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Osteoporosis quite severe if I started hrt now will it help . I am 74
Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: 12 hours ago | Replies (73)Comment receiving replies
1. An orthopedist looked at the DEXA scan and said it was inaccurate. The lower lumbar vertebrae were rotated, and there was more than one standard deviation between low and high T scores. A difference of a few tenths apparently doesn't matter. I don't remember my scores off-hand.
2. I waited a year to see the orthopedist. I did a lot of reading and felt I was ok because again, I fell several times and nothing broke. I also came across information that raised concerns about DEXA accuracy. Also DEXA gives only a small piece of the puzzle. Dr. Susan Ott has some videos online you can find for her explanations.
3. It's been four years since the DEXA scan and I am still fine . The orthopedist uses the REMS ultrasound technology, and I will continue to use that instead of DEXA. If you want to continue to use DEXA you can research if there is a machine near you that offers the trabecular bone score software, which gives more info on bone quality. I think it costs extra, but it is more useful information. My orthopedist advised me to use only TBS equipped DEXA machines. There aren't any near me so I will continue with REMS. He says you cannot make errors with REMS as you can with DEXA. If the ultrasound can't get a good image it shows nothing for that area, whereas DEXA, if I understand it correctly, fills in the missing info on its own.
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Thank you for your information.
I am aware there are many problems associated with DEXA scans. McCormick lists and explores them in his 'Great Bones.'
I think one of the techs may possibly have done a lousy job of positioning me on the scan that showed my hip osteoporosis DX. A year later, a different tech took a lot of time to position me 'just so' and I was back to hip osteopenia. Both scans normal on spine.
The second DEXA was also after 2 Prolia injections, which then required a relay med to quit the Prolia. But I wonder whether I was actually diagnosed correctly; have another DEXA scan coming up in June.
Will also look for TBS for that next scan. The closest REM is a 7 hour drive.
I found no online DEXA videos from a Dr. Susan Ott who you referenced. She is apparently an MD who seems eminently qualified.
In contrast, there are a lot of videos posted by a 'Dr.' Susan Brown, who is NOT an MD but has a PhD in anthropology so therefore calls herself 'Dr.' I always try to verify the bio of people who give healthcare info online.
I ran across Brown's prolific video output when I first starting looking into osteoporosis but did not feel comfortable getting healthcare info from an anthropologist, even if she also claims to be a 'certified' nutritionist. She appears however to have an amazingly successful osteoporosis business catering to those who fear/want to avoid meds.