Doug Lucas and Algaecal Plus???

@lpalbert27 I went on Forteo as all the loss was in my spine. It was effective with no side effects. After the two year course I went on HRT to maintain the gains. I was 62 at that time and it was 7 years ago when no one was prescribing HRT and my docs were not supportive but ultimately agreed. It has maintained my gains, possibly improved my gains but I exercise a lot and am very diligent about my nutrition so it's all of the above that have helped.

@maryellenb Regarding taking high doses of strontium, you might be interested in this article that says, "When used in a high-dose supplemental form, strontium actually replaces calcium within your bones. Over time, this mineral substitution builds up and causes your DEXA scan results to appear artificially high. Strontium makes your bones appear dense, healthy and strong according to the DEXA x-ray machine — but in reality, your bones could be brittle, weak and malnourished.

The form of the mineral most frequently used in high-dose supplementation – strontium citrate – has never been approved by the FDA for treatment of osteoporosis, which means that there is no official FDA guidance on dosing, safety or long-term effects for strontium citrate in osteoporosis treatment."
https://www.womenshealthnetwork.com/bone-health/the-problem-with-high-dose-strontium/

@daisy17 I am begrudgingly new to this world of osteoporosis, so I am just now starting to learn from others and research on my own.

There are a lot of Strontium users on this site and also on Inspire who are super smart people and they have had fantastic results. They have TONS of research that shows the opposite of what it says in your article. And of course, conflicting research means we tend to get conflicted as well.

But I have chosen to reverse osteoporosis naturally, and my regimen includes taking Strontium.

To me, it seems far-fetched that pharmaceutical medications would be better for our bodies than a naturally occuring substance.

It's sort of like back in the 80s when doctors were telling women that it was safer to have a cesarean birth vs a natural delivery.

I had that cesarean because I was told I'd die and that my baby would die if I even attempted a natural delivery, and all because my baby was guessed to be large. That didn't make sense to me because I was a 9# baby back when babies were in the 6/7# range, and my mother's labor was so fast she didn't make it to the hospital in time. If my mom could do it, I knew in my gut that I could too.

But in the end, I knew I couldn't live with myself if the doctor's fear mongering turned out to be true, so I had that unnecessary cesarean. And then I went into the birth field to prevent other women from being sliced open for no medical reason, as I was.

If you look at the research from WHO, our now 30%+ cesarean rate should be around 10%. At the Farm in Tennessee, where they've been doing home births for 40+ years, I believe their cesarean rate is less than 5%. I know the rate for the women in my class and for the women who I attended in labor was 2.8%.

Long story short.

I'm getting the feeling that this entire field of osteoporosis is sort of like natural births vs cesareans.

@squitirogloria Welcome to the complicated world of Osteoporosis - sorry that you need to join us in this bumpy journey.

I am still researching whether to take Strontium Citrate (SrC). The points in the example article referenced by @squitirogloria are consistent with other articles that I have read. But there are additional considerations.

My primary concern with taking strontium is that it will make my DEXA scan look better than my BMD really is. In the US and Canada, physicians and insurers rely on DEXA results to guide treatment decisions.

REMS is not approved for diagnosing Osteoporosis in US or Canada, although I believe REMS is in Europe. My doctor would not approve Bone Turnover Marker (BTM) tests for me perhaps because they may not be covered by my insurance, but I haven't even started figuring out how BTMs are affected by strontium. None of the DEXA machines I was referred to had Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) capability and I am not clear whether doctors or insurance companies use TBS to decide treatments.

Strontium lasts for 10+ years in your bones. Do I want to do something now that could risk 10+ years from now not being able to qualify for a drug treatment because my DEXA looks too good? Maybe so, if the benefits appear good enough to me.

Being "natural" will not impact my own decisions except to recognize that there is insufficient financial incentive for funding research on non-patentable treatments such as Strontium Citrate. Arsenic, like strontium, is also naturally occurring.

The below example article is about Strontium Ranelate (SrR) which was never available in the US. As of 2025 is no longer available anywhere. It is not clear if strontium delivered by SrCitrate has the same effects as SrR, but I hope so because the research on SrR was promising.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8235140/

I'm sorry for all of us who are here for this reason. That said, I've met such wonderful people, so there's always a silver lining. All the best to you.

After much research and interacting with others I decided to use Strontium Citrate. As well as started BHRT.

I know my DEXA would be skewed, but Im also getting a TBS score with my upcoming DEXA, which should be helpful.
Osteoporosis meds purpose is to prevent fractures, Strontium Citrate can do the same without some of those serious side effects the osteoporosis meds can have.

Here is a study on Strontium Citrate
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3265100/
My decison was also based on how to manage osteoporosis long term for my age. It did not seem feasible to use the osteoporosis meds for 20 plus years and not have side effects.

@oknowwhatpixie
I am on BHRT these last few months and when I finish my Evenity shots (4 to go) plan to skip those other osteo drugs, too. I'll be looking into strontium, even though it skews dexa results, because, honestly, isn't that what fosamax, etc., do , making us hold on to brittle old bone just so our bones appear denser? Good luck to you?

@callmekate

Are you hoping to hold onto any gains with the strontium and the bhrt?
Will your physician be willing to ask Insurance to cover yearly rather than every 2 years so that you can track how your plan is working? If not, I have read here that you can private pay for a dexa and that it is not a terrible cost (depending on your budget). Good luck.

@gravity3 I don't know what my insurance would cover, actually, since this is my first year on Medicare. I want to hold on to any gains from Evenity, in the safest way possible, and when I read about bisphosphonates, they all look like a bad bet, to me. It's a conundrum.

@callmekate - My plan is the same: finish my last 4 months Evenity injections & then move on to strontium citrate a month after the last injection. I have spent 8 months of research on this forum as well as Inspire & have read numerous medical publications. I've been on a low-dose form of vaginal estrogen for several yrs, but about a yr ago the dr modified the dosage to hopefully address OP. I have read almost as many articles & medical publications stating that estrogen also improves bone density.

I've been rehearsing my script for the dr's appt next month where she will propose the follow-up drug. I just want to give my body a break & see what impact BHRT & SC & increased exercise will have on my bones. The dr did order the bone turnover markers before she started me on Evenity. I will request that they be ordered again...perhaps 6 mo after the last Evenity injection to see whether I'm gaining or losing density. I have an HMO version of Medicare & both Evenity & the initial bone turnover markers were approved without any hassle.

I very reluctantly went on Evenity (no prior drugs or fractures). I should have done my homework first. However, if there are significant gains, then it gives me a stronger starting point from which to work.

I will watch this thread to see if you post your progress. ~Blessings!