
2. Patients with a previous incidence of cardiovascular disease.
3. Patients who have not had either type of underlying disease.

Often those who are diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in connection with taking Fosamax fall into the third category.

It was first cited in a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May of 2007 that the use of Fosamax to treat osteoporosis could increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation. It was reported that, while reviewing case study information from a number of clinical trials that those post-menopausal women who had taken Fosamax to prevent bone loss had a nearly 50% greater risk of the heart disease.

Osteonecrosis is a bone disease that occurs when there is a reduced blood flow to the bone – it is often referred to as bone death. Osteonecrosis of the jaw is the most common presentation of the disease in association with patients who take Fosamax.

What Causes Osteonecrosis?

Osteonecrosis can be caused when a broken bone does not heal properly and the blood supply to the bone is cut off. Osteonecrosis of the jaw has appeared in patients who have been treated with IV bisphosphonates in order to treat lung cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma and other bone diseases. However, there are a small but increasing number of cases in which patients taking Fosamax to strengthen bone mass after being diagnosed with osteoporosis are presenting symptoms of osteonecrosis of the jaw.

The symptoms of osteonecrosis of the jaw include:

• Pain in the joint.
• Swelling of soft-tissue around the jaw.
• Infections.
• Teeth becoming loose.
• Drainage from the jaw.
• Exposed bone of the jaw.

Many of these symptoms show up after the patient has had a tooth extracted or other invasive jaw surgeries, and it’s often the dentists who diagnose osteonecrosis of the jaw.

What Can Be Done to Prevent and Treat Osteonecrosis of the Jaw?

For those who are concerned about osteonecrosis of the jaw as well as those who have been diagnosed, there are a few steps that can be taken to reduce the imapct of the disease:

• Be sure that you are able to maintain oral hygiene as it will help to reduce the risk of infection.
• If you wear dentures, you should be sure that they are checked and adjusted by your dentist regularly to preven damage to gum tissue.
• Consider dental extractions only as an option of last resort.