Which doctor is best to treat Osteoporosis?

The rheumatologist I saw recently about another matter said that many of them are getting away from treating osteoporosis due to being overwhelmed dealing with other issues that are related to inflammation.

I use an endo for osteoporosis and rheumatologist for other stuff (lupus, scleroderma). When I first started years ago with all this, it became pretty clear to me that in my area, endocrinology was the best for bones.

+1 on endocrinologist recommendation.

happy2023,
with two spinal compression, the best doctor is the one who you can see the earliest. Would your primary run tests and prescibe?
I think an endocrinologist is more focused on osteoporosis, but some are primarily invoved with diabetes or other endocrine disorders. If there is a specialist in osteoporosis you are more likely to get the best care.

A doctor who is interested in osteoporosis and well educated in that area.

Sometimes a hospital will have a department that specializes in osteoporosis. You can visit the Web pages of the major medical centers near you and search for that. That might be more useful than trying to pick an individual doctor out of the phone book, so to speak.

I see an endocrinologist who specializes in osteoporosis. I had to wait several months before getting the first appointment. Can you ask your primary care provider for a referral to a specialist?

@naturegirl5 do you know if endocrinologists who specialize in osteoporosis are typically willing to see patients at risk of osteopenia/osteoporosis? I'm about a year into aromatase inhibitors and concerned b/c my bones are at high risk, but my current oncologist is more of the mindset of lets wait until you are at osteoporosis to do anything. I'd much rather try to get ahead of it and understand what my options are for preserving what I have rather than wait til its gone.

@lilacs777 It might be good to keep in mind that Reclast and other bisphosphonates have a recommended limit of 3-5 years.

I was not able to do Reclast during my 5 years of letrozole even though I already had osteoporosis, because my endo was afraid of triggering afib (I already had it every once in awhile, and this risk has been disproven since) and kidney disease.

I did lose bone and did fracture- after treatment was done, mainly because COVID interfered with going on Tymlos in time. I did two years of Tymlos and my bones are now better than before cancer, but that may be an unusual gain.

I think the answer will depend on your DEXA scores. Doctors aren't prescribing for osteopenia anymore and some people aren't doing meds for early/mild osteoporosis. All the meds have time limits and they add up so that those of us who have done a lot of them run out!

The other concern with not doing Reclast or Zometa (both zoledronic acid) is that they are not thought to be beneficial for preventing spread of cancer. That is something to discuss with your oncologist.

thank you @windyshores , this is very helpful info, I had no idea that some of the bone density drugs had time limits