Hesitant to begin drug treatment for my osteoporosis

Please do not use Tums as your calcium source! Antacids interfere with calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamin absorption. Also, Tums uses calcium carbonate which is not easily absorbed by the body. You should use calcium citrate. I take 1,000 mg. This information is from my Endocrinologist. When you choose a brand, make sure it comes from the U.S. Not China. Lead, and are other toxins could be in brands manufactured in China.

Please see my answer in response to Dr Lucas question, it should have been here.

Further to my answer there I haven't cross fingers had any fractures apart from minor ankle fracture, just tip of bone which led to my initial diagnosis.
I initially used Margaret Martin's book, Exercise for better bones, now go to gym, where I do some weights, use machines, also am trying tai chi. Also I mentioned Dr Fishman's yoga poses, these have been proven to be bone-building.
I'm not a natural exerciser so I focus on what I can eg just started squats and lunges again, I was told these better than machines at gym. All aspects of good health important so work on what you can. Also make sure you have protein, oily fish etc.
You can do it, build gradually, it takes time, be kind to yourself and enjoy life.

Just want to let you know that my holistic chiropractor (she does not crack bones but uses massages instead) told me that the drugs can make the bones brittle so that the bones actually shatter. She is a very intelligent woman, and not an alarmist. Just one opinion.

@ppat4pr your chiropractor is right about bisphosphonates and Prolia over time, though they are pretty safe for certain periods of time and do increase bone density. These drugs work by reducing bone turnover (anti-resorptive) so yes, there is a risk of aytpical femur fracture over time.

However your chiropractor is wrong about Forteo and Tymlos, which build quality bone (anabolics, working through the parathyroid).

Evenity builds bone the first 6 months and is anti-resorptive for the last 6 months. It works by inhibiting sclerostin and has a lower risk than bisphosponates.

The problem with Prolia is risk of fracture when you get off, unless you transition to Reclast.

Thank you very much for your most informative response. I really appreciate it.

I took 3 months of Evenity shots for low bone density since I have not had any prior stroke or heart incidents. After 3 months I developed severe heart arrhythmias that were occurring several times a day. I went to see my cardiologist and it happened while I was on an EKG machine, so they recorded the whole thing. My heart went to 230 beats per minute for a minute and then dropped back down to 120, then went back to 230. I was oscillating like that for quite a few minutes as I sat on a chair, after getting off the EKG machine. I suspect that if I had any vascular blockages in my system, I would have had a stroke right then and there. I think the Evenity shots caused the arrhythmia episodes. I had to have an ablation heart surgery within 2 weeks. So in order to prevent a POSSIBLE bone issue later in life, I ended having cardiac surgery immediately. This is NOT a good tradeoff.

Since getting off the Evenity shots, all the arrhythmia episodes went away, thank goodness. I am back to diet and exercise. I now work out 7 days a week for about 45 minutes with both jogging and lifting weights to hopefully build bone. I am also told that new measurements such as trabecular scores are better measurements of bone quality than just bone density measurements. My trabecular scores are above average.

I am 67 years old and very active and healthy. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis quite a few years ago which was surprising to me. I suspect that being born in Asia, drinking milk was not the norm and also the local water was not floridated. I have not had a bone scan since the ablation surgery.

I don’t know if my reaction is just specific to me. It feels like the Evenity shots acted like stimulants to my system. I have never had any heart issues prior to taking Evenity and nobody in my immediate family has either.

The day before seeing my cardiologist and understanding that I had arrhythmias, I had gone to the gym and tried to do my usual jogging exercise. I had a very high heart pounding episode then as well and had to cut the run short. In the locker room, I had an arrhythmia episode and passed out. When the heart rate gets too high, it cannot provide the oxygen to the body anymore and that is when people pass out. The gym sent me to the ER where my heart rate came down.

By the way, the ablation surgery cost over $100,000.00 It must be a very profitable operation for hospitals. Thank goodness Medicare paid for it. The condition of limiting Evenity to people who have had heart conditions previously is not good enough in my opinion.

I know that I am very lucky to be in good cardiac shape and did not have a stroke despite extended periods of heart rates at 230 beats per minute.

I hope you continue to practice a healthy diet and exercise several times a day. It must have been frightening to have such a reaction to Evenity.
I hope you have steady improvement over time.