msvette, I'm glad you are feeling better. Hoping the side effects are over. Some people get achy joints with alendronate after a time. Maybe you won't. While your dxa scores say that you are osteoporotic (any thing lower than -2.5 is indicative), smaller bones measure lower numbers because the measure less space. You may deserve a higher score. But you've passed the period of time where you lose the most bone. Alendronate may be a very good drug for you.
Your life sounds very nice, uncomplicated, sitting in the AZ sun. What kinds of books do you like to read?
You might not care the least about the medical jargon but
the first number 0.556 is the amount of mineral per square centimeter
then -2.6 compares your mineral to that of a healthy 30 year old called the T-score