My first DEXA was 6 months after I broke my hip on ice (at 61) and had my emergency total hip replacement. I definitely fell through cracks where no one raised the OP flag while I was inpatient for that (kind of crazy in retrospect). My vitamin D levels have come back at 49 or 50 for years now and did so when I was inpatient for surgery as well, so maybe that steered them away from flagging me...(?)). I was told my DEXA would skip my left (surgery side) hip area and that my right forearm would always be included as a substitute for that missing data.

Thank you for the reminder that there are natural options to explore (especially when first dx'd if it is not severe OP). I believe under most circumstances I would try natural first, but I am an "old" mom and had 3 kids in my 40's. I'm eager to get back to skiing and hiking with them (we live in the mountain west) and while I immediately ordered GREAT BONES and am loving all the info, I decided to see if I could tolerate one of the anabolic meds (Forteo or Tymlos) as a first step because I'm finding I'm spooked (justifiably or not) that I'm fragile like a teacup now... I'm also super $ pragmatic and currently have great insurance that gave me a 2 year prior authorization for Tymlos without hassles. I would hate to try natural first, not get the desired results, and then be faced with paying for an anabolic right when I start Medicare (it being way harder to avoid high co-pays because the co-pay assistance programs can't be coupled with government sponsored insurance).

I'm so grateful to "meet" you. Do you still have 2-3 follow-ups looming with your surgeon? I'm eager to hear what they say about navigating OP with a total hip replacement (THR). (As I said, my first DEXA and OP dx came right at the END of all my surgery follow-ups, which is annoying, but it's water under the bridge at this point.)