No proof osteoporosis drug causes blood clots

Dear Dr. Gott: I am 61 and have osteoporosis. I was on Actonel for six months in 2004, but was taken off of it because of serious eye problems. My doctor has now prescribed Evista. I have read the long list of possible side effects, and I know that sometimes drugs hurt more than they help. I have tried to find out how often blood clots occur in people taking Evista, but have not been able to find out. I understand there has been no long-term study done using this drug. I am also extremely allergic to many things (pollens, grasses, trees, dust, foods). I also have eczema that is getting worse. I have trouble taking medications and have to halve or quarter pills. They are too strong.

So, please tell me what the best plan for me to follow is in regard to the osteoporosis. My family tends to live into the high 80s. My mother is now 87. I am not taking any medications at present except for antihistamines, but I take calcium and vitamin D daily. My blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., is fine.

Dear Reader: Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva are in the same family of drugs and are used to treated osteoporosis. However, they – especially Fosamax – can cause a serious side effect called mandibular necrosis, or decay of the jawbone. Consequently, I have encouraged my patients to stop taking these drugs and have been searching for an appropriate substitute. Evista fits the bill, and the FDA has approved it for the treatment of osteoporosis. Consequently, your doctor is right on the money with his or her prescription. (Evista has also been shown to be useful in preventing breast cancer in post-menopausal women.) I am not aware of any Evista-induced blood clots. Go for it.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Osteoporosis.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: I was born on a snowy November day back in 1932. Ever since my early childhood, through rural grade school, three years of military service and 18 years working in a food-processing plant, I was constantly taught and reminded of good sanitation practices to avoid germs of whooping cough, chicken pox, tuberculosis and polio. Now you’re telling us that human urine is sterile. My question is, are you now telling us it is OK to eat yellow snow?

Dear Reader: You can eat yellow snow if you want to, but make sure the specimen was not supplied by deer with polio or squirrels with tuberculosis. Normal human urine is free of bacteria.