At the risk of being flamed, and in the interest of full disclosure, my parents worked for P&G Pharma (R&D), on a related drug (risedronate). I still remember my dad's t-shirt with the somewhat scary cartoon character with buck teeth on it. Eesh.

Anyway...
What I know about them is culled from vaguely remembered snippets of information (my mother showed me slides of osteoporotic rat bone from the controls when I was five and said "This is what happens if you don't drink milk.")
That and "Hey, what was that stuff?"-inspired research. The side effects of the N-containing bisphosphonates look pretty nasty, I can say that, though how rare they are (esp. the ONJ), I don't know.

Even though my career (and personal) interests put me on a path that is very much pharmaceutical-oriented, I don't necessarily believe that meds are the answer to everything. Drugs may be a solution for some. For others, a wait-and-see approach regarding the drugs combined with diet and/or lifestyle changes is the best bet.
If I had a condition that could get worse and be remedied by a drug with potentially nasty side effects, but could also be remedied by some lifestyle and diet adjustments...I think I'd see if I could put off the drugs for a while.