1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health

Osteoporosis treatment or strontium citrate?

Posted by bonelady @bonelady, May 10, 2018

Is reclast a safe treatment for osteoporosis I have not done anything so far except strontium citrate?

***Director's Note:***
There’s not enough research to know if strontium fights osteoporosis. Also, the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements in the same way as prescription drugs, so it's not possible to know if if they are safe or work well or even how much of the main ingredient they contain.

If you want to take a strontium supplement, it is recommended to ask your doctor first.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Osteoporosis & Bone Health Support Group.

windyshores | @windyshores | Jan 22 6:24pm
In reply to @drsuefowler "Thanks @awfultruth. I am taking 340mg of Strontium Citrate, half the AlgaeCal recommended amount. This is..." + (show)
@drsuefowler

Thanks @awfultruth. I am taking 340mg of Strontium Citrate, half the AlgaeCal recommended amount. This is more than 50 times the normal amount found in food, so according to Dr Alan Gaby it may be detrimental. Maybe I should lower the amount that I am taking. I think I saw it somewhere in Great Bones that if you stop taking Strontium you get a rebound of weakened bones.

The question is does Strontium Citrate strengthen bones. If it does, does it matter whether it's Calcium or Strontium that helps? We don't know.

I also wonder about the other minerals that I am taking. It seems that there are recommendations to get your minerals from food. I know I would have trouble getting 1200 mg of Calcium just from food, since I can't tolerate milk. There is so much contradiction about whether we should drink milk at all. My endo said that he has a patient who drinks a lot of milk and has wonderful bones.

My endo wanted me to keep taking the Strontium and told me not to increase my Tymlos. Unfortunately, he is the only one here that I can see. Maybe I should try to set up a phone consultation with Dr McCormick. Does anyone have his contact information?

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Keith McCormick's site is OsteoNaturals. It is easy to google.

I cannot understand why it is suggested to stay at 20mcg of Tymlos. Most of us manage to get to higher doses even if not the full 80. It seems your doc is thinking the Tymlos helped you at that level when it might be the strontium.

Have you considered stopping the strontium while on Tymlos? It seems to be confusing the picture!

You can tell the doc what you want to do. If your doc doesn't let you decide, I would get another doc. I hope you can get to at least 40mcg and preferably 60 or 70 for full effect of Tymlos. Forteo's dosing is different so maybe your doc is thinking of that-?

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drsuefowler | @drsuefowler | Jan 22 6:37pm
In reply to @windyshores "Keith McCormick's site is OsteoNaturals. It is easy to google. I cannot understand why it is..." + (show)
@windyshores

Keith McCormick's site is OsteoNaturals. It is easy to google.

I cannot understand why it is suggested to stay at 20mcg of Tymlos. Most of us manage to get to higher doses even if not the full 80. It seems your doc is thinking the Tymlos helped you at that level when it might be the strontium.

Have you considered stopping the strontium while on Tymlos? It seems to be confusing the picture!

You can tell the doc what you want to do. If your doc doesn't let you decide, I would get another doc. I hope you can get to at least 40mcg and preferably 60 or 70 for full effect of Tymlos. Forteo's dosing is different so maybe your doc is thinking of that-?

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Thanks @windyshores. I'm going to ask the radiologist if s/he can take the Strontium effect out of my score and try to make an appointment with Dr McCormick. I was hoping to increase to at least 40mcg, but am concerned about the cost of Tymlos. I do think that the 20mcg dose does a little something, because I had side effects for a long time. My endo did give me a new sample and of course the sample I have has lasted a long time since I am only taking 20mcg. He said that one pen cost $1800.

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windyshores | @windyshores | Jan 22 6:41pm
In reply to @drsuefowler "Thanks @windyshores. I'm going to ask the radiologist if s/he can take the Strontium effect out..." + (show)
@drsuefowler

Thanks @windyshores. I'm going to ask the radiologist if s/he can take the Strontium effect out of my score and try to make an appointment with Dr McCormick. I was hoping to increase to at least 40mcg, but am concerned about the cost of Tymlos. I do think that the 20mcg dose does a little something, because I had side effects for a long time. My endo did give me a new sample and of course the sample I have has lasted a long time since I am only taking 20mcg. He said that one pen cost $1800.

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Radius has an Assist program and if you are under 65 there are discount cards. I have a Medicare Advantage Plan and it did not cost that much for me. If you are basically rationing due to cost, I hope you can find assistance so you can up the dose!

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krw | @krw | Jan 23 2:03pm

I was diagnosed with osteopenia 2 years ago when i broke my ankle. My Dr. Told me to take 1200 mg's
Of calcium daily. On year later i had a bone density done. I know have osteoporosis. Calcium did nothing. I am now taking Stontium citrate and k2 and vitamin A. Bone density test will be done latet in the year. I don't know if i should be taking calcium. Osteoporosis is in my left hip, i am afraid i will break my hip, it is very painful and difficult to walk.

