Turquoise

Hello fellow bone challenged:

I just got results from my yearly Dexa and wanted to share them with you. First, a little background is necessary.

I wasf diagnosed in 2002 with severe osteo,-3.4 in both hips and back. I never had a fx or any other risk factors except heredity. I was put on Fosamax, told to take calcium and have my next dexa in 18 months. Well, it scared the hell out of me. I’ve always been strong, athletic and healthy and this threw me for a loop. I immediately started on calcium citrate in addition to dietary calcium and power walked almost every day.

My next dexa was worse. My GP sent me to an Endo who did another dexa on her machine and said it actually had improved. (But I am not sure because all dexa machines are different.) She just told me to take the Fosamax and come back in a year. (I had a battery of blood and lab work to make sure there were no other causes for the osteo.)

Then I started having kidney infections which turned out to be a stone. Seems I was taking too much supplementary calcium and the endo told me to just do dietary.

Fast forward to the next year’s dexa which was worse! What did the Endo do, just said take the Fosamax and come back in a year. This is when I insisted on seeing her again. She had just come back from a conference where they were rethinking the numbers on Vitamin D and I was on the low side. Now, she added 50000units of vitamin D once a week.

Another year passes and I have another Dexa which was worse again!!! (Here is a tip for all of you. Insist on getting the results of your Dexa called to you before your next appt. This way you are ready when the results aren’t what you thought they’d be.)

I started researching other treatments before my appt. which was good because she wanted me to start Forteo. I agreed reluctantly. But I decided to look around the net a bit more before I started it. I found the book Myth of Osteoporosis and my life changed. The fear was gone. I realized I was not as much as risk for FX as others with the problem. Why should I put more drugs into my body just so I may not break a hip at 85. My mother has severe osteo and she broke her hip at 85. At 91 she walks with out aids and doesn’t have a hump.

I took my self off the Fosamax last June since it wasn’t helping anyway. After 8 weeks off, the horrible pain I had experienced for 2 years in my neck and shoulders dissipated. I started Curves in August which has resistance exercises and weight bearing on the rest stations. I take calcium citrate plus the additional vitamin D.

Had my dexa on Monday. Just got the message from the tech who told me my back has improved and my hips stayed the same (she didn’t give any numbers). So, when I go for my appt. in 3 weeks it may be my last. I haven’t decided. I will not take any more osteo meds until they come up with more proof that bone mineral density it THE major factor in bone strength. I believe they should do a base line dexa on women at the age of 30. This way we would have better understanding of bone strengh and baseline scores.

A decision like I have made comes down to your personal health history. Many health issues contribute to osteoporosis. If you have low impact or no impact FX’s then you have to make different decisions regarding medications and procedures.

I will let you know what my Endo says when I tell her I’m not on meds. I may bring her my issue of The Myth of Osteo. I think she would benefit from it.
Thanks for listening to my story.
Turquoise