Calcium and Vitamin D for bone density

I am not a doc but have been studying osteoporosis and treatments for it since I was diagnosed. Bisphosphonates (Fosomax, etc.), like all powerful drugs, do have risks attached. The only way to see it they are right for you is to ask your doctor and look up reliable information for yourself. We all have to look after our own health these days! The only thing I can say is that Boniva and Forteo helped me get back to osteopenia from severe osteoporosis. Exercise, vitamin D, calcium, are all good and part of the picture, but sometimes medicine is called for and in my case, I am glad that it was there for me. Best of luck and wishing you health and bone health!

Thanks!

Without. Adequate Vitamin D3, serum calcium does not enter bone matrix from readings I have done. So having adequate serum calcium alone does not benefit bone matrix if the D is low is my understanding.

AlgaeCal is not the best thing out there. ConsumerLab did not give them a passing grade because they still have too much lead in the medication and also does not contain as much magnesium as it says on the label. It is overpriced for what it is. Better to take boron, vitamin D3, vitamin K2 (mk4, mk7), and magnesium. If you need calcium, there are much better brands out there. Oyster shell is a good source of calcium. It is not expensive at all. ConsumerLab (if you don't know) is a consumer watchdog company that tests supplements to be sure they are what they say they are, they don't contain toxins, they are as strong as they say they are, and they open up in the body. Some pills just don't open up in the body and are therefore not absorbed. I had some turmeric that was like that once. At any rate, you can find ConsumerLab online - I have posted their information here many times. Membership is a little under $40 a year last time I checked. They have all the information on supplements and also hundreds if not thousands of peer-reviewed journal submissions discussing the merits and problems with various vitamins, minerals, etc. Well worth the money! AlgaeCal has been on their NOT APPROVED list for a couple years now. They took some of the lead out - but it still over the legal limit. Who wants lead in their calcium anyway?

Good information! Thank you very much!

Hi @criss and parrotqueen, I use AOR brand's Ortho Bone. This company from Canada, was recommended to me by Kathleen McChesney (hope I have that right) here on Connect. She also does tons of research. I found this product to be great except it doesn't have enough Boron so I take more. I like that it doesn't have Strontium in it. Parrotqueen, If you check it out on your site that you mention, could you please let me know your opinion please? And, could you please send that website again? Amazon sells their products however I wasn't able to findtheir Ortho Bone on their site. I know AOR was behind a few months ago and I haven't checked again on Amazon for this particular one which I feel is the best. I prefer to buy from the company if it's not more expensive than Amazon and it wasn't. I have a hard time trusting some sellers on Amazon when it comes to ingestibles in regard to how they store and ship. Are they stored at the right temperature? For how long? Shipped at right temperatures in Summer?

Take care and warmest wishes, Sunnyflower
PS: all my Connect emails are going back into my spam /junk folder again. My husband the computer guy, fixed it last week. It didn't last. No wonder I found 182 emails there! He's working on it again. He blocked Connect's domain /IP address from going into those folders so they shouldn't be. More stuff, different day. Ho hum. 🤔🌹

Thank you for your info regarding Forteo and the osteosarcoma study. My doctor has recommended this for me. May I ask your age and also what were your osteoporosis levels before and after Forteo?

FYI, I found Consumer Lab. Thank you. Also, I agree about AlgaeCal.

