Osteoporosis/body armor

[eclectic]

Thanks for the info everyone, I am not menopausal yet but definately peri. I need to check with my dr on something else so I will throw this in too.
Osteoporosis scares the living daylights out of me. It can totally change a persons quality of life as they age.

[emily_in_nc]

This is all great information - thanks! I do eat dairy, including a cup of yogurt daily, cheese, ice cream (not daily!), calcium-added oj, and leafy greens. I also take a calcium supplement. One of the main reasons I added running to my repertoire was for the bone-loss-prevention aspects. I don't ride on the road much at all anymore but mostly do higher impact activities, like hiking with a pack, etc. so hopefully I am okay for now, but at my next physical I will definitely bring this up with my doctor. She's a very progressive woman, and a slender athlete so is likely very well aware of this issue. I don't have a strong history of osteoporosis in my family, but I will get this checked out since I am in a higher-risk group due to being small. Thank goodness I don't smoke, at least!

Emily

[suzieqtwa]

I went to the doctor yesterday ,and she said it although I have every risk factor in the book ,its also how I treated my body when I was in my 20s ,and 30s. I didn't exercise ,or eat properly. Yes ,in the past 4 years I have been a picture of health,but the damage was done long time ago. Plus I'm skinny with no extra fat to hold on to estrogen. The fact I went into early menopause certainly didn't help things. She is doing more test on me ,then will probably put me on Fosamax. She said it was very common for women over 50. I'm going to try ,and hang on to the bone density I have now ,and hope I can prolong this awful diagnoses.

[mimitabby]

well, I'm rejuvenating this thread.
I have eaten healthy my whole life, but as they say you can't beat genetics and my mother and sister both have been diagnosed with Osteoporosis, now me too.
My spine isn't too bad but my hips are right on the border, still Osteopenia. Great news from the dr today! I have to take fosomax.
My mother says it hasn't helped her a bit.
any of you ever see ANY improvement?
So weight bearing exercise; on my walks, I'll carry a backpack now?
and more lifting of weights. and I have to get back on that trampoline!
I am bummed.

[DarcyInOregon]

Hi Mimi,

My mom had OS severely in the years before her death and she died within a few days of breaking her hip. My oldest sister was diagnosed with it last year. My understanding is taking Fosamax, along with supplements, and the right type of exercise may allow the body to regain bone density, and thus add more calcium and minerals back into the bone. It doesn't happen overnight; it is a process that requires dedication and daily commitment.

I had my first bone density test in November. I was really sweating it, because of the family history for getting the disease. So much of it depends on what you were doing in your teens and 20s while the body was building bone density, and if you were a female engaged in low calorie yo-yo dieting, then odds are OS will be a problem later in life. However, I guess I was good during those years, because my tests came back as being at the very highest range of calcium and mineral density for a female in my age range.

Anyway, read up on the supplements. There is not only calcium with the vitamin D and magnesium, but there are now additional supplements that are proven effective in helping the body to restore bone density. The supplements should be taken twice a day with a meal, for higher absorbtion. Also, you need to have the doctor check your homocysteine levels, because there is a proven link to high homocysteine levels (which is a factor in cardio disease) and OS. You can google some of the key words and start reading some of the articles in the online medical data bases.

Darcy

[kelownagirl]

So how do they test you for osteoporosis? I'm 46. Should I get it done?

[mimitabby]

Hi Darcy
thanks for all the information. During my "formative years" as it were, I never dieted and I rarely drank soft drinks. I also never skipped meals. Unfortunately, I still have the thinning bones. I also have homocysteine levels that my doctor didn't like...


Kelownagirl, they do a bonescan.It's like a really low intensity xray; the technicians don't even leave the room the levels of radiation are so low.
they look at your back/spine and hips. There's another kind of test i've had done, where you stick your heel into a gizmo and it checks your bone density there. That's a cheaper test.

[DarcyInOregon]

Mimi, it might be your homocysteine levels then that are the primary factor. High homocysteine levels are a serious problem, so I hope you read up on it and ask your doctor how to lower the levels, if possible. My mother had extremely high homocysteine levels, and what it did to her, other than the OS, is it narrowed the veins and arteries into her brain, with the result of cerebral atrophy (shrinkage of the brain.) She was not tested for her homocysteine levels until after the dementia was obvious, and at that time it was given as an explanation for her strokes, cardiac and lung problems. Since high homocysteine levels can be genetic in a family, everyone in my family got tested. A brother who is only two years older than me had high levels like my mother, and during the years since he was tested, he has had numerous brain stem strokes, just like my mother had, and he is now mostly blind, is in the first stages of dementia, and is no longer able to work as a doctor; he is only age 55, and he was physically fit and of normal weight before the onset of the strokes, with healthy cholesterol and all other stroke factors being healthy, other than the high homocysteine levels.

Kelownagirl, if you have a history of OS in your family, you should get tested. At the minimum, a test will go into your medical records so that in future years and future tests there can be a comparison. If there is no history of OS, most doctors will wait until you are menopausal. But if there is a history of OS, you should get a test earlier in life, and have one every 5-10 years, being careful with your diet, exercise and supplement.

Darcy

[mimitabby]

The only thing I can find that supposedly lowers homocysteine levels is
taking b vitamins, specifically folic acid.
And I am taking them (now)

[DarcyInOregon]

That is why the homocysteine levels and B vitamins are linked to OS. The B vitamins assist in bone density, and at the same time lower homocysteine levels. However it is a long-term kind of thing, and the person needs to have had a balanced diet over the years that included all of the food groups. With regards to my brother, he started taking the folic acid and other B vitamins, and the homocysteine levels didn't come down enough. He increased his dosages, the months passed, and the homocysteine levels were still high. Then the brain stem strokes started. He didn't have enough time to get the homocysteines down by adding the B vitamins to his diet before he started experiencing the complications.

