My DEXA scan score is -5.7 and I had brain surgery, back surgery and a hip replacement WHILE I had a fractured wrist from osteoporosis! I did fine! I'm glad you are thinking long and hard about Forteo or any of those bisphosphonate drugs. I have been researching night and day - reading Ph.D.-level nutritional textbooks and reading everything I can get my hands on. I am in a support group for women with osteoporosis that do not want to take those drugs. We are all doing this by modifications to our diet and taking supplements. I must say: Be sure to run this past your doctor first! (But don't be surprised if your doctor does't know much about Vitamin K2.) There are two nutritionists in the group. I am taking vitamins D3 and K2 (mk4 mk7). Vitamin D3 is necessary for bone growth AND it reduces falls in people over 50 by more than 50%. Dr. John Cannell recommends a dose of 4,000 IU daily at least. You can get a blood test to see what your level is now. It should be over 50 ng/ml. Mine was at 3 when I started over a dozen years ago - it is up to 80-90 ng/ml now. I NEVER get a cold or flu - it really protects your body. Vitamin K2 (mk4 mk7) tells the calcium to go to your bones - not your arteries and not your kidneys (so no kidney stones). You can't really eat these vitamins - the food that contains them doesn't contain enough or is too unpleasant (try Natto). I keep track of the calcium I'm getting in food (there are apps for your phone to help you). I subtract what I get in food from what my body needs (1200 mg), and I take a calcium supplement for what I'm not getting. You also need magnesium. Calcium and magnesium are both minerals and they will compete for absorption. Your body can only absorb 500-600 mg every four hours of these two minerals. So if your calcium tablet is 1000 mg, break it in half and take the other half four hours or more later. I also take 3 mg of boron, once in the morning and once at night. You do not want to overdo the boron - the upper limit is 20 mg per day and it must be respected/. The good news is that tiny dose of boron has gotten rid of my horrible osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Completely gone! I can make a fist - I can flatten my hand out - it's amazing. Be sure to run it past your doctor. Many of the women on the support group have posted greatly improved DEXA scans scores. I will be having my scan done in a couple of months. I have't been doing this regimen for very long - but I hope it is long enough to show improvement. My last fracture was in 2018 - so there's a bit of good news. I just want to encourage women to think about nutrition instead of those horrible drugs. Or even if you insist on doing those drugs - do the nutrition thing right at the same time and just hope the drug doesn't cause the nutrients to leave the body. The mk4 and mk7 part of Vitamin K2 (mk4 mk7) just means that is the K2 that is right for the human body. Other animals need different kinds of K2. I am going to put an article link about K2 here - but in case it gets removed by the moderators, just Google Ultimate K2 Resource by Chris Masterjohn and it should find it - it is fascinating to read. I showed it to my friend who is a doctor and he bought a bottle of K2 (mk4 mk7) to give to me! Good luck to all of us on the journey. https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/blog/2016/12/09/the-ultimate-vitamin-k2-resource. By the way, the best calcium to get is coral, oyster shell, egg shells that have been sterilized - you can find these where ever you buy your supplements. Stay away from anything that has citrate in the name. It also helps to take a GOOD vitamin C (not ascorbic acid), a good Omega 3, stay off sugar as much as possible (that includes fruit and bread), and NO CARBONATED BEVERAGES! Carbonated beverages rob your body of phosphorus - and that is necessary for bone growth. I know, I had a major diet cola addiction my entire life. I've been off sugar and cola for five years on April 2, 2020. I've been studying nutrition since April 2, 2015. It is fascinating and my body has not been this heathy since I was a baby! Good luck everyone.