Frequently Asked Questions

What is postmenopausal osteoporosis?

Postmenopausal osteoporosis can occur in women after menopause when estrogen levels drop. It is a disease that makes your bones thinner and weaker—so that they are more likely to fracture or break. In fact, 1 in 2 women over age 50 will have a fracture due to osteoporosis in their lifetime.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is often called a "silent disease." This is because it can develop without you knowing it. You don't feel your bones getting weaker, nor can you see them getting weaker. Many women have no idea they have postmenopausal osteoporosis until the day a bone breaks.

Talk to your doctor about ways you can find out whether you have postmenopausal osteoporosis. The most commonly used test is called a DXA scan. It's a test your doctor can arrange for you.

Why is it so important to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis?

By treating postmenopausal osteoporosis, you may be able to help strengthen your bones and reduce your risk of breaks and fractures.

After menopause, women's bones can become thinner and weaker—leaving them at greater risk for postmenopausal osteoporosis.

But if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, you won't necessarily know it. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is often called a "silent disease" because it can progress painlessly, without showing any noticeable symptoms, until a bone breaks.

Breaking a bone can then lead to increased risk of breaking another bone. Breaking a hip can be a life-changing event.

But there are steps you can take to help strengthen your bones and reduce your risk of breaks or fractures. That's why it's so important to talk to your doctor to help ensure you are doing all you can to help protect your bones.

Ask about treatment options, as well as how much calcium and vitamin D you should be taking on a daily basis. You can eat calcium and vitamin D-rich foods, or take calcium and/or vitamin D supplements, or a combination of the two. Ask your doctor how you can get more calcium and vitamin D.

Exercise is another important way to help strengthen your bones. Exercise can also improve your balance so you have less risk of falling.

As important as calcium, vitamin D, and exercise are, they may not be enough. That's where a prescription treatment like Prolia^® may help. Prolia^® is a prescription medicine used to treat osteoporosis in women after menopause who have a high risk for fracture. Prolia^® has been proven to reduce the risk of fracture of the spine, hip, and other bones, and help increase bone density. It can help strengthen your bones.

Prolia^® isn't right for everyone. Do not take Prolia^® if you've been told by your doctor that your blood calcium level is too low. You should take calcium and vitamin D as your doctor tells you to while you receive Prolia^®.

Ask your doctor if Prolia^® might be right for you.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

What should I discuss with my doctor?

If you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, be sure to talk to your doctor regularly to ensure you're doing everything you can to help strengthen your bones and reduce the risk of a fracture.

Here are some questions you can discuss together to help manage your postmenopausal osteoporosis.

• What is my T-score? What does my T-score mean?
• How often do I need a DXA to give me an updated T-score?

You might also ask:

• What are my treatment options?
• What are the benefits and risks of these options?
• Which treatment do you think is right for me?
• How much calcium and vitamin D should I take?
• Could Prolia^® be right for me?

Please see Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

What positive changes can I make in my daily life to help manage my postmenopausal osteoporosis?

There are some steps you can take to help manage postmenopausal osteoporosis. Here are some of the most important:

• Get enough calcium and vitamin D every day. You can do this by eating calcium and vitamin D-rich foods, or by taking calcium and vitamin D supplements or a combination of the two. Ask your doctor how you can get more calcium and vitamin D.
• Exercise is another important way to help strengthen your bones. Certain kinds of exercise can actually increase your bone density—like weight-bearing exercise. Exercise can also improve your balance so you have less risk of falling. Talk to your doctor before you start a new exercise regimen.

Keep talking to your doctor. Make regular appointments. Be sure to ask your doctor if you're doing all you can to help strengthen your bones.

If you are taking Prolia^®, you can sign up to receive reminders and helpful lifestyle information at Prolia.com.

Please see Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

What is Prolia^®?

Prolia^® is a prescription medicine used to treat osteoporosis in women after menopause who:

• are at high risk for fracture, meaning women who have had a fracture related to osteoporosis, or who have multiple risk factors for fracture.
• cannot use another postmenopausal osteoporosis medicine or other postmenopausal osteoporosis medicines did not work well.

Prolia^® is the first and only postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment that is given as a shot once every 6 months in your doctor's office. It has been proven to reduce the risk of fracture at key sites—spine, hip, and other bones. Prolia^® can help increase bone density and help strengthen bones.

You should take calcium and vitamin D as your doctor tells you to while you receive Prolia^®.

Prolia^® can cause serious side effects, including low calcium levels in your blood, serious infections, skin problems, and severe jaw bone problems.

Ask your doctor if Prolia^® might be right for you.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

How does Prolia^® work?

In our bodies, we all have cells that remove bone. When you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, the number of cells that remove bone is increased, causing you to lose bone at a rate that is too fast. This leads to the thinning and weakening of your bones, so that they are more likely to break.

