Osteoporosis Community

Are you male or female? Menopause would be a factor here.

While running is for sure weight bearing, it can also cause you to sweat, which excretes calcium through the pores.

It might just be time for you to have a baseline DXA to see where things stand.

Hi... Thanks for the reply. I'm a guy. Any idea what a "baseline DXA" costs? I have high deductible. I recalled another somewhat recent weird rib incident: I took 2 kids to the fair and rode with them on a tilt-a-whirl. They slid up against my side due to the centrifugal force. Didn't seem all that harsh, but my elbow jammed into my ribs a bit and I heard a "pop" and it hurt for a week or so. Hmm--I do sweat a ton when working out. Calcium loss?

I'd definitely talk to your doctor about some extensive testing. A bone density test for sure. Depending on your insurance, you may or may not have to pay a deductible. If you have a well care provision, usually DXA's are covered 100%. A DXA usually costs less in an outpatient hospital setting than when done in a doctor's office. At our center, it's $222 including the doctor's interpretation report. At a private practice down the road, it's $350 with no interpretation. Ask around. Also plan to get follow up testing at the same place every 2 or so years.

Factors that could play into your bone health and possible bone loss would be: steroid use, anticonvulsant use, low testosterone, alcohol consumption - usually 3 drinks a day - IBS or Crohns or any other gastric problem, hyperparathyroidism. These are the most obvious. Time for a talk with your doctor.

Hi and Welcome Jefe61,

Even though this article is geared toward women, it has great information -

Bone Density: A Clue to Your Future

Another resource you may be interested in -

Slideshow: A Visual Guide to Osteoporosis

Keep us posted and let us know the results of your tests,
Elizabeth

Let's assume I need to strengthen my bones: is there something I could readily do right now to set out on that path? (I don't have any of the mitigating factors listed. It just seems like I'm getting more fragile, so I'd like to do what I could to offset that.) Basically, I'm thinking I should just start taking supplemental Calcium and Vit D -- as I saw those two mentioned prominently. Perhaps I could give those two a year and see if I seem more robust. In short, if a test did show lower density, would the dr's response likely be to start me on Calcium and Vit D? If so, why not just do that -- no downside, is there? (Of course, we might miss my rare disorder but if things didn't improve then I could take the next step.)

Basically, I don't have cash for dr. visits or tests. Apologies for not being a good patient, or for not being part of the market that shops at the dr.-store, but I didn't cut myself off of care-testing, such services left me behind as of the late 1980's when such things were more affordable. For all the reasons we know, healthcare has moved from a market-demographic related to, say, Target, to one more like Sachs 5th Ave., so I just can't shop there anymore. Sigh. (It is considered it to be a "customer" type relation now, it seems.) ...Whine-meter off now. : )

ps: ...And I do appreciate being able to learn more about my health thanks to forums like this! I also seem to have LPR (reflux) and want to get off of the OTC PPI I've been taking so I have learned here to reduce dietary acid and to raise the head of my bed as first steps to a non-drug repair. And, again, I'll try using what I learn here first then go for further help if such efforts don't have good results.

You need calcium and Vit D regardless of anything else. You should've been consuming that all your life. At age 50 your bone mass has maxed out. It won't increase. You could strengthen the bones you have, but you won't increase mass. Your body needs the calcium for a lot of things not related to bone, so when you don't put calcium into your body, your body will take what it needs from the bones.

So start today getting 1200 mg of calcium and 2000 IU of Vit D. The calcium can only be absorbed about 500 mg at a time, but the Vit D can be taken all at once. Sunshine isn't enough at this point for you. You need a supplement or a calcium supplement with D.

What I would do if I were you is contact a hospital or clinic or doctor's office in your area and ask if they have a peripheral bone density screening tool, such as the Sahara Ultrasound that they will be taking to any health fairs. We do that a lot with our Sahara. We probably participate in 15 health fairs a year with the machine. It's not a diagnostic test, but a screening test that looks at one site to get a broad view of your bone density. In the case of the Sahara, it's the heel. It takes about 10 seconds. If that number is low, I'd cough up the cash and see a doctor for some in depth look at what's going on. If you think that's expensive, wait till you fracture. You'll really be parting with some money then.

There might also be a free clinic where you live. Here we have the Good Samaritan Clinic that only charges people $10 for a visit. Check around. You might find something.

Also, as far as the Sahara testing is concerned, don't plan to do this every year. It's a once in a lifetime test. It's not used for diagnostic purposes or sensitive enough to track change. Just to see if you need further testing. It's a good starting place.

Check out the National Osteoporosis Foundation website for a lot more good information. www.nof.org .

The PPI's you take inhibit absorption of calcium. If you still do Prevacid or the like, take a calcium citrate instead of a calcium carbonate. Read the label carefully for the correct dosage.

Thanks! I'll ask about the Health Fair idea. As regards Calcium and Vit D supplements -- diet isn't enough? We eat a lot of kale and fresh foods. I wonder what a good diet gives for daily Calcum and Vit D compared to the numbers you provide. Well, I'm game for a supplement.Yikes...so this is as tough as my bones are going to get and what I'm trying to do now is prevent further decline? Well, I'm still 49 for a month, so we'll see if I can squeak in a bit of density before I begin my long slide! : ) I've purposely done heavy-bag workouts and wood-splitting to keep up on the bone-shocking which I've heard is good for density. Oh well! (My "easy tweaks" started 5 years ago. I started taking Omeprazole last summer.)

The same situation happened to me 3 years ago. I was working a concrete drill and cracked my ribs by leaning on the drill so I switched sides and cracked more ribs on that side. Thought I'd wait it out and it never went away. My doctor ordered a blood test and it turned out to be a blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma. It typically shows up in the ribs. An elevated protein level will show up on a blood test. Many times it hits physically active people.
I hope that this does not apply to you, but it may be worth checking out.

Best of luck