"Bone quality"?
 

My wife has been diagnosed with osteopenia. It’s been recommended that she begin medication. She is reluctant to do so unless it is necessary. She has read that low bone density does not always equate to fragile bones; that there is a “bone quality” measurement that is more indicative. Can anyone tell me if this is essentially correct? If so, is there a way to determine “bone quality”?

THANKS for any info you can provide!

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

What were her scores? I supposedly have osteopenia (I say supposedly because I'm not sure that there is such a thing). My score was only .1 over the threshold for it. I'm 66, petite, white, female and those put me in the high risk category for osteoporosis. I've jogged and worked out for years. Eat healthy. Don't smoke. Etc, etc. I refused to take the drugs due to 2 things:

1) the side effects.

2) Since they don't do baseline bone scans at age 30 or 35, how do we know that my bones haven't always looked like this? This may just be normal for me.They do baseline mammos. Why not bone scans? Makes no sense to me.

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

An article not that long ago disputed the use of medication for osteopenia. I can't remember which article it was. I would never take medication for osteopenia. I don't even take it for osteoporosis due to all the negative side effects.

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

HI TVZ, without knowing her scores it is hard to say what it her best option. I agree with the other posters, and wouldn't take the meds. At this stage she can do a lot for her bones with exercise, healthy diet and supplements. The drugs can do more harm that good and since TPTB consider osteopenia pre osteoporosis it would be a good idea to try safer options first.

I don't know what they mean by "bone quality", but there is a difference between bone density and bone strength. Even if you have less than perfect density your bones can still be strong. And like Titchou said without a baseline scan there is no way of knowing exactly what your bones were in your prime.

There is a test you can take online called FRAX. Look it up and have your wife answer the questions to see what her results say about her risk factors. take care, phyllis

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

I am not a doctor nor an expert; I'm passing along information I have read. There is a test called a Bone Resorption Test, a simple urinary test that you can use to determine how fast your bones are deteriorating. I read about this in an e-book called Strong Bones Forever. The author of the book talks a lot about "bone quality" beyond that measured in a dexa-scan.

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

I checked out the FRAX tool and it is very interesting. Luckily, my chances appear to be very low. Thanks for the information.

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

Hi,

I had the osteopenia diagnosis in the beginning of last year. I too didn't want to take any of the meds even had a dr friend tell me not to! But then I started left shoulder pain and it kept getting worse. Had an MRI and it showed osteoarthritis along with a tear and some bone spurs.

Had to have surgery. No way around it and about that same time started on prolia injections twice a year. I really fought that too, I was scared to take it.

Well after my surgery I found out it was pretty bad in there he cleaned up what he could. Said it would have to be replaced down the road, yuk!

I had extensive pt very painful it even partially froze had to go back under anesthesia and get it manipulated to break away the scar tissue which is dangerous with osteo. Something could break but didn't.

I still have a lot of pain in that shoulder and I sure wish I had started a preventative sooner.

Go for my 2nd inj next week btw. No side effects to date knock on wood.

Hope this wasn't too long or scary. Cathy

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

hi, this is a first post for me. I have been having DXA scans since 2006 when i was diagnosed with going over the line from osteopenia to osteoporosis and tried many natural ways of building bone. in 2011 my spine T-score was -3.7 and i still refused meds out of fear of side effects (i don't even do asprin). Fell from a horse last year and L2 exploded into my spinal column. Now i'm fused L1-L3 and dealing with back pain and ready to try the most effective/least side effect medication. Would you say the Prolia (Denosumab) would be that? (I had chromophobe kidney cancer in 2011 and after that developed silent GERD if that is relevant at all).

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

That's what my endo told me that prolia has least side effects cathy

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

I've taken both Actonel and Forteo and had no side effects from either. I didn't gain any bone density from these either.

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

There are a number of criteria which refer to bone quality. For example, look at the article "Reduced bone mineral density is not associated with significantly reduced bone quality in men and women practicing long-term calorie restriction
with adequate nutrition"; in that article the clinical tests used to determine bone quality were a combination of high resolution MRI, CTX-1, and high sensitive C-reactive protein.

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

Hi all, I wanted to retract my statement about not having side effets. I started having gastro problems a few months into it but didnt associate it to the injection. After reading about other folks taking the prolia injection having some side effects I read into it more and saw I was having very similar effects diarrhea, nausea, extreme fatigue and intense all over body pain.

Now I have fibro so that's why it took me so much time to associate the two. But now i'm bedridden and before I wasn't. Big differance.

So just be careful. Now I'm no dr.this is just my opinion. Cathy

Re: "Bone quality"?
 

[QUOTE=Piano0105;5065175]An article not that long ago disputed the use of medication for osteopenia. I can't remember which article it was. I would never take medication for osteopenia. I don't even take it for osteoporosis due to all the negative side effects.[/QUOTE]

You can't make a decision of such a serious nature based on one article when there are literally thousand of articles about Prolia (Denosumab) I am not saying you should or should not use it, I am saying you need to have a balanced view of the drug. I am going to start taking it after a long and extensive search for the information about the drug. Lots of negative lots of plus's. However I have broken 2 bones this year. My doc says I could easily break my hip or spine. 20% of people who break a hip die in the first 12 months. I want to live!