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I reversed osteoporosis without drugs

Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: Aug 26 8:42am | Replies (357)

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@windyshores

@0278 I am not clear on why you are taking meds with DEXA scores that high. I am not a doc but wouldn't it make sense to wait? We can only be on bisphosphonates for a limited amount of time and it would seem you are using up those years when not needed as much.

Did you go from -2.9 to -1.6 using Fosamax or were you on another med? Do you have a fracture? Are you on a cancer med that lowers bone density?

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Replies to "@0278 I am not clear on why you are taking meds with DEXA scores that high...."

I've taken only one drug. I have not had a fracture. I took once weekly generic Fosomax from June, 2019, thru January 25, 2023, which is the end date only because I’m quitting the med despite doctor's advice to continue. My doctor in 2019 firmly recommended I start the meds due to the lumbar -2.9 T score—osteoporosis range begins at -2.5, so my spine was well into the osteoporosis range. I switched doctors and now have another doctor who flat-out believes that taking Fosomax for 5 years repairs bones, though he did remark rather offhandedly (though alarmingly) that when people stop taking Fosomax, their bones take a rapid and ongoing turn for the worse. I've got the numbers in front of me now, so can say with certainty that between 2019 and 2023 my lumbar spine scores went from -2.9 (osteoporosis) to -1.6 (osteopenia). Meanwhile, left and right femoral neck readings went from -1.6 (2019) to -1.2 and from -1.5 to -1.0 (a decline from a midpoint exam in 2021 at which it had climbed to -0.6). My current general health doctor concluded that this was great news and directed me to continue the Fosamax. BUT conclusions drawn by the 3 unknown doctors who made the reports suggest otherwise, and the comparative changes and proportions between sequential lumbar and femoral readings do, too, as explained in my previous post. The most recent report diagnosed the lumbar spine as “possibly degenerative” (a condition potentially worsened by both aging and Fosamax use). Plus, though a major purpose of taking Fosamax is to decrease risk of bone fracture, over the nearly 4 years I took it, according to the DXA reports, my risk of major osteoporatic fracture went from 9.5% to 9.4% and risk of hip fracture from 1.8% to 1.9%. Since this is virtually no improvement, it does not seem to me worth the increasing degenerative risk of Fosamax (the longer you take it and the older you get, the more you risk compromising skeletal strength and resilience). Anyway, I’ve quit the med despite doctor's advice. If I crumble into a pile of dust, I’ll try to let you know so you can steer a better course.