Boniva user has a heart attack

Q. I am a 54-year-old woman with extremely low cholesterol and no risk factors for heart disease. I had a heart attack resulting from an artery spasm two weeks ago after my second dose of Boniva.
The doctors were totally floored. I am so healthy that it made absolutely no sense. They were unable to find any damage or plaque in my arteries in the angiogram.
I noticed an article you wrote about a woman who also suffered a heart attack while taking Boniva. Is there any new information on a connection between this drug and heart attacks?
I am so angry I even took the drug. My bone density wasn't that bad.
A. We have forwarded your report to the Food and Drug Administration. It is the second report of heart attack on Boniva we have received, but there is no warning about arterial spasm or heart attacks in the official labeling information, and the FDA has not confirmed any link. There are reports that this osteoporosis drug can raise blood pressure and cholesterol.
Most people tolerate Boniva well, but some experience serious heartburn and severe irritation of the esophagus. Others complain of incapacitating muscle or joint pain. Rare cases of jawbone death also have made headlines recently.
Q. In a recent column, a pharmacist was accused of negligence. I had the reverse situation when I was very ill.
I couldn't get an appointment with my regular doctor, so I was seen at the emergency service. When I got a prescription, I carefully asked the doctor for the correct dosage to ensure I would be using it properly.
When I took the prescription to the local pharmacy, a long delay occurred, even though I was the only customer. The pharmacist returned to tell me that the prescription had been improperly written regarding the dosage.
He located the correct information and gave me my instructions. Had he been less diligent, I might no longer be of this world.
Motto: Not only can a pharmacist make an error, so can a physician.
A. Medication errors are far too common, and they can occur at any step of the process. That's why it is crucial for every patient to understand what drug has been prescribed, what dose to use, how to use it and what serious effects might result.
Q.What can you tell me about the interaction of alcohol and drugs? My husband is being treated for depression and has been taking a double dose of Lexapro and also Wellbutrin SR for a few months.
Recently, he has been drinking an increasingly large quantity of wine -- a bottle or two daily. I have just found out he is taking the diet pill phentermine on top of all this.
His behavior has become hostile and strange. How dangerous is this combination, and would it account for his aberrant behavior?
A. The mixture of drugs and alcohol that your husband is consuming is a prescription for disaster. Excessive alcohol together with Wellbutrin increases the risk of seizures. Phentermine in combination with Lexapro could trigger serotonin syndrome, with symptoms of irritability, lack of coordination, nausea, restlessness, uncontrollable muscle contractions and, in the worst case, loss of consciousness and death.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
& copy; 2006 King Features Syndicate Inc.