Connect
← Return to What protocols did anyone use to stop Prolia?
Discussion
What protocols did anyone use to stop Prolia?
Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: Jul 18 4:18pm | Replies (20)Comment receiving replies
Based on the readings I've done so far, there doesn't seem to be a well-defined, quantifiable method for interpreting bone markers. To me, the trend is my friend. The overall trend appears to be the most informative, especially when comparing your lab results to patterns observed in clinical studies. When starting a new or uncertain treatment pathway, it's ideal to have a baseline before initiation, and to monitor periodically to assess whether the therapy is effective. Admittedly, it can sometimes take persistence to convince a physician - but presenting clear reasoning can help (you could also ask pcp for lab order, my insurance doesn't mind who orders them). That said, during the process of prolia discontinuation, monitoring bone turnover markers is essential. This might be a good reference to start:
https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/44/3/417/6889555
If you are comfortable sharing, what are your bone marker levels at this point in your therapy?
Replies to "Based on the readings I've done so far, there doesn't seem to be a well-defined, quantifiable..."
Connect
Thanks for this reference on the bone turnover markers, @mayblin. It is indeed a good place to start.
My last dexa, which was done this past January while I was still injecting Tymlos, gave me a lumbar T score of -1.2; left femoral neck and left total hip were both -3.4.
I gained next to nothing in two years in my hip on the Tymlos. It did a better job for me in the spine, a 7.1 % increase in BMD, pushing me back into the osteopenic range.
The situation with my hips makes me very nervous, and is the main reason I have been trying to find out if Evenity would be safe for me given my cardiac history. I thought maybe I could do a couple of months just to boost my P1NP. (Hence my many questions about the drug -- don't want a heart attack trying to save my skeleton.)
A side issue: I have some avascular necrosis in my hips, thought to be the result of 13 years on steroids for ulcerative colitis. The necrosis isn't widespread. But it makes me wonder how much of a gain I can expect in the hip from any osteoporosis drug. Yet another question to which I have not been able to find an answer...