Hard Fall

One other thing I noted: Because the Apple Watch works in conjunction with the iPhone when dialing emergency contacts (unless, of course the watch is cellular), the watch would need to be “connected” - nearby - to the phone to work. Can anyone confirm?

Agree! I only wish they were more affordable especially for people who need that fall detection!

@beanieone, I am including a link because those who have not considered this technology may be interested, but here is this part:

"If cellular and Wi-Fi coverage are not available, and your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro or later is near your Apple Watch, Fall Detection will use your iPhone to send the notification using Emergency SOS via satellite, where Emergency SOS via satellite is available."

Here's how it all works: https://www.forbes.com/health/medical-alert-systems/apple-watch-falldetection/#:~:text=Apple%20Watch%20Fall%20Detection%20uses,the%20watch%20is%20being%20worn.

vibration and NOISY buzz

I certainly hope you’re fine, just a bit shaken up. But I do want to offer my story as a cautionary tale. Last October I tripped over my vacuum cleaner, ricocheted off a wall, and landed on a wooden floor smack on my lumbar spine. After a few minutes I was able to get up. I went for an X-ray the next day, and was relieved to hear there was no fracture, since my spinal Z score is -3.3.

I had enough pain after several days that I called my physiatrist, who immediately ordered another X-ray and an MRI. Both showed a new compression fracture at L1, even though that wasn’t where the pain was.

My point is that it apparently can take some time for a fracture to show up. So unless you see a rapid decrease in pain, it might pay to try to get additional imaging done.

I had been struggling over what meds to take. Prolia hadn’t done much in about three years, so I went back on Fosamax in the spring, but that made me so sick that my gastroenterologist thought it wise to do an endoscopy (fortunately negative except for my longstanding GERD). So I sucked it up, spent the required thousands, and went on Tymlos in January l, so far w/o major problems.

My point is that if you continue to have pain, perhaps it might be a good idea to reconsider your entire situation. I hope your time on Evenity and Tymlos have you at a point where you can withstand a fall w/o breaking something. But it’s not always obvious at first.

Osteoporosis is no fun.

After my sit-down fall, my neck feels like the jarring may have none something to the compressed discs there. Fortunately, I have my regular myopathy check-up next week.

I’ve had four compression fractures - my rheumatologist didn’t recommend x-rays or an MRI until after (I think) my third and he knew about my lower back pain. After that, I had another (burst) fracture that went undiagnosed until I had an x-ray in the ER (a visit caused by severe reactions to Tymlos). Oddly enough, my T-scores were not “bad enough” to make my doc think I was at high risk for fractures.

My “spine” guy says these fractures can be caused by something as simple as sneezing and not always a “bone-shattering” event. I agree, @anewyorker! Sometimes I wish I had known about the event(s) that caused me to lose 1” in height, pretty suddenly; perhaps a kyphoplasty might have helped. So, ‘tis what ‘tis.

The best to you all. Thanks to everyone who replied to the Phone/Watch conversation. Cheers!

I don't think I am using all the health functions of my Samsung watch, so am not entirely sure why it went off. But it was a reminder not to stand up too quickly, which I am always aware of when getting out of the leg press at the gym. My father stood up from a seated position on his stair climber, blood pressure dropped - he fell and banged his head.. That put him into aged care. Especially important when you're bending low - gardening for example.

After reading about the emergency call features, I did some additional investigating and discovered other great functions of the watch that aren’t necessarily health related :).

I have always had blood pressure on the low side, so I am very aware of what can happen when standing too quickly. Not sure, but perhaps Evenity has lowered my BP even more.

Because of my fear of falling, not just since my OP diagnosis, but in general, I do try to make my surroundings safe, but, once in awhile, I push it to the limit . . . ladders, bicycles . . . At the age of 85, my dad could fall and get right up, my mom couldn’t manage that at 65. My dad also pushed life to the limit. His motto: “When you stop, you stop!”. Sounds like you are doing your best to stay healthy and enjoy life! Cheers @freckle1!

Sent some old school pals a photo of me sitting on the beach with the grandkids. They were surprised I could still get up. I said I can but it sure ain't pretty to watch. Best done at sunset when most people have gone home! And definitely no photos allowed.