Fosamax

What Is Fosamax?

• Fosamax (alendronate sodium) is a bisphosphonate that acts as a specific inhibitor of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption.

What are the uses of this medicine?

Fosamax is a bisphosphonate indicated for:

• Treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
• Treatment to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis
• Treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis
• Treatment of Paget's disease of bone

How does this medicine work?

• At the cellular level, alendronate shows preferential localization to sites of bone resorption, specifically under osteoclasts.

Who Should Not Use this medicine ?

This medicine cannot be used in:

• Patients with esophagal abnormalities
• Patients who are unable to stand or sit upright for at least 30 minutes
• Do not administer Fosamax oral solution to patients at increased risk of aspiration
• In patients with hypocalcemia
• Patients hypersensitive to any component of this product

Is this medicine FDA approved?

• This medicine had initial U.S. Approval in 1995.

How should this medicine be used?

Treatment of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women The recommended dosage is:

• one 70 mg tablet once weekly/one bottle of 70 mg oral solution once weekly/one 10 mg tablet once daily

Prevention of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women The recommended dosage is:

• one 35 mg tablet once weekly/one 5 mg tablet once daily

Treatment to Increase Bone Mass in Men with Osteoporosis The recommended dosage is:

• one 70 mg tablet once weekly/one bottle of 70 mg oral solution once weekly/one 10 mg tablet once daily

Treatment of Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis

• The recommended dosage is one 5 mg tablet once daily, except for postmenopausal women not receiving estrogen, for whom the recommended dosage is one 10 mg tablet once daily.

Treatment of Paget's Disease of Bone

• The recommended treatment regimen is 40 mg once a day for six months.

What are the dosage forms and brand names of this medicine?

This medicine is available in fallowing doasage form:

• This medicine is available as 70 mg tablets

What side effects can this medication cause?

Common possible side effects of this medicine include:

• abdominal pain
• acid regurgitation
• constipation
• diarrhea
• dyspepsia
• musculoskeletal pain
• nausea

What special precautions should I follow?

• Instruct patients to follow dosing instructions.
• Discontinue if new or worsening symptoms occur.
• Hypocalcemia can worsen and must be corrected prior to use.
• Discontinue use if Severe Bone, Joint, Muscle Pain occur.
• Patients with new thigh or groin pain should be evaluated.

What to do in case of emergency/overdose?

• No specific information is available on the treatment of overdosage with Fosamax.
• Hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and upper gastrointestinal adverse events, such as upset stomach, heartburn, esophagitis, gastritis, or ulcer, may result from oral overdosage.
• Milk or antacids should be given to bind alendronate.
• Due to the risk of esophageal irritation, vomiting should not be induced and the patient should remain fully upright.
• Dialysis would not be beneficial.

Can this medicine be used in pregnancy?

• Discontinue when pregnancy is recognized.

Can this medicine be used in children?

• Fosamax is not indicated for use in pediatric patients.

What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication?

• Store in a well-closed container at room temperature, 15-30°C (59-86°F).

• Dailymed label info on Fosamax
• FDA Fosamax

Fosamax Resources
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Fosamax Resources
Latest articles Most recent articles Ongoing trials	Wikipedia