Prolia^® helps stop the development of bone-removing cells before they can cause bone loss. Prolia^® is the first and only therapy for women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at increased risk for fractures that is given as a shot once every 6 months in your doctor's office.

You should take calcium and vitamin D as your doctor tells you to while you receive Prolia^®.

Prolia^® can cause serious side effects, including low calcium levels in your blood, serious infections, skin problems, and severe jaw bone problems.

Ask your doctor if Prolia^® might be right for you.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

What do studies show about Prolia^®?

Prolia^® has been proven to reduce the risk of fracture at the spine, hip, and other bones.

In a 3-year clinical trial of 7,808 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, Prolia^® was shown to:

• Help protect women against fracture at the spine, hip, and other bones and help increase bone density.

You should take calcium and vitamin D as your doctor tells you to while you receive Prolia^®.

Prolia^® can cause serious side effects, including low calcium levels in your blood, serious infections, skin problems, and severe jaw bone problems.

Ask your doctor if Prolia^® might be right for you.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

How do I take Prolia^®?

Prolia^® is a shot under the skin, given once every 6 months in your doctor's office. Since it is an injection and not a pill, Prolia^® does not go down your esophagus or through your stomach.

If you're being treated with Prolia^®, it's also important that you take daily calcium and vitamin D as directed.

Prolia^® can cause serious side effects, including low calcium levels in your blood, serious infections, skin problems, and severe jaw bone problems.

Discuss these and other risks included in the Medication Guide with your doctor.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

Does Prolia^® have side effects?

There are serious side effects that you may experience with Prolia^®.

Possible serious side effects include low calcium levels in your blood, serious infections, skin problems, and severe jaw bone problems (osteonecrosis).

The most common side effects of Prolia^® include back pain, pain in the arms and legs, high cholesterol, muscle pain, and bladder infections.

Talk to your doctor if you have any of these side effects.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

How will I know if Prolia^® is working for me?

As with other postmenopausal osteoporosis treatments, once you are being treated with Prolia^®, your doctor can continue to monitor your progress with regular DXA scans. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends a DXA scan every two years.

The DXA scan measures bone density. The score it yields is a "T-score." Regular DXA scans can help your doctor monitor your bone density over time.

To get the most out of your treatment, make sure you are getting enough calcium and vitamin D every day.

If you're taking Prolia^® to help strengthen your bones, it is important to ensure that you get your shot on a regular basis—once every 6 months. Make regular appointments with your doctor; you can also sign up to receive reminders and other useful information here.

Prolia^® can cause serious side effects, including low calcium levels in your blood, serious infections, skin problems, and severe jaw bone problems.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

How much does Prolia^® cost?

Your cost depends on the type of insurance or medical coverage you have and whether you buy Prolia^® at your doctor's office or pick it up at your pharmacy to bring to the office. Ask your doctor or pharmacist—he or she can give you information that may be helpful.

How can I get started on Prolia^®?

Prolia^® is a shot given two times a year in your doctor's office. You should take calcium and vitamin D as your doctor tells you to while you receive Prolia^®. Ask your doctor about your bone strength and if Prolia^® is right for you. Use our Doctor Discussion Guide to help plan your visit.

Please see additional Prolia^® Important Safety Information, full Prescribing Information, and Medication Guide.

How can I know if my postmenopausal osteoporosis management plan is working?

If you have a postmenopausal osteoporosis management plan, it is important to regularly talk to your doctor about all aspects of your management plan, especially your bone density.

The most commonly used test to measure bone density is called a DXA scan, which can help your doctor assess your bone strength. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends that you have a DXA scan every two years, or more often as recommended by your doctor, if you're taking a prescription medication for your postmenopausal osteoporosis. It is an X-ray test that is fast, painless, and accurate. It may have been used to initially diagnose your postmenopausal osteoporosis. Ask your doctor when you should next have a DXA scan. It is one of the key measures your doctor can use to help monitor your postmenopausal osteoporosis management plan.

The results of a DXA scan are reported as a T-score, which compares your bone density to the bone density of a healthy, young adult woman. A T-score of minus 2.5 or lower is defined as osteoporosis. Your doctor periodically monitors your T-score to provide information as part of your treatment management plan.

Why do I need to get a bone density test?

There's lots of evidence to show that your bone density and your fracture risk are closely related. The most common—and perhaps the most useful test for tracking bone density over time—is the DXA scan, which is fast, accurate, painless, and uses very little radiation. For women who are taking an osteoporosis medication, the National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends that bone density testing should be repeated every two years (or more frequently, as recommended by your doctor).

What does my T-score tell me about the strength of my bones?

The results of a bone density (DXA) scan are reported as a T-score. The lower your T-score is, the weaker your bones, and the greater the risk for fractures can be.