Adverse effect · Teriparatide

How common is adverse effects with Teriparatide?

A
Grade A — established in humansApproval trial + 20 years of surveillance · effect size: small · adverse
Short answerEstablished in humans. Approval trial + 20 years of surveillance point the same way: a small effect. Nausea, headache, leg cramps, transient high calcium. The rat osteosarcoma finding that limited use to two years was never seen at excess in people; the FDA removed the limit and the boxed warning in 2020.

What the studies show

Nausea, headache, leg cramps, transient high calcium. The rat osteosarcoma finding that limited use to two years was never seen at excess in people; the FDA removed the limit and the boxed warning in 2020.

“Parathyroid hormone had only minor side effects (occasional nausea and headache).”

Verbatim, from the abstractNeer RM, Arnaud CD, Zanchetta JR, et al. Effect of parathyroid hormone (1-34) on fractures and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. N Engl J Med, 2001

Several well-run randomised trials in people, pointing the same way. You can plan around this. It still says nothing about whether the effect is worth the side effects for you.

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In context

Teriparatide is the first 34 amino acids of human parathyroid hormone, given as a daily injection for severe osteoporosis. Continuous parathyroid hormone strips bone; a brief daily pulse builds it — which is why the drug works and the hormone's excess does not. In the 1,637-woman trial behind its approval, new spinal fractures fell from 14% to 5% over about 21 months and non-spinal fragility fractures roughly halved. It is a prescription medicine, approved everywhere, with a long safety record; the original two-year lifetime limit was lifted by the FDA in 2020.

Teriparatide is approved (rx). Legal status differs by country — see the regulation section or the jurisdiction pages.

Questions

Is Teriparatide proven to cause adverse effects?
Yes, as far as human trials can show it: Approval trial + 20 years of surveillance. LYO grades this outcome A.
What studies are behind the grade?
Nausea, headache, leg cramps, transient high calcium. The rat osteosarcoma finding that limited use to two years was never seen at excess in people; the FDA removed the limit and the boxed warning in 2020.
Is Teriparatide approved for this?
Teriparatide is an approved medicine (Approved (Rx)); whether this particular outcome is a licensed indication is stated on the compound page's regulation section.

Other outcomes for Teriparatide

Written and maintained by LYO Research — how pages are written and checked. Reviewed 10 September 2026. Grades count human evidence only; see how LYO grades. Not medical advice. Correct this page →