I’m in favor of annual DEXAs and I get annual DEXAs. For those who say you shouldn’t, this year I experienced the PERFECT reason for annual DEXAs. The GE Lunar scanner, which I had my last 3 DEXAs on, broke and is being replaced, so this year I had to go to a new imaging center and use a different machine. Ideally, DEXAs should be done on the same exact machine; otherwise, the comparison between DEXAs is “iffy”. By having DEXAs every year, next year, I’ll have an “accurate” comparison, if I’d waited 2 years between DEXAs, it would be years before I’d have data that could be compared.

Regarding what to expect on your next DEXA, the question I have is did your doctor do BTM (bone turnover marker) tests prior to your starting bisphosphonates? If s/he didn’t, just know most doctors, who claim to treat osteoporosis, fail to order these very important tests. If your doctor did order BTM tests for you prior to putting you on bisphosphonates, consider yourself extremely lucky.

BTM testing needs to be done prior to starting bone meds because you need a baseline. BTMs tell you if you are losing a lot of bone. Bisphosphonates do NOT build bone, they slow or reduce bone loss. So for ppl w/ low baseline BTM scores, there probably won’t be a big change between DEXAs, and hopefully there is little or no loss between DEXAs.

If your dr ordered the baseline BTM tests, you don’t need to wait for your next DEXA to see if the bisphoshonates are working. About 3 months after starting bisphosphonates, you can have your BTMs tested again and if the bisphosphonates are working your BTMs should be lower.