It is scary to have OS, or the precursors to OS. I really feel for you. I have been around people who had OS seriously, and when the fractures started, particularly in the spine, the pain was so intense they began to give up on life, and they died within a few years.

It is hard to remember what we were doing when we were in our teens and 20s. Mostly, OS is a function of diet and exercise during those years. How many of us had friends and were around people who were always on a restricted "diet" of some kind, and by restricted I mean major food groups were eliminated entirely or reduced to barely anything, like Atkins. The human body needs complete nutrition. The inner organs need all sorts of nutrients in order to function, particularly the heart. When a person goes on a diet that is too low in calories or is not endorsed by the medical community, and the result is the body doesn't get enough nutrients, then the body will draw the nutrients from the bones in order to keep the organs functioning. People think it is about body weight, that body weight is the indicator of health, and in reality it is the diet and exercise over the long-term that is the real indicator of health.

I was lucky. In my first year of college I took a nutrition course as a science requirement, and the knowledge I gained from that course was invaluable. I am referring to the year 1973 when what we knew about nutrition was much more primitive, but I went through that course and learned that females should never take their calories below 1200, that 1500 is best when dieting, and that one always eats three balanced meals from the all of the food groups. I think taking that course saved me from what so many females do, which is going on 800 calorie a day diets, or going on fad diets that eliminate entire food groups. In the years ahead of us, my prediction is we will see an increase of people with severe OS because of all of the people who have spent long periods of time on Atkins and other non-medically approved restrictive diets, and who thus starved their bodies of essential nutrients.

Darcy

[mimitabby]

Darcy, inactivity is probably what got me. And I remember vividly my diet and my life back then. When I was 18, I was living with a young man who had a doting mother. She was obsessed about his health, and he was sort of what you'd call now a slacker, so she decided to teach ME how to cook. She sent me all the Adele Davis books. I have thanked her many times over for teaching me about lovely vegetables and all sorts of good food.

You are probably right about the future of american health because of dieting. I figure when we're 80 we will be taking care of 30 - 50 year olds whose health has collapsed.

My grandmother broke her hip when she was 88 or 89 and then got up and walked. She wasn't going to let that hold her back. Unfortunately Lou Gehrig's got her 3 years later.

So I will put books in my back pack when i go for walks now!

[maryellen]

<<any of you ever see ANY improvement?>>

yes, i've been taking fosomax for approx 3.5 yrs and have seen some, albeit minor improvements. i've had no problems w side effects other than annoyance that i can't have my morning coffee for 30 minutes after i take it!

[mimitabby]

MaryEllen, I just took my first pill today.
My mother saw no improvement.
Where did they get the great stats that they include with each pill packet???

[wavedancer]

Most of the studies on Fosamax and Actonel and the other bisphosphonates look at the end point of fracture risk reduction. While you may not see a dramatic increase in bone density as measured by a Dexa scan, most of the reported studies show decreased hip and spine fractures. Many of us living in northern climates probably have decreased vitamin D levels, and that is something else you may want to ask your health care provider to check. It can be done with a simple blood test. I am trying to remember to take a daily vitamin D supplement of 1000 units as well as calcium 1200mg a day.

[Kathi]

<<any of you ever see ANY improvement?>>

yes, i've been taking fosomax for approx 3.5 yrs and have seen some, albeit minor improvements. i've had no problems w side effects other than annoyance that i can't have my morning coffee for 30 minutes after i take it!

Me!

I just had my dexascan before Christmas and I've had no changes in 2.5 years so my Dr. took me off Actonel!

It hasn't always been that way. At age 51 I fell off my mtn bike and broke my wrist. I had read that for woman in her early 50's a broken hip, wrist or ankle is a red flag for osteoporosis and should be checked. My Dr's kept telling me that my break was common for the type of fall I had and not to worry. Besides, I exercised, took calcium and was still on BC pills (which gave me extra hormones). My Dr. told me I was too young for a dexa scan and the insurance wouldn't pay for it.

However, my grandmother had a dowagers hump for as long as I could remember, my mom had her first break (wrist) in her early 50's, had broken both hips by the time she was 73 and had broken several other bones. She was taller than me and now barely came up to my shoulder. The Dr's said her bones were like "Styrofoam". About the time I was trying to get my first scan(my mom was about 85) she had a dexa scan. There were numerous fractures of her spine, her 7th vertebra had disintegrated and she was riddled with arthritis. So yes, I was worried that I was following in her footsteps.

I finally got tested and I had osteopenia in my spine. My Dr. was shocked! He put me on Actonel. BTW, the insurance payed for the test.

My second test a year later was very good so I waited another 2 years to get tested. That one was scary as I now had osteopenia in my hip as well in my spine. At that time I was on hrt as well as actonel.

In the fall of 04 I stopped taking hrt so I was really worried about the results of my latest dexa scan. I was quite surprised when the Dr's office came back with the good news, no changes, no more Actonel.

I'm not sure why I haven't had any changes in the last 3 years. Some thoughts are that I'm past the 5 year post menopausal mark in which bone loss is the most rapid, I increased my calcium and vitamin D intake, instead of lifting weights on machines I started doing more closed chain, ie, lunges, squats, and functional weight lifting, I now live in Colorado and am getting more sunlight than when I lived in the Midwest.

I'm just very glad that osteoporosis has been identified as a preventable disease and that our generation doesn't have to suffer the pain and disability of broken bones that the generation of women and men before us suffered.