Osteoporosis
Is or are there any helf or treatments for osteoporosis other than drugs? I am 83 years old and have a compression fracture of the spine because I lifted a heavy garden pot (I was thinking I was 20 years old and love gardening!!!). My DA makes me wear a heavy belt to avoid bending. Nothing else.
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YouTube Dr Doug Lucas. He also has a website, optimalbonehealth.com. There is also R. Keith McCormick who has valuable info about helping osteoporosis without drugs. Best of luck to you with this!
@cpd54 and @tilou Dr. Keith McCormick has a lot of information on "Whole Body Approaches to Osteoporosis" (the title of his first book) but is a strong proponent of medications when needed. He himself had fractures and did Forteo followed by a year of Reclast, I believe.
@tilou if you have already fractured, I hope you will consider Forteo, Tymlos or Evenity to build back bone. I chose Tymlos because the dose is adjustable and it is very good for spine. I have spinal fractures and my bone density went from -3.3 to -2.5 (borderline) in 18 month of daily injections of Tymlos.
Keith McCormick's latest book "Great Bones" has a lot of info on meds as well as holistic approaches, which can be used together or in sequence. He does consultations in person and by phone.
Thank you so much for your help. I certainly will consider it.
TY very much!
You are all very helpful! Ill start to read and work!
There is also another good website bonecoach.com . Kevin Ellis is the lead and a lot of good information. I follow all three Dr. Lucas and McCormick .
@cpd54 , @tilou - I will respectfully clarify what windyshores thought—I will tell you that McCormick told me personally in an appt with him that he did take Forteo for 2 years BUT followed it up with Fosamx for 1 year. Which is what he said is possible for me , however - one must keep doing all the other lifestyle things that impact on osteo. Hope that is helpful!!! Good luck !!
https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-022-05987-2
A must read for those considering
Forteo
Results of a ten year study.
What is your take-away from the article you referenced? It's very long and I noted a couple things: (Please correct me if any of this is incorrect.)
1). "HRT was an inclusion criterion and recommended for osteoporosis according to the guidelines at that time." So, everyone in the study had HRT? That too would affect the study results vs how many people taking Forteo today also take HRT.
2). People in the study had at least one vertebral compression fracture. But I didn't find any info on what their DEXA scores were before and after the study.
3). A limitation to the study results "is the lack of X-ray verification of possible silent vertebral fractures in the teriparatide treated group." This also affects determining the percentage of fractures that might have been prevented with Forteo treatment.
4). Of note is that after taking Forteo, "80% received bone specific agents after teriparatide. Four patients without any new fracture had low fall risk and a normal DXA were not prescribed bone specific treatment after the teriparatide treatment. "
5). The percentages of improvements are not stated as relative risk vs absolute risk. From Better Bones website: "Tymlos is marketed as a better version of Forteo, boasting that it reduces the relative risk of non-vertebral fractures by 43%. But, relative risk can be a deceivingly inflated statistic. In actuality, for both drugs there was just a 2-4% reduction in absolute risk of non-vertebral fractures."
I have osteoporosis and am not on any drugs, but my endo Dr wants me to take Prolia. My last two DEXA scans taken 2 yrs apart showed my scores were stable. I get my next scan in a few months.
I visited an orthopedic dr who has an osteoporosis clinic. Wanted his opinion about trying Prolia per my GP recommendation. Was leery about Prolia because of jaw bone warnings. He said they have learned that after 5-6 years you should stop Prolia for a year to avoid that complication. My mom tried an oral osteoporosis med and it aggravated her stomach too much and she quit it. She lived with me for 15 years and was in good health but at 94 she fell one morning and broke several bones and only lived 4 weeks. I took care of her with hospice help. She had so much pain it broke my heart. I am willing to try an osteoporosis med after watching her. I’m 77 and active. I go to the Y and walk the padded indoor track with a weighted backpack to help bone density and then use other exercises to strengthen my core.
I have 4 neighbors who are on different osteoporosis meds and doing well.