Hi Kids, I'm also watching this issue. I was started on Actonel by my Dr in June. I'm not crazy about taking a pill that has so many conditions surrounding it...take first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, take with full 8oz of water, sit up for at least 30 minutes after taking it, yada, yada, yada... It also makes me uneasy that it has such a long half life. But on the positive side...I hope we are all fine in taking it and that we get the result we are after. Seems like a bit of a crap shoot to me... Sooey

Nexium, as well as the over the counter Prilosec, reduce stomach acid production which inhibits the absorption of certain electrolytes, minerals, and vitamins. They can work so well on stomach acid that you may end up with a slightly different problem. In particular, magnesium is not absorbed well in a low acid environment. If you don't get enough dietary magnesium, then your body will pull it from your muscles and bones. Sometimes, supplementing with calcium can actually further upset the balance because your body has a ratio of calcium to magnesium in the blood (I want to say it's 8:1, but can't remember for sure), so, if you add a bunch of calcium, you essentially further "decrease" the amount of magnesium available. One way to help differentiate the type of imbalance is with the type of cramp - if your toes point in, your ankle locks, and the muscle on the top, outside of your shin hardens, then it is may be an extensor plantar reflex, associated with low magnesium. You may be describing tetany - usually caused by low magnesium or calcium. You can ask your doc about it, but they are generally not very familiar - try looking online some more. Also, it is uncommon for doctors to test for low magnesium as the test is not standard, expensive for the proper one, etc. You can try wikipedia too, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypomagnesia. I fought that problem for a long time, in part because of a copper IUD (copper inhibits magnesium absorption too). Hope that helps!

"4. Most osteoporosis experts believe that to maximize its positive effects on bone mass, estrogen replacement therapy should begein at the first signs of the onset of menopause, and should be combined with increased calcium intake. They also indicate that the greatest benefit occurs when estrogen is continued for FIVE YEARS OR MORE, since the greatest amount of bone loss occurs in the first seven years after menopause." When you stop taking estrogen you again begin to lose bone mass at the same rate as during early menopause. Two years after stopping estrogen your bone mass will identical to that which you would have had, had you taken no estrogen. "But I've come to the conclusion, that there's a LOT we don't know. Maybe there's a reason why bone starts reabsorbing more as we age. Are we stopping a process that we shouldn't?" This is an interesting question. The best indicator of breast cancer risk is bone mass at age 70. Those in the highest quartile of bone mass have a doubled risk of breast cancer. At this point the connecting factor is assumed to be lifetime exposure to estrogen including endogenous estrogen. That may or may not be the case. No one knows. But it would certainly indicate that women with normal bone mass after menopause might be well advised to avoid estrogen "therapy" since their exposure is already high and it appears that estrogen exposure like x-ray is cumultative and irreversible. Like you I have long wondered what purpose is served (or thwarted) when we desperately add those elements that the body is equally desperately trying to shed, primarily estrogen and calcium.

I suffered from hot flashes for nine years, until I started taking Zoloft. My hot flashes were every fifteen minutes all morning and evening, with a little relief during the day. For women who have severe symptoms of menopause, precription meds are sometimes needed. If you have no quality of life because of your symptoms and you are completely miserable, like I was, thoughts of suicide can enter your brain -- prescription meds are a much better option. I tried all forms of natural remedies and NOTHING helped.