Fosamax is a drug popularly prescribed to treat or prevent osteoporosis, osteopenia, and Paget’s disease. It is supposed to increase bone mass and help prevent fractures, and has been approved by the FDA for these purposes.

Unfortunately, prolonged use of Fosamax has been linked to an increase in the risk of bone fracture, rather than decreasing it. The major joints like the hips, knees, and shoulders are especially affected. Bone healing is also said to be slowed when patients are on Fosamax. Breaks in the femur (thigh bone) have been especially noted with this drug.

“Jaw Death”

Fosamax has also been associated with a disease known as osteonecrosis. Osteonecrosis occurs when blood flow to a section of bone is cut off. The affected bone then dies. This is not only painful, it can be disfiguring due to the need to cut out the dead bone. The drug has been accused of causing many cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw bone in particular. Osteonecrosis has also been reported in the other major joints of the body.

Fosamax Side Effects

There are still other severe and debilitating side effects associated with Fosamax. Difficulty swallowing, serious heartburn, acid reflux, and chest pain are reported to arise from the use of the drug. Intense pain in the bones and joints, swelling of the jaw and surrounding structures, and severe stiffness have been noted.

More commonly, patients have to deal with less-severe but still bad side effects while they’re on Fosamax. These include joint, bone, and back pain, swelling of the jaw, hands, or feet, milder heartburn, stomach discomfort, dizziness, and headaches.

Manufacturer’s Response

Despite the reported side-effect of osteonecrosis of the jaw, and the dental community’s recognition that drugs in its class cause this disease, Merck Pharmaceuticals has yet to add a warning about it to the drug’s labeling. Instead, in the “precautions” section, the company says that osteoporosis is the risk factor for developing osteonecrosis – rather than the osteoporosis medication itself.

Merck also denies that fractures are a side-effect of long-term use of Fosamax, even though the Journal of Orthopedic Trauma reports a 98 percent correlation between fractures and the use of the drug. Therefore, there is no warning on the Fosamax label listing fractures as a possible result of taking this medicine.

Legal Implications

These side-effects, combined with Merck’s failure to warn about them, have led to several lawsuits against the pharmaceutical giant. In New Jersey, a case has been brought before the court seeking damages for osteonecrosis of the jaw related to the plaintiff’s use of Fosamax. It will be heard in July. This case is considered to be a bellwether for other, similar cases, and is drawing a lot of attention from the legal community as well as from other patients who have been adversely affected by Fosamax.

This is far from the only Fosamax court case; in fact, there are thousands of others currently in the legal system. Due to the high prevalence of reports of Fosamax having extremely dangerous side-effects, it is very likely that there will be many more thousands of lawsuits before everything is done.