Treating Osteoporosis: What works for you?
Hi. I'm new to the site and am interested in treating osteoperosis. I'm 39 yo and recently had a bone density that showed I'm at -2.4. So, going through the intial "I can't believe it" stuff. 🙂
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@julie2020 I agree with you it is frustrating there isn't any more options. My Dr and I decided to go the naturel.route so will see at my next Dexa scan .
My Dexa Scan showed that my hip is -3.3. I don't remember any other numbers. My doctor (GP) wants me to go on Prolia, but I'm just not wanting to do that. I react very strongly to all medications. I don't want to add any new ones, so I've decided to go med-free for my osteoporosis. I'll see what my next scan says.
I just think that my grandmother and mother never took medication for their bone loss, so why would I? My grandmother fell and broke her hip when she was 75. She'd had a "humpback" as long as I can remember. She was also lactose intolerant & hated fish, so probably didn't get much calcium. She was born in 1887 and died at 93 after having her 3rd hip replacement. I assume she had bad osteoporosis. My mother and her sisters never had the broken bone issue. My mother died at 78 from pancreatic cancer. So, I'll wait it out.
@gailb, Thank you Gail for telling us about your osteoporosis treatment decision and the background that supports it for you. I cherish my mother's life and her attempts to avoid pain and discomfort. I truly don't think she had a forward-thinking clinician to educate her about osteoporosis. I will always remember the sound of her hip breaking as she turned to give me a hug when I arrived to visit. That is a pretty strong memory. "When we know better, we do better," said Maya Angelou. The goal is to know better and then figure out how to protect our bodies and just do better.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris
@gailb HI Gail I also have thinning bones My Dr and I talked about it and decided I should increase my calcium, to 1200 mg a day decided morning and night plus D3 5000 mg I also take Boron, Vit K Dr also told me weight bearing exercises so this is my regimen I have a year before next dexa scan hope this helps
I am presently on Prolia and due for my yearly appointment with my endocrinologist on July 1st. I will have a DEXA test then to see how I’m doing as I was on Tymlos last year (off and on due to side effects). I had broken my foot in 2019. Prolia doesn’t cause me any problems and I had taken it many years ago and had opted for a year off medication. Not a good choice (against doctors advice). I lost all the gains I made plus some....it is a challenging situation. Good luck!
@migizil, Oh no.......so it was in your year off medication that you the injury. Now you are starting over with Prolia. Please don't criticize yourself too much. Each of us has some.....do overs that just serve to remind us to continue to make the very best decisions that we can. Thank you so much for your contribution. Stay in touch here.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris
@gailb I don't want a hip fracture and I don't want that hump. It's so unattractive and when the spine gets curved like that it pushes up on the lungs and it just sounds like not a good thing. Your grandmother was lucky. Not everyone recovers nicely from a hip fracture. (Wheelchairs maybe forever). And hip replacement surgeries have risks as well. My aunt had a hip replacement. The surgery as they say was a success. The patient, sadly died in recovery from the anesthetic . I have an older husband and no children so no one really to push me around in that wheelchair. I also have a long history of reacting badly to medications. For me taking these potent pharmaceuticals causes lots of anxiety and worry, lots, but that fear of fracturing also terrifies me (maybe more).
These decisions are difficult for so many of us to make. I hope that in the next five years, researchers will come up with better options for this bone disease. Wish you well.
@migizii It is good to hear a positive Prolia story. That is the unfortunate aspect of Prolia that the bone loss is so rapid after discontinuation. What's interesting and great is that you lost bone but didn't get those rebound fractures which apparently can happen quite soon after stopping. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your kind words! We are all on unique, interesting life journeys. Be well❤️
Hi Chris,
After months of denials from insurance company, I was finally approved for Evenity and will hopefully start injections next week. Of course, as with all medications, there are side effects however I’ve made the choice to take in hopes that it will help build bone, especially in my spine, where I need it the most.
I will also be taking a diuretic, Hydrochlorothiazide, (since I also was diagnosed with idiopathic hypocalcemia), along with D3 once a day. The diuretic contains sulfa, and since I had an allergic reaction 40 years ago to a sulfa drug I will need to go to visit an allergist to verify if I still have the allergy....ugh!
It saddens me that there are so many struggles in trying to get better, however I will not give up! I want to be strong to be able to play with my grandchildren for years to come without the fear of damaging my spine!
In your email it mentions that you will find out some answers...could you please let me know if there is any information on Evenity? I know it’s a new drug, but hopefully there is some information.
Also, if anyone could share some online videos, or other information regarding exercises.....would like to start this as well.
Thanks so much,
-Arlene