Has anyone improved bone density without meds?

Thank you for that information. I just recently went from .025 mg to .0375 (the next standardized amount for the patch) for the estradiol patch with 100mg continuous micronized progesterone. I will be interested in what your labs say and what the specialist says. Did they say what optimal amount of estradiol would be for building bone? My understanding is that these lower amounts don't build bone but help to maintain it. But although I am working with an ND, there is a lot of guesswork. I had never heard of cycling on and off the progesterone to better protect the uterus. Does that mean you will then have periods again?

My endocrinologist does not use Prolia because of the difficulty getting off without a drop in bone density and increase in fracture. It has to be followed by Reclast and the timing is tricky (see McCormick's book "Great Bones."

I chose Tymlos. I could not tolerate Forteo and Tymlos has an adjustable pen so I ramped up on dosage and had great gains on 7/8 of the full dose.

Evenity is another option.

Insurance wants us to do bisphosphonates or Prolia first but they may affect effectiveness of the bone building drugs if needed later.

@vgkime The issue with taking continuous progesterone is that it's not the way our body works naturally. If you take it continuously, there's a build up in the uterine lining. By cycling it, going off for a few days, there will be some minor bleeding but that is the body sloughing off the uterine lining, reducing risk of cancer. I haven't done it yet cause I was a bit freaked out by essentially getting a period at my age but it's only spotting for a couple days and it really makes sense to do it that way so I'm going to make the switch. My specialist didn't discuss estradiol dose with me yet but she wasn't happy that I was on the lowest dose.

I don't know if you are familiar with Alloy Health but they are an online pharmacy for HRT with MDs on staff. You can plug in your info and they will get back to you with their recommended dose. You can do that for free with no obligation to buy from them. If you want a consult with one of their MDs, it's available for a $35 fee but it's not required. I did the free assessment because I wanted to see what dose they would recommend and they came back with .5 mg estradiol which didn't surprise me. I suspect my specialist will recommend at least that but we'll see.

Your information is very helpful! My ND put me on .0375 mg of estradiol at first but it was too much for my body- Now slowly increasing again, and hopefully will be able to go up even more at some point, but no way I could handle .5 mg right now unless I want to deal with the side effect of breast tenderness. The consult fee is really reasonable for Alloy Health! Thanks again for responding.

What brand of collagen with Fortibone do you use? I have read some positive things about Fortibone.

Native Path Bone Builder

Develop the muscles around the bone to hold it in place….yes, exercise daily!

I read a study that if you jump on a hard surface 10 jumps or more per day, it will strengthen your bones. It's like the idea of walking for your bones, but in hyperdrive. Your bones strengthen as a result of "pounding", and jumping provides this. Definitely, do it carefully, holding onto something so you don't fall. In the study they studied people who had significant osteoporosis, and got surprisingly (to them) good results. I never saw any further press on the study or further studies, but it doesn't surprise me as there is no money in it.

My mother had terrible osteoporosis, and I take after her in many ways, so I do it several times a day, when I remember (to make up for the days I may forget.) Also get all of the minerals needed for bones, make and drink bone broth by boiling bones overnight with a little vinegar in the water to help leach the minerals out, and be sure to take a small amount of vitamin K. I can't take the drugs either, and have read that they can make your bones brittle. By my age, my mother had significant "dowagers hump" by, and by 80 in the nursing home would break when they turned her over, while I have reasonably good bones at 61 doing the foregoing. I hope it helps.

@again Forteo, Tymlos and to a large extent Evenity- do not make brittle bones. But it sounds like you don't need them yet.

Those of us with severe osteoporosis should probably avoid jumping up and down on the ground!

Dr. Alyssa Kuhn has some good exercise videos on YouTube for osteoporosis that involve stomping. One is 10 minutes, another is longer that involves some weights.