[AmelieParticipant]

Since his sct last August John has got Aredia every month. He has been suffering from rash and itch and a few days after his last Aredia infusion it became very bad. He went to the hospital and they immediately recognized his problems as a reaction towards Aredia.

What alternatives are there to Aredia (pamidronate disodium)?
Could Zometa or Aclasta (zoledronic acid/zoledronate) be used instead?

Thanks in advance!

[ChelleMcParticipant]

Hi,
My husband is on Zometa and touch wood had had no problems. He has had about 3-4 infusions. I'm not sure if he can be switched but it is worth asking the consultant or even calling Ellen on the info line here as she might know or be able to point you in the right direction.
Best of luck,
Chelle

[AmelieParticipant]

Thank you very much Chelle!
They definitely have to find an alternative to Aredia – they also said so, I just wanted to be prepared.
I can't find out how similar are Zometa and Aredia. They are both biophosphornates but is it possible to be allergic to one of them and not the other? Does anyone know?
Love
Amelie

[MariParticipant]

Dear Amelie,

I am not sure but I think Zometa is considered to be the best option. My husband Stephen swapped from Pamidronate to Zometa and now has it monthly since he had has SCT. He has to have his calcium levels checked before he has the zometa infusion in case it brings his calcium levels down too far, and as they are often on the low side he takes calcium tablets daily. There is now some evidence that Zometa helps to delay the progress of myeloma. I forget where I read the research but I do remember it was reported in a post on this website.

Steve has had troouble with allergies to drugs, he was allergic to allopurinol during his SCT but has had no trouble with zometa. I hope this helps,

Mari xx

[AmelieParticipant]

Thank you Mari – it helps a lot!
I will tell John to ask for Zometa. Was Stephen allergic to Pamidronate or why did he swap?
Thanks again,
Amelie

[MariParticipant]

No he was not allergic to pamidronate, he swapped because of the way zometa has been shown to help prolong remission,

M x

[AmelieParticipant]

Thanks again Mari, well if they also swap John to Zometa it could turn out to be an advantage. I will have to think about it that way!

[TinaParticipant]

Hi Amelie

Just a word of caution, my husband used Zometa on many occasions but after he had kidney failure (and recovered somewhat) his consultant was hesitant to return to it due. This is not because it caused the kidney failure but that we were told that it would put more strain on the kidneys.

Tina

[AmelieParticipant]

Biophosphornates in general seem to be hard to the kidneys because we were told the same with Aredia and that is why it is given as infusion and not injection. So far – touch wood – John had no troubles with his kidneys, but I will check out if Zometa is worse than Aredia in this aspect. Thanks for mentioning it!

[annParticipant]

Hi my husband has monthly zometa injections which started when he started chemo 6 months agao. This will continue now after chemo. We requested a change to zometa injections on the advise of a myeloma specialist a Christies where they had done research on it and showed the advantages of zometa in fighting mm.

[ozzyParticipant]

I take sodium clodranate "Bonefos" 2 tablets twice daily as I am unable to have monthly transfusion due to my gums.
I do not have any problems with these and have been taking these for 18 months.
Good luck

[MariParticipant]

Thanks for that warning Tina, I was not aware of that problem with Zometa, nor was Steve to my knowledge but its a very important point.

Hope you are well my dear,

Love Mari x

[AmelieParticipant]

Today John told me it appeared that they never gave him Aredia. They just keep calling it Aredia because they are used to that name. He doesn't even know what they give him. It is hopeless…. 🙁

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