Treating Osteoporosis: What works for you?

I am on my second month of forteo. So far the co-pay is $20/month. I'm told the Lilly co and the specialty drug store can help get your co-pay reduced if it is high.

I checked out the specialty drug company you mentioned, called Lilly Cares, and found that they have an income cap for discounting their drugs, and I did not qualify because my income is over the cap. I called the company to verify and I was told that I did not qualify for any discounts. 

I truly understand your situation. At 34 I reached over my head and fractured my T9, I reached for the phone and broke my clavicle, I sneezed and broke ribs, I fell and fractured my pelvis in 5 places. NO surgery on any. Lastly with the pelvis the specialist on call said...YOU HAVE 90 YEAR OLD BONES...I know. he kept asking me my age. I was 57 then. I am scared to death of winters (ice, snow...) I can turn an ankle and it will break. Step off a curb and break a leg...I have been on Fosamax, Forteo and now Prolia.

You are receiving shots for Forteo or giving yourself shots? I did the self injection daily of Forteo for the maximum 2 years they allow anyone to be on it. I had fabulous results...then was switched to Fosamax following those 2 years. I got a 'drug holiday' then ended up falling and fracturing my pelvis in 5 places. Now on Prolia for the 3rd year. Am osteopenia now. Will have new DEXA scan next year.

Thank you very much for your information. Apparently you are being helped with these drugs and I am glad to hear it. As for me, I decided against Forteo and Prolia because of the risks (also, with Forteo, the expense). I was willing to go on a bisophosonate like Fosamax or Activol (I had been on Foxamax previously for 8 years) but my doctor said it might do me more harm than good. So I am trying to build bone with exercise and diet alone.  

Just a thought,@jaleen. Does your diet include modest Vitamin D levels (not many thousands daily, but a few thousands)? Have your Parathyroid hormones been tested for calcium impact?

I have Osteoporosis and 65 years old. I was told years ago I had osteopenia but then a Dr. told me I didn't...so for years I did nothing about my bones. BIG mistake . But I will NOT take the bone medicine. One relative took Fosamax I believe, and broke her femur just walking into the kitchen. My druggist called me to see why I hadn't refilled my prescription for the fosamax (I decided NOT to take any of it) because it is part of his job. When I told him I had no intentions of taking the medicine he said, "good for you" and told me that his mother developed cancer of the jaw and he believed it was as a result of the medicine. So...I try and add more calcium and vitamin D to my diet and try NOT to fall..don't know what else I can do. I know exercise is important but I am recovering from a broken toe. Soon I HOPE!

I also do not want to take those osteoporosis drugs. I take the Vit. D and calcium thru food and hope it will be the answer. How did your
brake your toe?

Hi, I fell down the steps in the movie theatre. It was too dark. It is much better now but it took a really long time to heal. Which led me to getting a physical. And then the bone scan. I wish you the best!

May I suggest an edit? Under the guidance of two widely respected physician's in my urban area I was prescribed both Fossamax and Boniva for osteopenia. The diagnosis was not unexpected as I have a bone structure that is not as heavy as the average. Yes, I experienced gastrointestinal upset, but only for a few hours, and my sensitive stomach overcame the upset with over the counter medication and being upright for 4-6 hours -- as I was working at a desk job, my routine was not altered. After less than two years on the medications, graduating from daily to monthly doses (if that helps date my experience) I was told that my bone density was no longer decreasing, and that I could stop the medication. The next exam two years later, and every two years since then, I have been told that my bone density continues to increase slightly even though I believe I am not as active as I was when first taking these medications. Therefore, I must agree with my doctors, an ob-gyn, and a gerontologist, that these medications actually reversed my bone loss. Before reading these posts, I did not regard my self as being unique in experiencing a positive outcome from this regimen, but I believe based on the experience of women like me, and the doctors who prescribed these medications, it is not correct to state unequivocally that these medications "don't rebuild bone".