← Return to Accuracy of DEXA Scans

Discussion

Accuracy of DEXA Scans

Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: Jun 5 10:09am | Replies (75)

Comment receiving replies
@windyshores

@rola your spine is slightly worse than hip, though the difference is probably not clinically significant. Tymlos is good for spine. You could do Tymlos for two years and by that time it may be more mainstream to do Evenity afterward. I had to convince my doc.

My idea was to do Evenity for just a few months, when it is a strong bone builder and before it becomes more of an anti-resorptive, so I wanted to do it after Tymlos, do a few months, then switch to Reclast. My doc told me I am creating my own protocol. Luckily both my endos don't mind but I am kind of a special case with lots of fractures and several health conditions and sensitivities.

Anyway I recently read something interesting: that in the future short courses of Evenity might be used to build bone, between other meds. That is kind of what I had in mind.

Tymlos is not an anti-resorptive and builds quality bone. That is why I chose it. Evenity is both an anabolic (first half) and anti-resorptive (second half). My reasoning, not yet checked with doc, is that if I am going to do an anti-resorptive after Tymlos it might as well be Reclast, which "locks in gains." So I will stop Evenity and switch at some point. Yes this is unusual. Yes my doc has not prescribed this protocol as yet. This strategy is more appealing to me because I am having side effects with Evenity, and I will ask to switch to Reclast on that basis alone.

The science of all this is very complex and I am not trained to interpret studies, though I read them. I want to emphasize that everything I do is obviously sanctioned by docs, since they prescribe, and that I discuss things fully with them. In other words I am not a rogue patient but probably a difficult one!

Jump to this post


Replies to "@rola your spine is slightly worse than hip, though the difference is probably not clinically significant...."

windyshores if you see clinical trial results come out for short courses of evenity between other meds, please share. Thanks a lot!

@windyshores

Windy, thank you so much,! I have so much more faith in you than the Drs I've seen. So to be safe I'll do the tymlos, then hope we have more information to work with in 2 yrs. I appreciate you so much, it's all so involved. If it weren't for you and connect I'd be lost. I know I'll feel better finally just doing it.

windyshores,
The doctors should appreciate you. Any doctor who has a problem with their patient being educated is, in fact, part of the problem.
I am unhappy with my endocrinologist because he was so disinterested in our last meeting. I was already angry at the rheumatologist because he entered the room saying,”Your bones suck.” I felt that this was pretty flip on his part.
I need some additional bloodwork ordered as I bear down on Evenity dose #11 and I’m going to ask my GP to order it. 😡

Note: Please excuse me if I am repeating information said by others but although I have recently been unable to carve out time to read entries on this site, I felt compelled to respond here.

I, too, want to thank Windyshores for suggesting that I get a second opinion after responding to my thread where I questioned my doctor's suggestion about taking Evenity after stopping Prolia. I was already unsure about taking it so I decided to take another dose of Prolia in order to have time to research the options. I went out of town (returned this past Tuesday) to have a consultation with an endocrinologist who has had extensive experience with atypical femur fractures of which I've now two.

The most important thing that I learned was that deciding to take osteoporosis medications should not be decided on a single issue. Your age, activity level, medical history (including pre or post menopause, etiology of any previous fractures) and nutritional habits should all be taken into account. He felt that the decision to take an osteoporosis medication is a balance where you make a judgement about the percentage of chance that the treatment will help someone avoid getting a fracture from osteoporotic bones. He also said that there are people who have thin bones, as diagnosed by a Dexa Scan, who never fracture but there's no way to determine who will or will not succumb to a fracture. By example, I fell off a horse in my thirty's. I was an active person who enjoyed white water rafting, horseback riding and being out in nature. After my accident, my doctor saw my bones were thin around the healed L-2 spinal fracture from the accident and started me on Actonel. Unfortunately it was not known at that time that short time use was recommended. I was on it for decades which ended when my first atypical fracture happened. We can't know for sure but he suggested that I probably should not have been put on that drug at that time.

So now at 71 years old I've had an atypical fracture in both femurs due to osteoporosis medication. (put on Prolia 10 years ago). In my consult, it was recommended that I get off all osteoporosis medications. My plan is to stop prolia, take Alendronate to for 18 months and then take a drug holiday. That sounds right for me given my situation. But I would like to echo the suggestion of Windyshores and suggest that you consider a medical consultation to help you make your decision.