The address for those interested in ConsumerLab is simply http://www.consumerlab.com. I have posted it before and the moderators allowed it because the only thing they sell is their membership. I really enjoy being able to know the quality of the supplements I purchase - and even better, I enjoy being able to read articles that discuss various supplements and how they work in the body - I have learned so much! Because I am allergic to many prescription medications AND I have problems getting everything I need from food due to leaky gut, etc. (which I am healing), my doctor told me to use supplements. She looks at everything I choose and advises now and again. (If you haven't read it 1,000 times here before: I had a pituitary tumor that went undiagnosed until I was 61 years old - I'm 70 now. It caused many hormonal problems, and I must take 0.25 mg dexamethasone or hydrocortisone daily because my adrenals do not work. I also have to take Armour thyroid, and a tiny dose of estrogen and progesterone, and human growth hormone as I have hypopituitarism and lack all of these hormones...... the dexamethasone caused me to develop a nasty case of candida overgrowth,. I was able to get it under control by using herbal antifungals and probiotics - and I also do not consume any sugar. Sugar feeds candida overgrowth - I could write a book about this! I believe this horrible lack of hormones - which I probably had for most of my life (as I was born with that pituitary tumor) was probably the reason I have osteoporosis. After speaking to women who got osteonecrosis from taking drugs like Forteo, Prolia, Fosamax, and all the other "bone-building drugs, I decided I would fix my osteoporosis by eating better and taking supplements. I have studied nutrition since I was quite young, and have really poured myself into studying nutrition at the Ph.D. level for the past six years. There is SO MUCH to learn! I also found a lively group on Facebook called Osteoporosis Natural Remedies (It has a cup of orange-ish tea on the profile picture) that has helped also - people post a lot and this is where I found two women who spoke to me via phone about how they got osteonecrosis from those "bone building" drugs.... I went there the night before I was to start taking Prolia and they changed my mind. There is at least one Ph.D. level nutritionist that posts there. Many many people have posted their before and after DEXA scan scores there , and they share all the supplements they have been taking, exercises, everything they can think of that has helped them. It has been exciting to see their progress and improved scores. Because I do not have an immune system, my infectious disease doctor does not want me to get another DEXA scan until I have either been vaccinated for Covid 19 or until this pandemic is over, I am chomping at the bit to get this test done so I will know if I have been successful. What I DO know is that prior to 2018, my bones were so deficient, I was fracturing. The worst was my right wrist, but I had other fractures. However, the fracturing seems to have stopped! So it has been three years since my last fracture!!! My last DEXA scan revealed a score of -5.7 and I can barely wait to see if I have made progress. I am working very hard to get the vaccine, and it shouldn't be much longer due to my age and my lack of an immune system, and I promise to post it no matter what it is - just as soon as I get a new scan. I'm thinking perhaps another couple months. California seems to be running out of the first batch of vaccine. I listen to these ads for the bone building drugs on TV and for the life of me, I don't know why anybody would take that stuff! They talk about the risk factors and talk about the possibility of getting a hip or femur fracture, osteonecrosis, loosening and loss of your teeth, UTI, pain in joints, bones, muscles, a worsening of fractures when you stop taking the drug, ad infinitum. I REALLY do not want any of those side effects. I want lasting and healthy improvement of my bones. All of that type of drug does not lead to permanent improvement to your bones. It wold be so easy to just take the drug - but I am not interested in getting those side effects AND not having healthy bones in the end.

As for the freshness and other concerns with buying from Amazon: I have friends that work at Amazon. They assure me the supplements sell very quickly. I do not buy probiotics from Amazon as they need to be refrigerated (the best ones need to be refrigerated). I have never gotten an expired supplement - and if I did, I would complain and they would send me a new bottle. The supplements are stored properly. If you don't like a particular seller, you can just not order from that source - but the ONLY problem I have ever had was with a third-party seller that was charging too much at the beginning of the pandemic for masks. When I reported the problem to Amazon, that seller was removed and no longer is allowed to sell on Amazon (they advertised 20 N95 masks for $50. Something told me to make a screen shot of their product page. When my package arrived, there were only two masks! Not 20. They had to refund my money and were not allowed to sell their product any more.). I cannot find my supplements cheaper any other place.

