Is Osteoporosis reversible in post menopausal women?

Posted by leeosteo @leeosteo, Jan 28, 2023

I'm relatively new to this support group. I'm post menopausal with osteoporosis. I've been reading various group discussions here and doing a little bit of research via Mayo Clinic, Bone Health & Osteroporosis Foundation (BHOF), WebMd, and Drugs.com.

My simple question is: Can osteoporosis be reversed in post menopausal women (with no secondary medical issues) through diet and exercise?

In reading through this groups discussion on meds it seems the meds only buy you time.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Osteoporosis & Bone Health Support Group.

I think mild osteoporosis can be reversed in some people- others need medication.
I don’t know why.

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I think post menopause your dexa numbers will stay the same...mine have for 4 years..I am hoping they continue to maintain

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I haven't seen hard data on this but know a woman who swears that she reversed osteoporosis in her 70s and has the clinical results to show that. She also dealt with breast cancer at the same time and did a lot of research and modified her diet and added barley leaves or something and lots of other stuff. So I don't know which variables made the most difference but she's now in her late 80s. More active than when she was in her 70s and has remained cancer-free.

I have a new PCP who ordered a recent DEXA scan which showed that I have osteopenia and am getting close to osteoporosis so he wanted me to begin osteoporosis drugs. I dug out a DEXA scan result* from 10 years earlier, and my recent results are actually better than 10 years ago.

I took both reports back to the PCP and his opinion was that, somehow, I'm doing slightly better, or not losing any further ground, and he's fine with me continuing what I'm doing and not taking any drugs. The reason I mentioned this is that a DEXA scan is a point in time and it's valuable to look at any rate of change as well.

I don't know why my bone density has improved but have a speculation. I bought a bone-support supplement for a friend who needed to heal a broken neck. That is, he needed for all the little pieces held together by his halo to somehow reach each other and bridge and heal. (Which they did to the neurosurgeon's delight as this was a very bad injury with two shattered vertebrae.) I also started taking the same supplement because it was on the kitchen counter. For what it's worth, and I don't think it's any magical supplement just a good blend by reputable manufacturer, it's called Bone Support and has the basic trinity of algae-based calcium, d3, and K2.

*The above is one of my arguments for always keeping a handy copy of every single medical test that you have ever had. That became really important during lockdown when my former physician's offices essentially closed and no files could be received from them. It's also a lot easier to see a new physician, or get a second opinion, when you can provide a copy of your medical record and not wait for another physician's office to forward it as many medical offices are still short-staffed.

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Like many conditions, I think feasibility of natural reversal through diet/lifestyle all depends upon genetics. I would have LOVED to reverse this without medication. I already was doing weight training and weight bearing cardio 6-7 days a week for decades. I'm the poster child for healthy eating with great calcium, vita d and other bloodwork numbers. Docs tell me I'm healthier than majority of their patients 1/3 my age. Yet I still have severe osteoporosis. 🙁

I wish everyone here luck in reversing w/o meds. But if your numbers are already bad, I feel like bone building meds may give one a better fighting chance and fresh start to battle this, vs starting from a low point?

If someone is already proactively doing all they can naturally & DXA scores aren't getting worse - but also aren't improving a lot either - waiting too long has other risks.

As one doc explained: if you do - heaven forbid - break a bone and that bone is strong, surgeons have something good to work with, pins set better, healing is better. If bones are weak/soft/thin, surgeons have a much harder time and healing may not be good.

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@callalloo

I haven't seen hard data on this but know a woman who swears that she reversed osteoporosis in her 70s and has the clinical results to show that. She also dealt with breast cancer at the same time and did a lot of research and modified her diet and added barley leaves or something and lots of other stuff. So I don't know which variables made the most difference but she's now in her late 80s. More active than when she was in her 70s and has remained cancer-free.

I have a new PCP who ordered a recent DEXA scan which showed that I have osteopenia and am getting close to osteoporosis so he wanted me to begin osteoporosis drugs. I dug out a DEXA scan result* from 10 years earlier, and my recent results are actually better than 10 years ago.

I took both reports back to the PCP and his opinion was that, somehow, I'm doing slightly better, or not losing any further ground, and he's fine with me continuing what I'm doing and not taking any drugs. The reason I mentioned this is that a DEXA scan is a point in time and it's valuable to look at any rate of change as well.

I don't know why my bone density has improved but have a speculation. I bought a bone-support supplement for a friend who needed to heal a broken neck. That is, he needed for all the little pieces held together by his halo to somehow reach each other and bridge and heal. (Which they did to the neurosurgeon's delight as this was a very bad injury with two shattered vertebrae.) I also started taking the same supplement because it was on the kitchen counter. For what it's worth, and I don't think it's any magical supplement just a good blend by reputable manufacturer, it's called Bone Support and has the basic trinity of algae-based calcium, d3, and K2.

*The above is one of my arguments for always keeping a handy copy of every single medical test that you have ever had. That became really important during lockdown when my former physician's offices essentially closed and no files could be received from them. It's also a lot easier to see a new physician, or get a second opinion, when you can provide a copy of your medical record and not wait for another physician's office to forward it as many medical offices are still short-staffed.

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The only supplement called 'Bone Support' that I can find in a web search is made by a UK company called Cytoplan. Is this the product you use? If so, where/how do you purchase it?

