I didn’t reply earlier to your question because there is no definitive answer. Of course it’s possible to stay off osteoporosis medication because it’s always a personal choice to go on them in the first place. I’d ask this question instead:

“Is it possible to stay off osteoporosis drugs without fracturing?”

Fracturing is a serious outcome of osteoporosis that leads to significant health issues including loss of mobility and independence in your senior years and all the way up to death should one fracture a hip.

Many people do avoid fracturing for years but it’s a bell that can’t be unrung once it happens.

But another important question is whether osteoporosis medications prevent fractures? This is the scientific criteria that studies required for approval must research.

Approved medications do reduce the risk of fractures to some degree but cannot prevent them 100%.

Individual evaluation of risk vs. benefits comes into play when deciding whether to take osteoporosis medications. None of us can give you a definitive answer as to whether you should or shouldn’t take the drugs.

For me, after having a single fracture (while on Fosamax) and remembering my dad’s progression with osteoporosis has led me to doing whatever I can to prevent another. This includes addressing lifestyle (nutrition and exercise) and additional medications. It’s not been an easy path as I had side effects from both Tymlos, Forteo, and Evenity but the side effects on Evenity are tolerable enough for me to stay on it.

The problem, as I see it, is that we can’t predict what our outcome is for either path and others’ experiences are not that helpful.

T-scores can be informative but they don’t always correlate to fractures. Some people have very poor T-scores but never fracture. I had a T-score in the osteopenia range and still fractured.

In the end, my advice would be to consider all options, including medication, with an open mind and make your own decision.

This is probably not helpful in answering your question but I firmly believe it’s a question that can be answered only by you. For me, the answer is no. You may be different.

Good luck and keep asking questions and learning. You are on the right path!