1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health

Drugs or exercise and vitamins?

Posted by cmiller59 @cmiller59, May 10, 2023

I recently went to a rheumatologist to get some questions answered regarding my osteoporosis. He said I had Senile osteoporosis and that he felt I definitely should take Alendronate Sodium once a week. I have also heard such horrific stories about osteo meds and am terrified to take them but also terrified not to of I need them. I am taking calcium and Vitamin D and exercise almost daily since the diagnosis. Is this enough to stop it from getting worse or should I start the meds. I want to hold off until my next scan but that isn’t until Oct. 24. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Thank you.

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windyshores | @windyshores | May 10, 2023

How bad are your bones? I can say from personal experience that yes the drugs have side effects but I have spinal fractures and would suffer quite a lot of side effects to prevent them. Alendronate is generic Fosamax, an oral med. If you don't have GERD it might not be so bad in terms of effects. You won't know until you try!

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1 reply
cmiller59 | @cmiller59 | May 10, 2023

I believe one was 2.5 so just at the osteoporosis stage. I guess that is why I am so surprised that he is so insistent that I take the meds without trying the exercise and vitamins first but I don’t want to risk it getting worse either.
Thank you so much for your response!

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susanmariewilliams | @susanmariewilliams | May 10, 2023

An osteoporosis diagnosis can be so scary. I was diagnosed with Osteopenia 15 years ago. Through diet and nutrition changes that I made, I had been able to keep my T scoer numbers in the Osteopenia range for all these years, but my numbers were not improving; just slowly ticking down with each scan. I joined Dr. Loren Fishman's research study a couple of years ago using his 12 yoga poses for osteoporosis program. I was super excited that with my Dexa scan last November that the my T score had moved from mid-osteopenia to low normal. At 67, I'll take that any day!

Good luck with your bone health wellness journey!
Susan

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3 replies
cmiller59 | @cmiller59 | May 10, 2023
In reply to @susanmariewilliams "An osteoporosis diagnosis can be so scary. I was diagnosed with Osteopenia 15 years ago. Through..." + (show)
@susanmariewilliams

An osteoporosis diagnosis can be so scary. I was diagnosed with Osteopenia 15 years ago. Through diet and nutrition changes that I made, I had been able to keep my T scoer numbers in the Osteopenia range for all these years, but my numbers were not improving; just slowly ticking down with each scan. I joined Dr. Loren Fishman's research study a couple of years ago using his 12 yoga poses for osteoporosis program. I was super excited that with my Dexa scan last November that the my T score had moved from mid-osteopenia to low normal. At 67, I'll take that any day!

Good luck with your bone health wellness journey!
Susan

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Thank you for the info and I will check into that. I have been doing yoga as part of my exercise.

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1 reply
yvie | @yvie | May 10, 2023

@cmiller59, I did not realize that I had Osteoporosis. I never had bone pain or any symptom that would have led me to believe that I did…until I broke a bone in my upper back when I was simply standing and talking to someone. I wasn’t lifting or bending or stretching. I was simply standing and talking when all of a sudden I was in agonizing pain…enough to have my daughter call the fire department to come and get me and take me in an ambulance to the emergency room. The doctors did their tests and told me that I had a broken bone in my upper chest and to see a neuro-surgeon ASAP to see how he wanted to treat it. Well, he treated my break with 5 months of bed rest and gave me my first shot of Prolia. My Dexa-scan verified that I had Osteoporosis and without even discussing what medicine I wanted to take, he gave me my first shot of Prolia. I trusted him and I simply agreed with everything he suggested. I have not broken any other bones since then (3 years ago) but I do believe if he had not put me on Prolia, my story would have had a different ending. My bones are stronger now but not yet normal…now I have Osteopenia. My best advice to you is DON’t WAIT!! Submit to the treatment your doctor is suggesting or get a second opinion to see if that doctor agrees with the first one. But waiting could lead to breaking some bones and that could be tragic. Good luck in making your decision. Treating Osteoporosis is not an easy path to travel but be strong and, hopefully, all will be fine (or at least tolerable). God bless!

