Alendronate Dosing

With alendronate, dosing guidelines are based on the condition being treated, whether you want to take a daily or weekly dosage, and other factors. The recommended dose for osteoporosis in men and postmenopausal women is either 70 mg once weekly or 10 mg once daily. Regardless of how much you take, alendronate dosing guidelines stress the importance of remaining upright for at least 30 minutes after taking the drug.

Alendronate Sodium Tablets

An Introduction to Alendronate Dosing

The dose of alendronate sodium (Fosamax^®) that your healthcare provider recommends will vary, depending on a number of factors, including:

Whether you prefer to take the drug daily or weekly
Whether you are treating or preventing osteoporosis or treating Paget's disease
Other medications you may be taking
Other medical conditions you may have.

As is always the case, do not adjust your alendronate dose unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.

Alendronate Dosing for Treating Osteoporosis

The recommended dose of alendronate for treating osteoporosis in men and postmenopausal women is either 70 mg once a week or 10 mg once a day.

Alendronate Dosing for Preventing Osteoporosis

The recommended dose of alendronate for preventing osteoporosis in postmenopausal women is either 35 mg once a week or 5 mg once daily.

Alendronate Dosing for Treating Steroid-Related Osteoporosis

The recommended dose of alendronate when treating osteoporosis that is due to steroid use in men and women is alendronate 5 mg once daily. However, the dose for treating osteoporosis that is caused by steroid use in postmenopausal women who are not taking estrogen hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is higher -- alendronate 10 mg once daily.

(Alendronate Dosing Continued: Page 2)