I haven't had time yet to do a full post on my Echolight ultrasound a few weeks ago, but here's the basic info:
the orthopedist suspects that older women are suspected of being frail just because of their age, so I was asked if I would participate in a study in which my age was changed but the ultrasound was the same. Yes, of course. I'm 86 and the age submitted was 56. It showed me as one point into osteopenia. My DEXA a couple of months before the ultrasound was well into osteoporosis and I was being urged to take the drugs. I had broken my femur in a fall, and one of the doctors argued that I'd broken the strongest bone in my body so I really needed to take action. Good point. If anyone is seriously researching all this, I suggest you get an Echolight scan, costs about $250, takes about 20 minutes, no radiation, and gives you information about the strength and flexibility of your interior bone structure. (Insurance probably won't cover this or a consult with the orthopedist.) You can get some of this info from a trabecular scan done at the time of the DEXA, but my request for that was denied. I didn't get a five-year risk assessment from the Echolight because all medical risks, for cardiac, cancer, obesity, etc. do not apply after you're 80. The ortho said my biggest risk is just being over 80, so he can't assure me that I won't break more bones. Possibly I twisted my leg when I fell? Yes I did - that could be a huge factor. I was told to continue what I'm doing - the McCormick collagen, vitamin D, exercise as much as possible. At my age, with these bones, he said I would not benefit from any of the drugs. Echolight is now the standard in Europe and probably will be here in the next ten years or so. It was developed by Italian nerds trying to figure out why half the older people with osteoporosis who fall don't break bones, and half the people without osteoporosis do break bones when they fall. They took endless ultrasounds of the bones in each category and your bones get compared to those results. It's the inner architecture of the bones that makes the difference - you can change the density of the bones with drugs but that may not mean you get stronger bones that are more flexible. This ortho does recommend the drugs in some cases and definitely my advanced age is the big factor in my diagnosis and treatment. I've had a potentially fatal condition misdiagnosed in my life, and as a result I always think, Someone Knows - you should try hard to find the best advice you can get.

The collagen supplement certainly doesn't hurt, and there's some evidence that it helps.

Also: my wife takes it, not for osteoporosis, but because she says her nails look better. 🙂