tilly2
07-25-2003, 10:03 AM
I posted another thread about this, however as a little bit of background I am 36 years old, not peri- or menopausal, and mother who is 67 has severe osteoporosis. I have gotten conflicting advice from 2 doctors about what to do. I got my report from the dr. who did the scan and would like some help understanding the results. I'm going to type them out exactly as the report says:
Lumbar Spine
Region BMD T(30.0) Z
L1 .888 -.33 96% -.24 97%
L2 .927 -.92 90% -.81 91%
L3 .983 -.92 91% -.81 92%
L4 .925 -1.96 81% -1.85 2%
L1-L4 .925 -1.11 88% -1.00 89%
Left Hip
Neck .601 -2.23 71% -2.03 73%
(25.0)
Trock .566 -1.36 80% -1.32 81%
(25.0)
Inter .921 -1.15 84% -1.13 84%
(35.0)
TOTAL .794 -1.22 84% -1.11 85%
(25.0)
Wards .538 -1.67 73% -1.24 79%
(25.0)
The dr. who did my scan says the percentage rates represent the percentage of women my age with the same readings. My gp said no. The dr. who did the scan said lifestyle changes - my gp said 1x per week fosomax.
Also, obviously my hip readings are worse than my spine readings. One week prior to the readings I sprained my left foot and wasn't really putting weight on my left leg for that week. Could this have impacted the readings? How quickly does bone loss occur?
Thanks in advance for ANY thoughts or information you might have on this.
Tilly
Lumbar Spine
Region BMD T(30.0) Z
L1 .888 -.33 96% -.24 97%
L2 .927 -.92 90% -.81 91%
L3 .983 -.92 91% -.81 92%
L4 .925 -1.96 81% -1.85 2%
L1-L4 .925 -1.11 88% -1.00 89%
Left Hip
Neck .601 -2.23 71% -2.03 73%
(25.0)
Trock .566 -1.36 80% -1.32 81%
(25.0)
Inter .921 -1.15 84% -1.13 84%
(35.0)
TOTAL .794 -1.22 84% -1.11 85%
(25.0)
Wards .538 -1.67 73% -1.24 79%
(25.0)
The dr. who did my scan says the percentage rates represent the percentage of women my age with the same readings. My gp said no. The dr. who did the scan said lifestyle changes - my gp said 1x per week fosomax.
Also, obviously my hip readings are worse than my spine readings. One week prior to the readings I sprained my left foot and wasn't really putting weight on my left leg for that week. Could this have impacted the readings? How quickly does bone loss occur?
Thanks in advance for ANY thoughts or information you might have on this.
Tilly
Sponsor
USAFMOM
07-25-2003, 01:13 PM
Tilly, I am new at this too, as I just learned yesterday I was osteopenic. But I am only 42, premenopausal, with a healthy lifestyle, so I was greatly disturbed and immediately began researching the internet. I too did not understand the scores on the DEXA, so I looked up on the internet "DEXA scan scores." I learned that for the T-Scores, -1 to -2.5 is considered osteopenia, over -2.5 is osteoporosis, and under -1 is normal. For example...this is the way I interpreted my results from this info...My spine -1.700 (osteopenic), lateral spine -1.833 (osteopenic), left hip -1.672 (osteopenic), left femoral neck -1.892 (osteopenic), forearm -0.300 (normal). By this info, I am guessing my left femoral neck to be the worst, and of course my arm the best because it showed normal.
I see my doc next week. I'm thinking just for now, faithful exercise, lots of calcium, and in one year do a repeat scan to compare and this way we can determine the rate of loss. Then we can go from there regarding any medications, once we see how fast I am losing. This is only my idea that maybe I will present to my doctor and see what she says about this approach. I too am not anxious to start any prescriptions. The only way to know how rapid the loss is, is to do a repeat scan in time. Hope this helps!
I see my doc next week. I'm thinking just for now, faithful exercise, lots of calcium, and in one year do a repeat scan to compare and this way we can determine the rate of loss. Then we can go from there regarding any medications, once we see how fast I am losing. This is only my idea that maybe I will present to my doctor and see what she says about this approach. I too am not anxious to start any prescriptions. The only way to know how rapid the loss is, is to do a repeat scan in time. Hope this helps!
tilly2
07-25-2003, 02:09 PM
Hi USAFMOM,
I just got back from an appointment with an associate of my GP's. He looked at my results and wanted to put me on Miacalcin. I asked if, given that I smoke, haven't faithfully taken calcium or done weightbearing exercises or paid much attention to my diet, if I could make some lifestyle changes and go back for another reading in 6 months. He agreed. So now I have to commit to doing different things for 6 months and we will see. He said it is still possible to build bone at this point. My readings are definetly all oseopeonic at this point so I'm hoping for an improvement in the best case scenario.
He also told me that when taking calcium you must take magnesium with it. The supplement I just bought contains calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D and something called Ipriflavone. It seems like a good supplement however the magnesium seems to be causing loose bowels but you know what? I'll deal with it for six months and see if it makes a difference.
Tilly
I just got back from an appointment with an associate of my GP's. He looked at my results and wanted to put me on Miacalcin. I asked if, given that I smoke, haven't faithfully taken calcium or done weightbearing exercises or paid much attention to my diet, if I could make some lifestyle changes and go back for another reading in 6 months. He agreed. So now I have to commit to doing different things for 6 months and we will see. He said it is still possible to build bone at this point. My readings are definetly all oseopeonic at this point so I'm hoping for an improvement in the best case scenario.
He also told me that when taking calcium you must take magnesium with it. The supplement I just bought contains calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D and something called Ipriflavone. It seems like a good supplement however the magnesium seems to be causing loose bowels but you know what? I'll deal with it for six months and see if it makes a difference.
Tilly
USAFMOM
07-25-2003, 04:32 PM
I take the chewable form of Caltrate and it also has magnesium. The tech who did my scan recommended this because of the magnesium, after I had told her that I am not good with calcium supplements because they constipate too bad. This seems to agree with my GI system much better. I wish I would have known that was the problem before, I would have been more faithful about taking my calcium years ago. Anyways, the Caltrate is good because I can chew it up, completely dissolve it, and there are other minerals in it too like manganese, boron, zinc, vit D. I've decided to take 3 a day, until I see my doctor. She can advise if anything different. (600 mg each tab).
Anyways, I'm glad you got some clear answers and resolutions from your specialists. Good luck!
Anyways, I'm glad you got some clear answers and resolutions from your specialists. Good luck!