Is there a supplement that really works?

Posted by debbik @debbik, Nov 14, 2024

I was diagnosed 6 years ago with osteoporosis. I thought I was doing everything possible to build bone density but my latest bone density showed it got worse by 6%. I am taking a supplement called ‘bone-up’ which is supposed to be natural and has StimuCal. I’m wondering if there are better supplements out there that really help? Has anyone seen positive bone density results? If so, I would love to know what you are taking and doing. By the way, I’m 65, and try to be fairly active. Thank you.

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@njx58

Fractures are going to heal in time no matter what. The calcium and magnesium may have helped you feel better. A drop of what is 99.9% water didn't do it,

I'm sorry, but homeopathy is quackery. There is no reputable medical body in the world that supports it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy#:~:text=The%20lack%20of%20convincing%20scientific,best%20and%20quackery%20at%20worst%22.

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I think that supplements can help and are worth trying. Everyone is different and their bone density loss have different causes. If the cause can be controlled there is the potential for improvement. I, myself, am seeking a he non prescription drug route. If it works to maintain or improve where I am at, then perfect. If not, then I may need to revert to drugs, but I don’t feel as though I am wasting my time. @pking1952 I am so glad this is working for you with such an improvement in your last dexa scan, and thanks for sharing your story.

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Thank you. I 100% agree. I think that my issues may have been caused by thyroid cancer and the med dosages were wrong. The last check up I had on the levels for thyroid replacement were off the chart in the wrong direction. So, what I learned about that is - you can't grow bone if the thyroid level is way off. Having the 12% increase improvement from taking these supplements really gives me hope that this can turn around completely. The Dexascan results say that I now am at the osteopenia stage in stead of osteoporosis. I'm hoping you can find something that will work for you outside of the harsh drugs currently prescribed. Prayers.

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Thanks for being here!
I reluctantly started Evenity, today. I was on Prednisone 60mg for a mysterious lung disease that was to be my future and it is now in remission, likely from the Prednisone but my Dexa scan and several other things were highly affected. . I am off supplemental oxygen. Praise! It’s about 5 hours later and I have large, hard lumps at the injection site of my upper arms. Any thoughts? Thank you!

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Praying you will tolerate the treatment with no side effects. Good luck on everything.

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@stuffy

Thank you so much for this link! I have been overwhelmed trying to read McCormick's GREAT BONES (which I've loaned to a younger friend trying to cope with a very doctrinaire endo) and explain what I've learned so far to friends who can't figure out what to do - but this is the best primer! Dropping my collagen right now since it is probably the source of my anxiety (not the election) and getting only type 1 from his site. It's all here - the mechanics of it all, the options, details of exercise, etc.

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I’m newly diagnosed at 74 and just starting to research. I’m wondering about the collagen. I’ve been taking vital proteins collagen peptides for a few years now. Should I stop? Thankful I landed on this page.

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@klynn0711

I’m newly diagnosed at 74 and just starting to research. I’m wondering about the collagen. I’ve been taking vital proteins collagen peptides for a few years now. Should I stop? Thankful I landed on this page.

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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.

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@klynn0711

I’m newly diagnosed at 74 and just starting to research. I’m wondering about the collagen. I’ve been taking vital proteins collagen peptides for a few years now. Should I stop? Thankful I landed on this page.

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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. 🙂

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@stuffy

Thank you! I'll find out who she's seeing - it's at UNC Chapel Hill. This was a second appointment and they took more blood and will be proceeding with estrogen patch if nothing else turns up. But this other possibility was mentioned... She's lean and long-legged, and at around 13 suddenly her feet grew to size 11, which I thought would mean she's going to be very tall, but she's not, so far. She's very stressed, and that seems to be one possible cause.
Used to do gymnastics until she got a lump on her wrist that's mysterious. Now she does acrobatics and cheerleading, of all things. I was surprised they didn't mention testing for celiac, but maybe that's not meaningful.

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A close friend of mine didn't get her period until she was 16. She's always been healthy. Hope all goes well with your granddaughter!

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@stuffy

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.

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I forgot a crucial element: the orthopedist was very happy that I am on a very low dose of bioidentical estrogen/progesterone, topically applied. Evista is an alternative for those who don't want to use estrogen. And calcium, which needs to be from food sources.

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@stuffy

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.

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Collagen and bone supplements do help. I would check out the better bones web site. Drop brown has help many without medicine. I also found a product by native health called organ support it gives you all the support liver gives your body but without the taste. This helps your whole body for support and strength. It seems to make a difference overall which helps bones.

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