62 yo diagnosed with lumbar spine osteoporosis

@susyt

Hi,
Can I ask your age? If you've been on mayo connect for awhile you've probably noticed that many women are not offered hormone replacement. Like many I was not successful getting them from any of my docs until I decided on using a functional medicine provider. I started at 77. I went through early nonsurgical menopause at 38.
So glad you are taking bone meds now and if you still want hrt then it is out there depending on your medical history.
Just to be clear, my primary motivation was getting my long list libido back not bone health. But I also knew that the bhrt would be helpful for my bones. Good luck.

I am 63 years old. Was diagnosed with osteoporosis in the severe category a year ago. I had my first dexa scan due to hip pain and started bioidentical hormone therapy at that time. I then did walking, some weight-bearing exercise, resistance training and started eating much better, increasing my protein and calcium through food along with supplements of vitamin D3, calcium and a multivitamin with lower amounts of vitamin A. Apparently vitamin A inhibits the absorption of calcium. My nurse practitioner/"bone specialist" recommended tymlos due to how bad my low back is. I was a -5.4 t score in the lumbar spine. I did not start the tymlos but after a year of the hormone therapy and exercise and vitamins, and pushing for another Dexa, I actually had a 17% increase in bone density in that time frame. Which was more than what the average tymlos increase is in a year's time. My nurse practitioner was shocked and didn't even really know what to say other than if he had taken a bet on me he would have lost. I'm still considering doing the tymlos but I'm waiting another 3 months to decide what I want to do because I had such a good increase with the bioidentical hormone therapy and exercise and eating right. My hormone specialist doesn't want me to do the Tymlos. I'm still very bad in the lumbar spine (-4.3) but my hips have almost come back into the osteopenia stage so I feel much better about not doing the tymlos at this time. I just feel like they push meds on you rather than a natural type of healing with your body.

@gravity3 I'm 67. I went through menopause naturally at 49. I have been told it's too late to take HRT because it's more than 10 years past menopause. Good to know you found someone that would do that with you.

@susyt

Things are changing but I ended up going to functional medicine. Was this just a blanket statement made about the 10 year marker or did she go over your particular medical history and issues in your case that she is directly linkong to the 10 year marker? Also did you go over your list of post menopausal concerns that lead you to consider hrt/bhrt?

There are a few interesting tidbits in this paper:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12565178/

@marley169 , I’m also 62 and was diagnosed with osteoporosis about 15 years ago. At the time, they put me on bisphosphenates, a decision I now regret, or at least I regret having gone on them without doing a lot of my own research first. So it’s great that you are asking questions and considering options before making a choice.

Everyone is different. And so is everyone’s health profile. What I would do today if I faced your set of DXA numbers is to first find a doc who is collaborative and open to working through the pros and cons of different approaches with me. Then I’d start with diet (adequate calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K2 and magnesium as much through diet a possible) and exercise ( supervised strength training along the lines of the LIFTMOR study), and I’d look into whether menopausal hormone replacement therapy would be a good fit. (I’m on that now and wish I’d started years ago as my first step.)

I’d try that for a year or two and see what happens before starting meds. If I were still losing bone, then I’d consider meds.

These decisions are best made working with a doc who you trust based on your own specific profile.

There usually isn’t a huge rush to making a decision, so do your research. Lots of good info in this forum. Another good place for info is OsteoBoston’s website. They gather some really good speakers. Dr Keith McCormick’s book Great Bones is a great resource for detailed understanding of osteoporosis.

Good luck and wishing you the best!

@nellybones

Hi! May I know what brand of BHRT are you taking right now?
How often to do you exercise?
Thank you

I am 63 years old. Was diagnosed with osteoporosis in the severe category a year ago. I had my first dexa scan due to hip pain and started bioidentical hormone therapy at that time. I then did walking, some weight-bearing exercise, resistance training and started eating much better, increasing my protein and calcium through food along with supplements of vitamin D3, calcium and a multivitamin with lower amounts of vitamin A. Apparently vitamin A inhibits the absorption of calcium. My nurse practitioner/"bone specialist" recommended tymlos due to how bad my low back is. I was a -5.4 t score in the lumbar spine. I did not start the tymlos but after a year of the hormone therapy and exercise and vitamins, and pushing for another Dexa, I actually had a 17% increase in bone density in that time frame. Which was more than what the average tymlos increase is in a year's time. My nurse practitioner was shocked and didn't even really know what to say other than if he had taken a bet on me he would have lost. I'm still considering doing the tymlos but I'm waiting another 3 months to decide what I want to do because I had such a good increase with the bioidentical hormone therapy and exercise and eating right. My hormone specialist doesn't want me to do the Tymlos. I'm still very bad in the lumbar spine (-4.3) but my hips have almost come back into the osteopenia stage so I feel much better about not doing the tymlos at this time. I just feel like they push meds on you rather than a natural type of healing with your body.

I am 63 years old. Was diagnosed with osteoporosis in the severe category a year ago. I had my first dexa scan due to hip pain and started bioidentical hormone therapy at that time. I then did walking, some weight-bearing exercise, resistance training and started eating much better, increasing my protein and calcium through food along with supplements of vitamin D3, calcium and a multivitamin with lower amounts of vitamin A. Apparently vitamin A inhibits the absorption of calcium. My nurse practitioner/"bone specialist" recommended tymlos due to how bad my low back is. I was a -5.4 t score in the lumbar spine. I did not start the tymlos but after a year of the hormone therapy and exercise and vitamins, and pushing for another Dexa, I actually had a 17% increase in bone density in that time frame. Which was more than what the average tymlos increase is in a year's time. My nurse practitioner was shocked and didn't even really know what to say other than if he had taken a bet on me he would have lost. I'm still considering doing the tymlos but I'm waiting another 3 months to decide what I want to do because I had such a good increase with the bioidentical hormone therapy and exercise and eating right. My hormone specialist doesn't want me to do the Tymlos. I'm still very bad in the lumbar spine (-4.3) but my hips have almost come back into the osteopenia stage so I feel much better about not doing the tymlos at this time. I just feel like they push meds on you rather than a natural type of healing with your body.

I am 63 years old. Was diagnosed with osteoporosis in the severe category a year ago. I had my first dexa scan due to hip pain and started bioidentical hormone therapy at that time. I then did walking, some weight-bearing exercise, resistance training and started eating much better, increasing my protein and calcium through food along with supplements of vitamin D3, calcium and a multivitamin with lower amounts of vitamin A. Apparently vitamin A inhibits the absorption of calcium. My nurse practitioner/"bone specialist" recommended tymlos due to how bad my low back is. I was a -5.4 t score in the lumbar spine. I did not start the tymlos but after a year of the hormone therapy and exercise and vitamins, and pushing for another Dexa, I actually had a 17% increase in bone density in that time frame. Which was more than what the average tymlos increase is in a year's time. My nurse practitioner was shocked and didn't even really know what to say other than if he had taken a bet on me he would have lost. I'm still considering doing the tymlos but I'm waiting another 3 months to decide what I want to do because I had such a good increase with the bioidentical hormone therapy and exercise and eating right. My hormone specialist doesn't want me to do the Tymlos. I'm still very bad in the lumbar spine (-4.3) but my hips have almost come back into the osteopenia stage so I feel much better about not doing the tymlos at this time. I just feel like they push meds on you rather than a natural type of healing with your body.

@nellybones what hrt form and dosage are you on? Those are really great gains!