I reversed osteoporosis without drugs

Here is a more conventional list of foods with calcium:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/calcium-rich-foods/

You are probably correct. I can't remember exactly what he recommended but I thought he said something about someone fracturing one bone after another and having to take bisphosphonates temporarily just to try and stem the tide. In any case, I can't see a good reason for taking bisphosphonates in general. I mean,,,why not just go to something that builds more good bone rather than discourage the breakdown of bone that needs to be replaced?

Hi Windyshores. I wasn't aware of the severity of your circumstances when I asked the question. I'm not a doctor, however, I can see Tymlos was probably the right decision for you. My spine is -3.3 and femoral hip neck -2.7. My hip and forearm are progressing but still osteopenia. My doctor is putting me on Prolia (after dental work). I've been keeping a food log trying to identify a specific allergy. This highlighted my diet. Although I eat well (whole foods) I haven't been getting enough protein, fruit/veggies. I've now have a full court press on my diet and exercise regime. I'm hopeful this and Prolia would improve my overall numbers over time.

Is that " minimal supplementation" he recommends or are those his recommendations for daily requirements? If that calcium recommendation is for supplementation, it is very high as that is the total that is currently recommended of a combination of food and supplements with no more than 2000 mg a day max (and I'm reading more and more that the 1000-1200mg/daily combined is even high). Perhaps those were his total daily combined recommendations of nutrients obtained through food and supps?

I don't recall off hand if he said that was total being food and supplements or supplements only. My guess is supplements only. It's increasingly difficult to get everything we need from food as the amounts of vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables in much less than it used to be because of depletion in the soils they're grown in. I know for myself, I have a very slow metabolism and just don't eat that much food. Consequently, it is impossible for me to get some of the nutrients I supposedly need from my diet alone.

Can anyone tell me how this makes sense? “ If patients are left untreated for osteoporosis, their bone density will increase rapidly. ” Isn't the point of taking Fosamax, calcium, etc., to increase BMD? Is it a typo? The rest of the article, though discouraging, made sense. The article is from a legit source: NIH (the National Library of Medicine). Its title: “Discordance between Hip and Spine Bone Mineral Density: A Point of Care.” The rules here forbid me to post the link.

I would like to go off alendronate (Fosamax) partly because it inhibits bone resorption, which means my skeleton is retaining old bone that deteriorates as it ages, which can make it more susceptible to fractures. I'm 76, so this is happening in a lumbar spine that (see article) is undergoing age-related degeneration that can itself produce fragile bones given to fractures. As the NIH article points out can happen, a bone scan on my lumbar spine indicates it has gained BMD, but this probably reflects not healthy bone growth but lumbar degeneration (the bone gets spurs, squishes the cartilage, hardens where it shouldn't, etc., and so the DEXA reads it as having a higher BMD, but it's not healthy BMD). I do not want to host a double whammy—degeneration due to old age plus retention of deteriorated bone due to Fosamax anti-absorption properties. So what do I do?

What is likely to happen if I stop taking Fosomax? The NIH article says lack of treatment rapidly elevates BMD, but how can that be? Plus, the NIH article implies the increase in BMD would be bad. In what way?

I drove 5 hours to have DEXA with TBS. I'm still waiting for them to send me the full DEXA report. I can't for the life of me figure out why it is so difficult for imagining centers to provide DEXA reports--last year to took me 2.5 months to get my regular imagining center to give me copies of my 2019 and 2021 full DEXA reports and ancillary data (this actually involved me calling the rep who services their machines so he could walk them through how to print the reports).

My overall numbers are not as good as yours and I am 54. I was diagnosed at age 50. My TBS scores for my lumbar spine (L1-L4) are as follows:

L1 = 1.278
L2 = 1.323
L3 = 1.342
L4 = 1.205
Normal microarchitecture is greater than 1.31 and degraded is equal to or less than 1.23.

According to my numbers, L2 and L3 are in the normal range, L1 is partially degraded and L4 is degraded. I'm really not sure about the results they gave for my L4 because from what I have seen, usually L1 is the lowest and L4 is highest and when I look at the picture of my spine it looks like they may have captured area that should not have been captured in the analysis which I know can skew the results.

I'm happy that your numbers have improved but one thing that I would like to mention is that your L4 looks like it might be compressed and compression fractures skew DEXA results by making the bone appear more dense than it actually is. Additionally, your TBS for you L1 is 1.086 and falls into the degraded range. You might want to ask your doctor about this.

@0278 that is definitely a mistake in the article.

Can you do Tymlos or Forteo?

I did not read the article, but I got my recent dexascan results that showed improvement in 2 areas. I was very surprised. Both spots in my hips went from osteopenia to normal. I do not take a medication. My lifestyle changes have included more dairy in my diet. I drink Lactaid milk 2-3 times per day, as well as eating yogurt and cheese daily. The other lifestyle change has been weight-bearing exercises and walking.
I was first diagnosed with osteopenia 30+ years ago. My first follow up dexascan (all of those years ago) showed a significant deterioration. I thought I was on the fast track to osteoporosis, but maybe not.

@fuzzy64 for my own info and others, I have a few questions about your post (and they may not be relevant to you)
1) Was the "significant deterioration" right after menopause? My doc and my experience told me that there is a sharp drop at menopause followed by a gentler rate of loss.
2) Was your osteoporosis diagnosed with a DEXA score close to -2.5? In other words, were you on the line?
3) I have kept a chart of my DEXA's since 2001 (!). I do not conclude that one value or more improved, going from one DEXA to another, because what I have seen is that the values jump all over the place. I therefore have to look for trends over the years. As an example, my score for left femur might be -3 then -3.3 then -2.9. I don't really come to any conclusions from that, except that my osteoporosis is not borderline and still a problem!

For those with values not too far from -2.5 (or osteopenic) , I think a natural approach is good to try and I used to read a lot about this (and met with Keith McCormick). But for those of us with serious scores and/or fractures, doing natural approaches without meds now feels dangerous to me. So I just wanted to note that while at the same time congratulating you if you have indeed improved.