Another thing I was surprised to learn was that going off sugar is a very good thing to do for your bones! Going off sugar has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done for my body. It takes me off the list for developing many diseases - and if it doesn't completely remove the risk of getting a wide assortment of diseases, it greatly reduces the risk. Things like cancer, osteoporosis, tooth loss - the list is endless. I know it is a very drastic lifestyle change, but I highly recommend it to anybody that wants improved health. It is only hard for the first two weeks - then the body stops craving sugar. When I first started this diet six years ago, there were very few prepared foods available for people on a no-sugar diet. Now there are all kinds of things - like crackers made with almond meal instead of wheat, mustard made with Apple Cider Vinegar instead of distilled vinegar, etc. There are even pizzas (my favorite is made by Against The Grain) and delicious snacks called Cauliflower Stalks. The diet I am doing can be found in a book called The Candida Cure by Ann Boroch. If anybody decides to try this diet, let me know and I can supply some recipes. Sugar causes inflammation and inflammation causes disease. Antibiotics, steroids, hormones and stress can cause a person to get candida overgrowth (remember vaginal yeast infections? That's a case of candida overgrowth).

Every body is different. Arm yourself with research and as much valid information as you possibly can - then make the decision that is best for you. I am constantly learning more and tweaking my diet or supplements. What works for me may not work for you. Try to find a doctor who can talk to you about nutrition. I went to over seven endocrinologists and not one of them knew anything about nutrition and the role of things like boron and vitamin K2 (mk4, mk7) or vitamin D3. All they knew was Prolia, Forteo, etc. I wanted to see a functional doctor, but could not afford it. That's when I knew I had to do my own research and educate myself. I am blessed to have one excellent doctor that can discuss supplements in an intelligent way. I feel very lucky to have this doctor on my team. Considering all the things that are wrong with my body - autoimmune diseases (there were 15 of them - but they have ALL improved since going offf sugar), the pituitary tumor, etc., I am doing the best ever - and although I am 70 years old, many days I feel like I'm in my 20s again. I am very grateful.

Of course! I am now 66. Except for polymyalgia rheumatica right now I have enjoyed good health my whole life. I am 5' 2" tall and keep my weight as close to 120 as I can. Smallish person. I was diagnosed, to my horror, with severe osteoporosis in Oct. 2014. When I was diagnosed my T-score was -3.3 at the lumbar spine. My endocrinologist put me on monthly Boniva, a bisphosphonate, which was (and is) considered a first line of defense drug. In Nov. of 2016 my Dexa scan lowest score was -2.1.
I stopped Boniva and started Forteo (real name teriparatide) in Dec. of 2016. In 2018 my Dexa scan score was -1.1 at the lumbar spine, osteopenia and close to normal. In total, I stayed on Forteo for 2 years plus a few months (the pens have more than a month's doses in them) because that is the time limit for Forteo. So Boniva helped, but Forteo put me over the top (almost!).
I read, sadly and too late, that bone health and strength benefits from a teriparatide-first, bisphosphonates second treatment. Bisphosphonates like Boniva are the first line because they are cheap and easy to use (a pill once a month in my case). Forteo is expensive and requires daily shots in the thigh.
There is a third option and that is SERMs - selective estrogen replacement modulators - which have a different mechanism of action. The use of SERMs for osteop. was discovered when it was shown that women who took the drug to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer also had less osteoporosis. Risks attached to this as well, most notably deep vein thrombosis. Brand name Evista (raloxifene).
Since the black box warning on Forteo has been removed I am hopeful that if I need to go back on it I will be able to. This hope has been expressed to me by my new rheumatologist recently. He is treating me for PMR.
From what I have read, Prolia (denosumab) is to be avoided. Multiple spinal fractures on stopping this drug due to rapid bone loss. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30659428/#:~:text=After%20the%20second%20denosumab%20dose,%20there%20is%20a,uncertainties,%20denosumab%20is%20a%20second-line%20treatment%20for%20osteoporosis. Other risks as well.
I am glad to be able to share my story with others and am grateful for forums like this one that allow us to share and learn from each other! I learned a lot from the National Osteoporosis Foundation's forum at insire.com as well. Look up "my journey with Forteo" -- it is fascinating, by a contributor named "hocadobi."
Good luck and bone blessings and health to you!