Taking alendronic acid with other medicines and herbal supplements - Brand names: Fosamax, Binosto

Cautions with other medicines

Some medicines affect the way alendronic acid works.

If you need to take other medicines by mouth (orally), do not take them at the same time as your alendronic acid. This is because other medicines can react with alendronic acid and stop it working properly.

If you do need to take another medicine by mouth, wait for at least 30 minutes.

Tell your doctor if you're taking any other medicines, including:

• antacids to relieve indigestion or heartburn
• laxatives containing magnesium
• cancer medicines such as bevacizumab or thalidomide
• steroids such as prednisolone or dexamethasone – these may increase the risk of damage to your jawbone
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, which can increase the risk of irritating your food pipe, stomach or gut (taking low-dose aspirin is OK)
• antibiotics such as gentamicin, amikacin or tobramycin – these can lower the calcium in your blood
• deferasirox, a medicine used to remove excess iron from the body – this may increase the risk of bleeding from your gut

These are not all the medicines that may cause problems if you take them with alendronic acid. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.

Also tell your doctor if you are having chemotherapy.

Mixing alendronic acid with herbal remedies and supplements

Tell your doctor if you're taking supplements or multivitamins containing calcium, iron, magnesium or zinc.

There's not enough information to say that other complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with alendronic acid. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.