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Prolia first choice when starting meds at 62?
I am 62 I have high blood pressure, and have had both knees replaced due to osteoarthritis. I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis in my hips and osteopenia in my spine. The specialist would like me to start Prolia and I while I am worried about a hip fracture, I am concerned that I am starting with a drug that I need to be on lifelong and that if I stop at any point will cause bone loss. They want me to take calcium, magnesium and K2 and do strength training which I am happy to start. Are there other meds that would be better to start with?
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No, it's not your best option at 62, in my opinion, for the reasons you list. Another option would be a bone building medication (anabolic medication) like Tymlos, Forteo, or Evenity.
I am 64 and on Evenity. My endocrinologist has suggested taking Prolia after my treatment but I am going to say no and will do Reclast instead.
I am open to going on Prolia eventually when I am much older.
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9 Reactionskaf, I agree with oopsiedaisy that Prolia isn't your best option. I would encourage you to look at Tymlos because it seems to work better than Forteo in the hips.
Our research endocrinologists are telling us that it is better to start with a bone building drug.
I consider Prolia to be the most potentially dangerous of the osteoporosis drugs. It isn't easy to stop taking without risking rebound fractures. The best drug to clean up after Prolia is Reclast and even it isn't always sufficient.
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7 ReactionsDXA numbers please. The word osteoporosis applies to anything from -2.5 to a negative infinity. You get the best comments back if folks precisely know what your scores are. Thanks
I wouldn't go near Prolia unless I was 85 and I didn't mind taking it indefinitely at that point.
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1 ReactionThank you for the feedback. I was not educated when I had my first consult with the endocrinologist and will ask about the bone building medications you suggested.
I was feeling very alone with this and really appreciate the support.
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5 ReactionsThank you for the information about Tymlos with regard to building up bone in the hips. When you write "our research endocrinologists" do you work for the Mayo Clinic? I hope this is not a stupid questions as I am not sure if I am just hearing from other individuals with experience taking osteoporosis medications or medical practitioners.
Well, that's good to know!
Definitely not a stupid question. The people here are patients to the best of my knowledge. I do not believe we have any practitioners participating in this forum, or at least I have not seen any. I think it would be a full-time job just answering questions if they did. 🙂
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2 ReactionsI am in the process of getting my bone density report from my family doctor as the clinic where I met with the specialist ( not sure if he is an endocrinologist or rheumatologist) told me the following numbers but I quickly wrote the years and numbers down. I have had three bone density scans:
Spine=osteopenic -1.2, -1.3, -1.4
Hips= osteoporosis -1.1 -1.3 -2.1
I put in the years but the system interpreted it as phone numbers and wouldn't let me post. Last number is this year and the first number is 2015, second number is 2020.
Thank you, kai
Thank you,
Typo in my name: kaf