HONOLULU -- Lois Takamori walks painfully, with a cane. Her attorney said the 62-year old woman’s bones are so weak and brittle she can’t even pick up her grandchildren.

Lois was always active and fit, and thought she was preventing osteoporosis when her doctor prescribed Fosamax. She took it for eight years, and one day her thigh bone snapped.

“I took a step backward, and I felt this excruciating pain,” Takamori recalls.

She said she wasn't even doing anything strenuous when the break occurred. Her attorney, Gary Galiher, filed a lawsuit for her against Merck, the maker of Fosamax.

“This pharmaceutical, that's supposedly to protect women from osteoporosis, actually makes these bones more brittle. And one of the strongest bones in the body looks like it got run over by a truck,” said Galiher.

There have been other lawsuits against Merck over Fosamax for claims it causes jaw problems. Merck responded to those suits, saying "Merck is committed to putting patients first and providing accurate information regarding the efficacy and safety of our medicines."

Galiher said this case will be heard in Hawaii.

Experts warn that petite Asian women and Caucasians are among those most at risk for osteoporosis.

Takamori said she wants women to know about the dangers of long-term use of Fosamax.

“I feel really awful. I don't know how to describe it. Women aren't aware, but if they were aware, it's a devastating breakage because it doesn't heal,” she said.

The FDA has issued a safety announcement that warned long-term use of Fosamax is associated with thigh-bone fractures.