Depression and Tymlos

Wow indeed, @gowalking, that's a lot of questions.
What do I think about when I'm depressed? Mostly nothing, but we're not going to go there in any event.

The DEXA issue was, for me, a means of considering whether maybe I'd gotten sufficient benefit from 9 months of Tymlos, that I could just stop it now, (which is kind of the answer to your question how I'd feel about Tymlos if my DEXA showed improvement in 9 mos) and transition to Prolia, which the doc said would be the natural followup anyway. But in either case the side effects warrant my stopping temporarily, regardless of what a DEXA would show, and if they resolve or don't resolve will I think be a good indicator of whether to resume the Tymlos or go to something different. Women's health and osteoporosis - two interesting topics: I'm a 78 year old male, and my T-scores were just at the edge of osteoporosis, so I'm hoping and, frankly, expecting that even 9 months of Tymlos have moved them down into the osteopenia range, and that if I transitioned now to Prolia as maintenance for the long-term, I'd be OK. That may be either ignorance or denial on my part, but that's where I'm at at the moment. That's why I need to get busy educating myself better.

Unfortunately, there are not enough doctors who are well educated on osteoporsis. We often get thrown in with the GP or GYN and treatments seem more like an experiment.
Considering our aging generation, you would think.....
In my area, there is not even a support group. This forum gives me a lot of information.

As far as "what do you think about...." Im just wondering if its the unknows of our futures living with osteoporosis.
Do we take a treatment until we die? How long can we take treatments? What are the long term effects? Down the road will we find this was not a good treatment? Those are the questions that plague me. How do we know, when even our doctors, who are treating us, really don't?
But yes, do educate yourself and PLEASE share what you learn!! This forum is the best education I have gotten.
And let us know what your DEXA SCAN shows. Im hoping you will be pleased.

Yes! And I am infuriated when I think of the pittance spent on women's health research. We need to all demand that our representatives pursue more money.

So, following up almost two weeks into withdrawal from Tymlos…

It took only about three days off Tymlos for my mood to pick up, which was quite nice, but only one day before I developed a new wave of low back pain, which was later accompanied by back spasms, all of which lasted six days and then just… went away. And my appetite has picked up and I’ve gained back 2 or 3 of the pounds I lost. So I seem to be on the right track.

My concern at this time is, assuming the Tymlos caused that set of problems, my doc is offering Forteo as an alternative, and I’m wondering if that’s going to be any better. It took 8 months of Tymlos before the side effects whacked me; if Forteo acted the same way, I’d be just about done and assuming I recovered from any ill effects like I am from the Tymlos, it wouldn’t be so horrible.

But I’m also considering asking for a DEXA scan to see how much gain I’ve made, and if it’s significant, maybe just stop now altogether and transition to Prolia to preserve the gains.

I’m interested in people’s opinions about whether that’s a crazy idea, and about Forteo in general. What I’ve read seems to suggest it’s not as effective as Tymlos, but better than the next best thing.

I am just starting this process and my Dr. has suggested Tymlos, which is why I started this group.
Thank you for being so candid and sharing this.

Well, @mostlyok you're in for an interesting ride. If you go back through the last couple years of postings about Tymlos and the other bone-building drugs you'll find tons of information, much of it pretty technical and much of it stuff your doctor may or may not be aware of, but it all comes from peoples' real experiences. How all of it may or may not apply to you given your body's needs and condition, will be unknown until you actually try the meds. My personal opinion is that osteoporosis doesn't go away but we can improve our bones and our health and that these drugs are or may be one of the tools for doing that, along with education, exercise, diet, being careful not to fall, etc... Be proactive, you'll do OK 🤞

The new administration is cutting back on medical research, including cancers. So good luck getting anyone to pay attention to women’s issues.

I love "Don't ever think that your reaction to these drugs is all in your head. They are real to us." and "Don't be hard on ourselves when we don't feel well."

I think what you share is really the most supportive thing I've read!

Trying to ignore our own experience with our body goes against any sense of well-being.

Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts. The entire piece you write from 'Do we take a treatment until we die? .....Through "How do we know when even our doctors treating us really don't?" All this really speaks for me, also. You're right about this forum; it's not only an education it feels like emotional support.

Thx you. Yes this forum has been good for me. I know from it I am not alone.