Hi @fearfracture!
I cannot do hormone replacement therapy with estrogen, as I had estrogen-driven breast cancer. In fact, the Arimidex that I take lifelong to prevent breast cancer recurrence, totally suppresses all my estrogen. In December of 2021, I was considering whether to take bone medication, when I became fearful of the side effects. That is when I discovered Dr. Brown and her Better Bones Program and took her online course in January of 2022. I was due for my biennial DXA bone scan in November of 2022. Since 2010, my t-scores have declined every two years. After incorporating as much of the Better Bones program into my life during the 11 months prior to this scan, I was able to see the first statistically significant increase in my lumbar spine's bone density (from a t-score of -2.5 to -1.9).
I believe that the Better Bones Program works when you attack bone loss from ALL six fronts outlined in the program:
Assessment, Alkaline Diet, nutritional supplements, enhanced digestion, exercise, and stress reduction. It is the combination of all of the above that improves bone density. Next, I will outline briefly, how I have incorporated the six parts of the Better Bones Program into my life in the past year or so.
For me, as to assessment of why my bones are weak, I understand that my bone quality has been negatively affected early menopause, Arimidex, stress, and many other factors. As for the Alkaline Diet, I kept a record of my Alkalinity (Dr. Brown teaches how to do that) and found that I was alkaline ~57% of the time. Re: nutritional supplementation, I added the supplements one at a time over the 11 months and still have two more to add to my regimen. I am religious about taking the supplements, with each of my three meals over the course of the day. I use the supplements that Dr. Brown recommends, as she ensures that they are highly absorbable. I have enhanced digestion by drinking my liquids warm and trying to eat more cooked vegetables. As for exercise, I did not do any formal exercise during my first 11 months on the Better Bones Program. However, I was much more active, in general, as we replaced our landscaping and I put in a lot of steps and hose-lugging last year. This year, I am transitioning to the YMCA's e-gym for strength training, as well as strength-training classes for Active Older Adults. Cardio is also readily available at the Y. I am not ready to take on a "Cindi-type" strength -training regime yet. And as for stress...I have seen firsthand that it hugely affects my alkalinity. I can eat an alkaline diet and be stressed and see my system become acidic and I can eat the SAD (standard American Diet) and be super relaxed and test alkaline. It is incredibly obvious when I track my urine's alkalinity every day. So, stress does a number on our bones, I truly believe.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions about the Better Bones Program and I hope you will consider investing in taking the course. You are already motivated to exercise and that is huge! However, your t-scores are concerning. What did your trabecular bone score say about the strength of the microarchitecture of your bones?