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2 replies
susanmariewilliams | @susanmariewilliams | May 11, 2023
In reply to @cmiller59 "Thank you for the info and I will check into that. I have been doing yoga..." + (show)
@cmiller59

Thank you for the info and I will check into that. I have been doing yoga as part of my exercise.

Jump to this post

You can find Dr Fishman demonstrating the poses on YouTube. Not all yoga has the same effects. His version is directed at building bone mineral density and requires frequency, effort and specific amounts of hold time in each position. You can also find the results of his peer reviewed and published study where 83% of the participants did improve their bone mineral density with his no harm approach. I hope that helps! Susan

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1 reply
cmiller59 | @cmiller59 | May 11, 2023
In reply to @yvie "@cmiller59, I did not realize that I had Osteoporosis. I never had bone pain or any..." + (show)
@yvie

@cmiller59, I did not realize that I had Osteoporosis. I never had bone pain or any symptom that would have led me to believe that I did…until I broke a bone in my upper back when I was simply standing and talking to someone. I wasn’t lifting or bending or stretching. I was simply standing and talking when all of a sudden I was in agonizing pain…enough to have my daughter call the fire department to come and get me and take me in an ambulance to the emergency room. The doctors did their tests and told me that I had a broken bone in my upper chest and to see a neuro-surgeon ASAP to see how he wanted to treat it. Well, he treated my break with 5 months of bed rest and gave me my first shot of Prolia. My Dexa-scan verified that I had Osteoporosis and without even discussing what medicine I wanted to take, he gave me my first shot of Prolia. I trusted him and I simply agreed with everything he suggested. I have not broken any other bones since then (3 years ago) but I do believe if he had not put me on Prolia, my story would have had a different ending. My bones are stronger now but not yet normal…now I have Osteopenia. My best advice to you is DON’t WAIT!! Submit to the treatment your doctor is suggesting or get a second opinion to see if that doctor agrees with the first one. But waiting could lead to breaking some bones and that could be tragic. Good luck in making your decision. Treating Osteoporosis is not an easy path to travel but be strong and, hopefully, all will be fine (or at least tolerable). God bless!

Jump to this post

Wow, I am so sorry that you had to go through that but thank you for sharing your story with me. That is totally what I am afraid of if I don’t take it. I don’t want to be crippled up and miserable the rest of my life. I’m so glad you are doing better. I think I want to start doing the yoga which I do anyway, and I have increased my vitamin D and calcium. I have been a lot more active but I may take the meds until my next DEXA scan and decide after I see my results on how to continue. Thanks again for reaching out. May God bless you as well.

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1 reply
windyshores | @windyshores | May 11, 2023
In reply to @cmiller59 "Wow, I am so sorry that you had to go through that but thank you for..." + (show)
@cmiller59

Wow, I am so sorry that you had to go through that but thank you for sharing your story with me. That is totally what I am afraid of if I don’t take it. I don’t want to be crippled up and miserable the rest of my life. I’m so glad you are doing better. I think I want to start doing the yoga which I do anyway, and I have increased my vitamin D and calcium. I have been a lot more active but I may take the meds until my next DEXA scan and decide after I see my results on how to continue. Thanks again for reaching out. May God bless you as well.

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I have 7 spinal fractures. COVID delayed my treatment. I would echo the message to not wait. Unfortunately osteoporosis has no symptoms- until something breaks!

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ritanada | @ritanada | May 12, 2023

True
I think there's a difference if one has spontaneous fracture or following a fall

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1 reply
ritanada | @ritanada | May 12, 2023
In reply to @susanmariewilliams "You can find Dr Fishman demonstrating the poses on YouTube. Not all yoga has the same..." + (show)
@susanmariewilliams

You can find Dr Fishman demonstrating the poses on YouTube. Not all yoga has the same effects. His version is directed at building bone mineral density and requires frequency, effort and specific amounts of hold time in each position. You can also find the results of his peer reviewed and published study where 83% of the participants did improve their bone mineral density with his no harm approach. I hope that helps! Susan

Jump to this post

Where can one find Dr Fishman yoga for bones?

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