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The one I found had no calcium...I was wondering if it goes by another name

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@katwhisperer

Like many conditions, I think feasibility of natural reversal through diet/lifestyle all depends upon genetics. I would have LOVED to reverse this without medication. I already was doing weight training and weight bearing cardio 6-7 days a week for decades. I'm the poster child for healthy eating with great calcium, vita d and other bloodwork numbers. Docs tell me I'm healthier than majority of their patients 1/3 my age. Yet I still have severe osteoporosis. 🙁

I wish everyone here luck in reversing w/o meds. But if your numbers are already bad, I feel like bone building meds may give one a better fighting chance and fresh start to battle this, vs starting from a low point?

If someone is already proactively doing all they can naturally & DXA scores aren't getting worse - but also aren't improving a lot either - waiting too long has other risks.

As one doc explained: if you do - heaven forbid - break a bone and that bone is strong, surgeons have something good to work with, pins set better, healing is better. If bones are weak/soft/thin, surgeons have a much harder time and healing may not be good.

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Katwhisperer. Thank you for your reply. I've been pretty down in the dumps lately over this. Your last paragraph really hit home. My mother had osteroporosis, fell and broke her hip. I think she was lucky the surgeons had strong bone to set the pins into.

Thanks again. You really made my day.

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@callalloo

I haven't seen hard data on this but know a woman who swears that she reversed osteoporosis in her 70s and has the clinical results to show that. She also dealt with breast cancer at the same time and did a lot of research and modified her diet and added barley leaves or something and lots of other stuff. So I don't know which variables made the most difference but she's now in her late 80s. More active than when she was in her 70s and has remained cancer-free.

I have a new PCP who ordered a recent DEXA scan which showed that I have osteopenia and am getting close to osteoporosis so he wanted me to begin osteoporosis drugs. I dug out a DEXA scan result* from 10 years earlier, and my recent results are actually better than 10 years ago.

I took both reports back to the PCP and his opinion was that, somehow, I'm doing slightly better, or not losing any further ground, and he's fine with me continuing what I'm doing and not taking any drugs. The reason I mentioned this is that a DEXA scan is a point in time and it's valuable to look at any rate of change as well.

I don't know why my bone density has improved but have a speculation. I bought a bone-support supplement for a friend who needed to heal a broken neck. That is, he needed for all the little pieces held together by his halo to somehow reach each other and bridge and heal. (Which they did to the neurosurgeon's delight as this was a very bad injury with two shattered vertebrae.) I also started taking the same supplement because it was on the kitchen counter. For what it's worth, and I don't think it's any magical supplement just a good blend by reputable manufacturer, it's called Bone Support and has the basic trinity of algae-based calcium, d3, and K2.

*The above is one of my arguments for always keeping a handy copy of every single medical test that you have ever had. That became really important during lockdown when my former physician's offices essentially closed and no files could be received from them. It's also a lot easier to see a new physician, or get a second opinion, when you can provide a copy of your medical record and not wait for another physician's office to forward it as many medical offices are still short-staffed.

Jump to this post

Callaloo. You make a good point about comparing DEXA scans. Also, who makes the Bone Support supplement you mentioned?

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@callalloo

I haven't seen hard data on this but know a woman who swears that she reversed osteoporosis in her 70s and has the clinical results to show that. She also dealt with breast cancer at the same time and did a lot of research and modified her diet and added barley leaves or something and lots of other stuff. So I don't know which variables made the most difference but she's now in her late 80s. More active than when she was in her 70s and has remained cancer-free.

I have a new PCP who ordered a recent DEXA scan which showed that I have osteopenia and am getting close to osteoporosis so he wanted me to begin osteoporosis drugs. I dug out a DEXA scan result* from 10 years earlier, and my recent results are actually better than 10 years ago.

I took both reports back to the PCP and his opinion was that, somehow, I'm doing slightly better, or not losing any further ground, and he's fine with me continuing what I'm doing and not taking any drugs. The reason I mentioned this is that a DEXA scan is a point in time and it's valuable to look at any rate of change as well.

I don't know why my bone density has improved but have a speculation. I bought a bone-support supplement for a friend who needed to heal a broken neck. That is, he needed for all the little pieces held together by his halo to somehow reach each other and bridge and heal. (Which they did to the neurosurgeon's delight as this was a very bad injury with two shattered vertebrae.) I also started taking the same supplement because it was on the kitchen counter. For what it's worth, and I don't think it's any magical supplement just a good blend by reputable manufacturer, it's called Bone Support and has the basic trinity of algae-based calcium, d3, and K2.

*The above is one of my arguments for always keeping a handy copy of every single medical test that you have ever had. That became really important during lockdown when my former physician's offices essentially closed and no files could be received from them. It's also a lot easier to see a new physician, or get a second opinion, when you can provide a copy of your medical record and not wait for another physician's office to forward it as many medical offices are still short-staffed.

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@callalloo I have kept a chart of all my DEXA's since 2001. It can be hard to keep track of from scan to scan. I might get a -2.1 then a -1.9 then a -2.1 again or even greater disparities. I honestly don't interpret that as improvement then decline. The individual scores just seem to jump around! I do look for trends over time. I feel larger changes can be significant and also changes across all sites. One other thing: every report I get states that changes in femur neck scores cannot be used to determine rate of change. Hoping your changes were significant and/or across the board.

I have rea that some docs are no longer medicating osteopenia and you seem to be doing okay. Are you going to try meds? The problem, in my view, is that there are time limits for many of them in terms of ultimate risks of dental or femur issues, so perhaps it depends on age!

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@rjd

The only supplement called 'Bone Support' that I can find in a web search is made by a UK company called Cytoplan. Is this the product you use? If so, where/how do you purchase it?

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@rjd, @bettersleep68
Oops, they keep changing the name on these things. The label reads Alive! Bone Support and it's by Nature's Way Brands. It was called Bone Formula in the past.

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