← Return to Mild osteoporosis DEXA scores: what would you do?

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@prettyflower

Thank you, @teb! I don't know anything about those hormones. Do you have a preferred web source for information? The endocrinologist who suggested Prolia also said HRT was not an option. I've been in menopause for seven years, and I've had no fractures that I know of. This was my first experience with an endo; I've been hearing they tend be pretty curt.

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Replies to "Thank you, @teb! I don't know anything about those hormones. Do you have a preferred web..."

It would be an option for you to explore. There are risks in taking any medication whether they are osteoporosis meds or hormones so you have to decide which risk you are most comfortable with. There's also the "do nothing" or "diet and exercise" approach which risks further bone loss and fracture. These are really tough decisions for each of us to make. Personally, I chose pharmaceuticals that I felt were most "natural" to the body after a failed diet and exercise approach led me to go from -2.8 in my spine to -3.2. I knew I needed a bone builder at that point and since Forteo was synthetic parathyroid hormone, and mostly built spine where I had all of my loss (typical of bone loss progression, from spine first to hip secondarily), I felt that it was something the body was accustomed to and recognized. The same with hormones. I am replacing something that was natural to my body and that maintains bone in a natural way so I chose that after Forteo to maintain the gains. Hormones were once readily prescribed for osteoporosis but that changed after the results of the WHI study were widely publicized and vastly misrepresented. You can still get a prescription for HRT from your gynecologist for "menopause symptoms". If they are reluctant, you can use an online service such as Alloy Health if you are in the USA. They have MDs on staff who are menopause specialists and will evaluate your situation and prescribe a dose they feel is appropriate. You do this all by email. There are no fees unless you chose to proceed with a prescription and then you are charged for the medication only. If you want a more in-depth consultation with a physician, that is available for a $35 fee and is done through private messaging on their website. The lowest dose of transdermal estradiol is .025 which is also considered the safest and is a dose that is likely sufficient to stem bone loss. I was on that dose for 5 years. I've had only the slightest loss in all that time so I just increased my dose to .0375 as a further safeguard. If you have a uterus, you must be on progesterone as well and the safest option is bioidentical progesterone, not synthetic progestin. The typical dose prescribed is 100 mg oral.

Here are some options for you to read further:
Estrogen Matters by Dr Avrum Bluming
https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/risk-of-breast-cancer-with-hrt-depends-therapy-type-and-duration/