<p>With the launch of the 1st prescription osteoporosis medication 15 years ago, millions of Americans with the bone-thinning illness began taking the drugs and never looked back.</p> <p>But now numerous bone-well being physicians are hunting back and becoming increasingly uneasy.</p> <p>In the past few years, evidence has emerged that lengthy-term use of osteoporosis drugs &amp;mdash specifically the oldest class of drugs, the bisphosphonates &amp;mdash may do more harm than good. Some physicians are beginning to tell at least some of their patients to cease taking the drugs for a time &amp;mdash in other words, to take a "drug vacation."</p> <p>That method is a difficult sell for customers who have been bombarded with osteoporosis medication ads for years.</p> <p>When osteoporosis drugs first came out, "individuals thought, this is a recurring illness, like high blood pressure. So why would not you treat it for the rest of their lives?" mentioned Dr. Richard Eastell, an specialist in bone metabolism at the University of Sheffield in Britain who spoke about the issue last month at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Analysis. "But there are now some anxieties with long-term use."</p>