I found this today. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/568424

I've heard nothing of this anywhere else. So when did the manufacturer plan on telling me that all this muscle pain I've suffered from for almost 10 years was caused by their drugs??!! We have tested me for fibromyalgia; myasthenia gravis; a type of arthritis that causes muscle pain whose name escapes me right now; every thing known to cause muscle pain. They finally settled on fibro-like disease. This was years before the RA became prominent. And in spite of their precious medication, I have 9 broken bones with no falls to cause them. Only a slight loss of balance on the last one, didn't fall.

Am I ticked????!! You betcha!!!

Billye

Um, I can't view the article because I'm not a member. What medication was the article about?

fanfaire

I can't view the article and I AM a member....

Which drug are you referring to so I can use my usual account which just logs me in automatically?

Oh and on drugs...this is how it goes....

Statins, proton pump inhibitors, the new osteoporosis drugs, the old tricyclics...because the doc orders it we assume this is safe...

Drugs can save lives, but none and I mean none of them is without risk....some of it substantial.

I assume there will be some class action suits in the future, but, lately they give you some substantial print outs on the downsides of these drugs, so we are in some ways, making 'informed' choices, for as 'informed' as that is....

It is always a risk versus benefit analysis.

Billye, was it polymyositis?? What you were tested for---the name that escapes you....there is also polymyalgia rheumatica.

Neuropathy can cause what looks like an RA. I have some very deformed joints....they look identical to any RA patient I have cared for....only thing is...I am utterly without ONE inflammatory marker in my body.

There is neurogenic arthropathy. (The joint loses position and becomes more or less like a bag of bones....much more susceptible to fracture.

There is neurogenic myopathy. (Denervation and loss of input to the muscles-they shrink and get abnormal)

There is myopathy due to drugs, inactivity, toxins and heredity.

There is vascultic myopathy...but that should show as 'inflammatory' with higher sed rates and potentially other inflammatory markers.

They can find neuropathy in the tissues of the mouth in burning mouth syndrome.....and disordered biopsies due to that lack of innervation.

Swallowing can become difficult due to lack of innervation of the smooth muscle...same with gastroparesis and constipation...it isn't separate...it is the denervation issue.

Heart muscle can become denervated....altho is the least likely to be affected.

Breaks can occur due to myopathy, as our muscles, tendons, ligaments are not holding our bones in position or moving them as they should be and then pressure on a bone that isn't engineered to take that stress, fractures it. A bone doesnt need to be that misplaced to cause injury to it, fracture, sprain, impingment etc...

Bone can get malnourished due to neuropathy affecting vasculature...

It is very complex...mind boggling.

These new osteoporosis drugs are under the microscope right now too....not to mention if you have a bad esophagus you can't take them....I do, so I can't take them.....not that estrogen is riskless....it isn't. It is Russian Roulette...so is osteoporosis...

I am finding that I could have a string of diagnoses, depending on who I see, however, they are boiling down to 'neurogenic' changes. Where that neuropathy is coming from is a secret known only to the Creator at this point...or some very motivated molecular geneticist.

I hear your frustration.

People have a right to be angry if they are not told the full truth regarding drugs they take. Seems to me that some drugs perceived as 'money makers' due to the sheer number of potential consumers get fast tracked prior to having good data, while other drugs seem to sit on the shelf. It is after all the 'free market' principle they are modeling the health care system on these days.

Here is another sample.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/538317

The link works for me. It's
Bisphosphonate Therapy Linked to Risk for Severe Musculoskeletal Pan. Written by Yael Waknine dated Jan. 08, 2008

Try copy and pasting into your browser.

Am I allowed to copy and paste it?

And Cyclops, ..it was polymyalgia rheumatica that I was trying to remember.

Billye

Fosamax is going generic soon... I expect we will see MORE articles like this one now. (they knew all along) This is typical when a brand goes off patent.

I think this MAY be part of the low Vit D phenomenon... really!!.

you can copy the article as long as you give the link to it. it's usually best to only copy part of it, if it's long.