Also within the bisphosphonate family is a drug called Zometa (zoledronic acid) which has two qualities by way of advantage over the the initial pamidronates. It is I'm told about 4 times as strong and infuses (that is goes into a vein, in contrast to blocks, which are injections of local anesthetics along with perhaps other medications directly into a specific site) in 15 minutes, as opposed to 4 hours.

I've been getting periodic infusions of Zometa for the last 2 - 3 years and it has helped substantially with the worst of my "bone crushing" pain. The one major caveat is that if you need or receive significant dental work, such as root canals, anytime around date of the infusion, there is a significant chance that it will cause "jaw necrosis," death of the bone tissue within the jaw. Accordingly, my pain doctor requires a certification from the dentist that I'm in good dental health, before proceding with the infusions.