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windyshores | @windyshores | Jan 23 2:31pm
In reply to @krw "I was diagnosed with osteopenia 2 years ago when i broke my ankle. My Dr. Told..." + (show)
@krw

I was diagnosed with osteopenia 2 years ago when i broke my ankle. My Dr. Told me to take 1200 mg's
Of calcium daily. On year later i had a bone density done. I know have osteoporosis. Calcium did nothing. I am now taking Stontium citrate and k2 and vitamin A. Bone density test will be done latet in the year. I don't know if i should be taking calcium. Osteoporosis is in my left hip, i am afraid i will break my hip, it is very painful and difficult to walk.

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@krw I don't believe osteoporosis causes pain. It is symptomless.

If you just crossed over the border from osteopenia to osteoporosis, I would think there is no need to panic, but maybe you have info on scores that are concerning to you. Is your spine okay? You wrote it was in your left hip. Only there? Is it mild?

Strontium will affect the accuracy of your DEXA scans. It is denser than calcium and replaces calcium in the bones, so the bones on the scan look denser than they really are. You can try to get a radiologist to adjust them.

Strontium is not really "natural" at therapeutic doses and the ranelate form was at one time removed from the approval list in Europe due to cardiovascular risk. It is back on the approval list for those who cannot take anything else.

If your scores are concerning or your bone loss is accelerating there are some really effective meds. In my view, as a person with fractures, side effects are more tolerable than fractures!

Those with DEXA scores that are not too bad might benefit from "holistic" approaches. Check out Keith McCormick's new book "Great Bones" (or his earlier one "A Whole Body Approach to Osteoporosis." Most of the integrative providers I have run into have taken meds at some point! Good luck.

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tarzy | @tarzy | Feb 6 9:50am

I have tried Fosamax twice and felt horrible each time. So I am going the natural route with strontium citrate and a good calcium supplement that also has d2, k2, boron and magnesium.
Also cleaning up my diet and even with my terrible dexa scan numbers, I can still go to the gym 3-4 times a week.

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surah05 | @surah05 | 1 day ago
In reply to @windyshores "Tymlos, Forteo and Evenity do "dedensify" bone. Prolia and biphosponates affect resorption, as does Evenity but..." + (show)
@windyshores

Tymlos, Forteo and Evenity do "dedensify" bone. Prolia and biphosponates affect resorption, as does Evenity but to a lesser degree. Brittle bones may occur after several years, with Prolia and biphosphonates Prolia is the one that can result in quick drop in density after stopping: not true of biphosphonates. For osteopenia, there have been changes in favor of not treating in many cases.

Anastrazole will increase bone loss similar to the loss at menopause but I found that after the first year this loss lessened. I took an aromatase inhibitor with full-blown osteoporosis even though bone meds were not possible (long story). My Oncotype was low but for me there was no question I would do everything I could for my cancer.

What heart conditions specifically are you wary of from anastrazole? I have paroxysmal afib but it did not affect that.

You could consider anastrazole without meds and then do a bone-growing med if your bone density worsens. (Again, I had actual osteoporosis for 14 years so there is wiggle room. Your bones don't turn to dust instantly when you cross -2.5.)

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Bisphonates also cause a rebound effect - so a decrease in bone density - after cessation.

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hopefullibrarian | @hopefullibrarian | 1 day ago
In reply to @surah05 "Bisphonates also cause a rebound effect - so a decrease in bone density - after cessation." + (show)
@surah05

Bisphonates also cause a rebound effect - so a decrease in bone density - after cessation.

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After stopping any of the OP drugs, bone loss resumes. Without some other kind of intervention, bone turnover will gradually return to previous rates causing loss of the BMD gains. Prolia is an outlier here as the rate of bone loss is significantly faster after stopping treatment than it is with other drugs like bisphosphonates. @windyshores is that what you were talking about? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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windyshores | @windyshores | 1 day ago
In reply to @hopefullibrarian "After stopping any of the OP drugs, bone loss resumes. Without some other kind of intervention,..." + (show)
@hopefullibrarian

After stopping any of the OP drugs, bone loss resumes. Without some other kind of intervention, bone turnover will gradually return to previous rates causing loss of the BMD gains. Prolia is an outlier here as the rate of bone loss is significantly faster after stopping treatment than it is with other drugs like bisphosphonates. @windyshores is that what you were talking about? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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@surah and @hopefullibrarian Reclast lasts a long time in the body and is used to "lock in" gains from the other drugs. It is an anti-resorptive and also coats bones apparently. It is okay to take a drug holiday from it as long as monitoring is done.

After any of the other drugs, we are asked to take Reclast or, if not tolerated, Fosamax or Actonel.

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