@dorsetgirl65
Hello, I just got a REMS scan at OsteoStrong Happy Valley just outside of Portland. They have a permanent machine and a highly trained technician. They have appts at least two days a week. REMS is highly reliable and the reason endocrinologists know nothing is because they receive no training outside of pill distribution and many choose not to educate themselves further. The DXA scan is highly fallible due primarily to operator and interpretation error - see study published Natl Institute of Health: DXA Errors Are Common and Reduced by Use of a Reporting Template
D Krueger et al. J Clin Densitom. 2019 Jan-Mar. (I’m not allowed to include link)

At 57, I had a diagnosis of severe osteoporosis and no additional testing ordered by the endocrinologist - she wanted me to do 5- yrs of meds right away.
I went away and researched on my own. I went to my GP and asked for a couple blood and urine tests that essentially provide levels of bone sloughing (osteoclast) in my blood to see if they showed similar severe results. All results came back in the normal range, high normal but NORMAL range. I had the results sent to the endo. Endo said your levels are normal, let me know if you want to start medication. What kind of care is that?!
I just got my REMS scan. The technician explained that my L2 and L1 are tucked under (my chiro has said similar in the past) and she had to tilt the wand to get accurate imaging. She said that could be the reason DXA was inaccurate. I also have calcification (CPPD) in my system, which can affect DXA.
My REMS shows osteopenia in spine and femoral neck NOT severe osteoporosis. My fracture risk is in the green - the green is totally healthy!
The endocrinologist was ready to put me on meds that can have serious side effects and make bone more brittle in the long run all based on one DXA and nothing to corroborate. I was also told by her “you cannot reverse osteoporosis” - I don’t believe that when people are improving their bone density all the time with specific weight and impact training, proper nutrition, supplements, and hormone replacement therapy. Check out Osteoporosis Reversal Secrets by Igor Klibanov to start your own research journey.
I would say PLEASE don’t start meds until you know your baselines from multiple angles and try your own interventions. Don’t just trust the meds - our medical system needs to start including training in exercise and nutrition, along with determining the WHY behind a diagnosis. Instead, so many women are diagnosed with a single scan and medicated with dangerous drugs. I’m not alone with my story.