Has anyone improved bone density without meds?

Welcome to Connect @naomid. I enjoyed your introduction. This forum is all about sharing and you have a great start. Knowledge is power. Connect will help you become a powerful patient who can advocate for themselves based upon knowledge gained from other members and from their own experience.

I understand your dislike of drugs, injections, and other types of medications that don't sit well with your medical history. I too dislike taking medications of any kind. I prefer being active and busy.

This is your first post so I will make my response brief. To fight off the effects of osteoporosis, at some point we have to face reality. My mother actually never recovered from a fractured hip, created when she opened the door to her apartment to welcome my visit. She never walked again.

I didn't pay attention to reality until I was 75+ years old and realized that I was approaching the time to wise up about bone health. My journey has been difficult with a couple of near disasters. Here is what I learned. Some of us cannot handle injections whether they are once a month or twice a year. They place too much medication in our bodies and we cannot handle it. So..to cut to the chase I had reactions to monthly and semi-annually injections. What I chose to do was begin with a product called Tymlos which is injected daily and builds healthy bone. After two years, my span scores had improved and I was ready to protect the new bone as well as the existing bone.

Then I did succumb to the every six-month injections for bone protection. That was quite the disaster. A sensitive endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic listened, applied his medical knowledge, and changed my medication to a weekly Monday morning tablet which does not overload my body and has no side effects.

So....stay true to yourself and be part of what I call a "shared decision" process in which you work together with your medical professional to meet your special needs. This support group will be very helpful. I am hoping that @windyshores can respond to your greeting. She has encountered fractures, found the appropriate medication, and will be moving on to the protection arena very soon.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

Welcome to Connect @naomid. I enjoyed your introduction. This forum is all about sharing and you have a great start. Knowledge is power. Connect will help you become a powerful patient who can advocate for themselves based upon knowledge gained from other members and from their own experience.

I understand your dislike of drugs, injections, and other types of medications that don't sit well with your medical history. I too dislike taking medications of any kind. I prefer being active and busy.

This is your first post so I will make my response brief. To fight off the effects of osteoporosis, at some point we have to face reality. My mother actually never recovered from a fractured hip, created when she opened the door to her apartment to welcome my visit. She never walked again.

I didn't pay attention to reality until I was 75+ years old and realized that I was approaching the time to wise up about bone health. My journey has been difficult with a couple of near disasters. Here is what I learned. Some of us cannot handle injections whether they are once a month or twice a year. They place too much medication in our bodies and we cannot handle it. So..to cut to the chase I had reactions to monthly and semi-annually injections. What I chose to do was begin with a product called Tymlos which is injected daily and builds healthy bone. After two years, my span scores had improved and I was ready to protect the new bone as well as the existing bone.

Then I did succumb to the every six-month injections for bone protection. That was quite the disaster. A sensitive endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic listened, applied his medical knowledge, and changed my medication to a weekly Monday morning tablet which does not overload my body and has no side effects.

So....stay true to yourself and be part of what I call a "shared decision" process in which you work together with your medical professional to meet your special needs. This support group will be very helpful. I am hoping that @windyshores can respond to your greeting. She has encountered fractures, found the appropriate medication, and will be moving on to the protection arena very soon.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

I understand your fear of both taking meds that may cause side effects or facing the risk of possibly fracturing. Once receiving a diagnosis of osteoporosis, we all struggle with making these important decisions. Your story sounds somewhat similar to mine in that I did all the "right things"; exercised daily, lifted weights, stellar diet and I still lost bone. My density rapidly declined during menopause yet I was still determined to do it naturally and felt that if I just did more, I could gain it back. It was a big mistake as after diligently trying for 2 years to build back bone, my spine density decreased even further. I then knew I had to graciously accept that I needed medication and felt that the best option for me was Forteo as that could directly build back my spine. I too have some autoimmune issues and was afraid of the side effects of all of the medications but I handled Forteo just fine without any problems at all. I did gain back some of my spine but not enough to pull me out of osteoporosis. Had I gone on it immediately, my situation would be completely different. Once your bone is gone, it is very hard to gain it back. Even the meds can do just so much. Having gone through this experience, I would encourage you to try a medication and see how your body handles it. If you do have side effects, you can always try something else. Best to do it all, meds, diet and exercise, for the greatest possibility of building or at least, stabilizing your bones. Wishing you best of luck and health.

@naomid I sympathize with your situation. I also have other health conditions, including lupus, afib and a previous breast cancer (meds for the cancer affected bones and I already had osteoporosis).

I tried for years to get on various meds. My doc did not want to give me Reclast due to the afib (he has since changed on this), I have bad GERD, doc does not use Prolia, and I tried Forteo and even went to an immunologist to try to get on it. I also applied for a trial of the Tymlos patch, thinking the sensitivity to Forteo shots might extend to Tymlos.

I had 3 traumatic fractures in my spine from a traumatic fall but in spring 2021 I made one unwise movement and fractured three lumbar vertebrae. (I also found out about one further thoracic fracture, for a total of 7). I was in acute pain and disabled for a few months, and can tell you that full recovery does not happen. I live positively, and walk every day, but I wish I had been able to do meds earlier.

Anyway, I tried Tymlos at full dose and ended up in the ER with afib, and had other side effects that were not tolerable. I stopped, talked to endos and cardiologists, and made the decision to try again at a low dose, and let my body get used to it over time. The Tymlos pen has 8 clicks: I started at 2 and moved up to 4,6, finally 7 and lately I have been doing the full 8. This really helped with side effects and my doc was happy with even 6.

I am almost done my 18 months. Where there is a will there is a way. I think the problem is that osteoporosis does not have symptoms. At the time of my lumbar fractures I was feeling great, even doing martial arts (carefully). It is hard to have this kind of determination before fracturing but I wish I had tried this method of ramping up Tymlos in 2020!

@teb, Thank you so much. This is extremely helpful. Are you doing better now? I hope so.

After Forteo, I went on HRT to maintain the gain. After reviewing the options carefully, I chose HRT as the most "natural" option; something that my body recognizes and knows what to do with. I was 63 at the time and within the 10 year window and chose the very lowest dose of transdermal to be as safe as I possibly could be. Attitudes towards using HRT are beginning to shift and for some individuals, it is a good option to help maintain bone. It's definitely not for everyone but I felt it was best for me. Because I have autoimmune issues, my doctor agreed to prescribe it. I have been mostly holding steady with some decent gain in my hip which I think is also due to my exercise regimen which includes walking 4 miles a day, pressing 20 lb weights, squats with weights, core, pilates, dance, exercise bands and nutrition along with the meds. (just a note...I did all of that exercise and good nutrition without the meds and failed miserably to improve bones so it's the combination that's working) It is darn hard work!! It's a constant in my mind and life but it's just what we have to do to manage this condition.
Thank you for your kind thoughts. Wishing you well. Keep us posted.