Actonel – help prevent osteoporosis

What is osteoporosis?

A common misconception is that bones are solid and can only break under extreme trauma. Most people don't realize that bone is actually living tissue, just harder tissue than your skin or heart. Your body continuously replaces older bone tissue with new tissue, to keep your bones strong and healthy.

Osteoporosis interrupts the natural regeneration cycle, causing your body to remove more bone tissue than it creates, causing your bones to become thinner and much more likely to break. It is impossible to feel bone loss, so most people don't even realize they have osteoporosis until it is already a serious problem. Taking calcium supplements is important, but may not be enough to prevent fractures caused by osteoporosis.

Why Actonel?

Actonel (risedronate sodium tablets) is a prescription drug that stops further loss of bone and increases bone mass in most people who take it. Actonel reverses bone loss quickly, and is the only medicine available that reduces the risk of spinal fractures within a year.

Actonel is a bisphosphonate that can be used to prevent and treat osteoporosis that occurs after menopause, as well as Paget's disease and steroid-induced osteoporosis.

Side effects

Side effects for Actonel are generally mild or moderate. The most common side effects are:

• back, muscle, bone or joint pain
• stomach pain
• constipation
• headaches
• nausea
• diarrhea

Contact your doctor if symptoms are severe.