Osteoporosis Community

Hi momsygirl,
mild means you can probably stabilize your bones and live a normal live! To be told that your bones are more hollow than they should is a shock, but also a wake-up call or better even a call-to-arms! Get your blood and 24-urine calcium levels checked, your blood vitamin D, your parathyroid levels and a few other parameters to exclude an underlying, ongoing disease. Find a good doctor, one who is open minded, curious, and working for and with you - not one of those half-goods who think they know everything and will make all decisions for you (difficult to find, I know). Then - or why not today! - go to a pharmacy or nutrition shop or co-op and look for vitamin D supplements. Do you like gummy bears? you can have one per day (1000 U) with the great excuse of just taking your vitamin D. You also probably need a little more calcium. If you have a glass of milk and a yoghurt in the morning and an ounce of swiss cheese in the evening you are already getting a lot, but still not enough (each of those has about 300 mg calcium). What about one of those chocolate flavored 300mg calcium/150mg magnesium chewables after each lunch. (You want to get about 400 mg with each meal). Don't forget to add a 20-30 minute walk most/every day to you routine; it's actually fun to feel the change of the seasons on your skin and to watch the change of nature during the year. I don't know what your T-score is, no matter, it feels lousy, but it will only be detrimental some time in the future, and that gives you time to fight further bone loss and prevent it from causing serious trouble in a decade or two. Get active and - good luck!

Having osteoporosis at 50 is not as serious as having it at 70 unless your overall health is bad. I'm not getting that from you though.

Your bone loss is most likely caused by two things - not building up to your peak bone mass potential during your bone forming years and the decrease in bone density as you go through menopause and your estrogen shuts down. The lack of estrogen could also account for your moodiness.

Have you had a fracture as an adult that was not of a violent nature? Did either of your parents break a hip? Do you smoke or consume more than 3 alcoholic drinks a day? do you have to take prednisone for an inflammatory illness? If you answer no, your risk for fractures is small regardless of your T-score.

Many people with osteoporosis go through life never breaking a bone while many more people with osteopenia (T-score between -1.1 and -2.4) do fracture.

The current recommendations are for 1200 mg of calcium daily in diet and/or supplements. The body will absorb about 500 mg at a time, so spread it out. Also you need to get 800-1000 IU of Vit D each day. And be on your feet at least 4 hours throughout the day.

If you do have osteoporosis as defined by a T-score of -2.5 or lower or by having had a vertebral or hip fracture, you meet the guidelines for medication. Talk to your doctor about this and your risk for fracture.

In the meantime, there's a wonderful booklet printed by the National Osteoporosis Foundation (www.of.org ) that we use in our osteoporosis center as a teaching supplement for our rehab classes. It costs $1 and is chock full of all kinds of reliable information for you. I'd suggest you get one.

There's plenty you can do at your age to prevent breaking a bone, and that's what it's all about. Glad you found this sight, now check out the NOF.

hi Gerda..thank you for replying to my post..
i thought no one took notice..
been reading and reading about Osteoporosis and yes,maybe you are right-when u said maybe mild means i can probably stabilize my bones and leave a normal life..
there was no T score,what is it?how is it done?
maybe i have to go to a big city for the tests..thank you for the advise and the tips,im taking now Caltrate Plus-i feel it is not enought..
im starting on my daily exercise..first my knees-need to get to make them stronger-i am arthritic too..
Godbless Gerda..hoping to hear more from you..

hi Gerda..thank you for replying to my post..
i thought no one took notice..
been reading and reading about Osteoporosis and yes,maybe you are right-when u said maybe mild means i can probably stabilize my bones and leave a normal life..
there was no T score,what is it?how is it done?
maybe i have to go to a big city for the tests..thank you for the advise and the tips,im taking now Caltrate Plus-i feel it is not enought..
im starting on my daily exercise..first my knees-need to get to make them stronger-i am arthritic too..
Godbless Gerda..hoping to hear more from you..

hello bonebabe-love the name..
thank you for the very informative reply..
first,i want to tell you that i have never had a fracture..and my answers to all other queries is NO..
ill check (www.of.org )..thank you very much again..
ive been arthritic too,my knees and wrists are..Godbless..

If you've not gotten a T-score, how do you know you have osteoporosis? You have to have a DXA test, a heel or wrist ultrasound won't diagnose. The DXA is the gold standard of bone density testing.

T-scores are the way we measure your bone density. The T doesn't stand for anything, BTW. Normal bone is having a score of -1.0 and higher. Osteopenia (or low bone density) is having a T-score of -1.1 to -2.4. Osteoporosis is having a T-score of -2.5 and lower, OR having had a vertebral or hip fracture, regardless of T-score.

Look at the NOF (www.nof.org ) for more information.

hello 4 weeks agobonebabe ..just got my T Score and it just made me more depressed..i was hoping its just osteopenia..but really it is -3.6!my God?does that mean i could break a bone any moment?..

I posted earlier and yes, it is very possible to break a bone or like me, have a compression fracture. I am now on Forteo and it has actually has regrown my bone. I went from a - 4.0 in 2004 to a - 1.3 now. I had a compression fracture two years ago when I was at - 2.3, and after taking Forteo for 2 years I am at a - 1.3, which is a very good thing, so there is hope!!! See if your doctor has any suggestions as well. Good Luck!

hello An_,im due to see a doctor this week..up to now,im still at a lost..just dont know what to do,but since getting my hip xray with moderate osteoporosis result,i have started religiously to exercise and is,ive said taking Caltrate plus ..in addition i have been eating all the green grass i could..lol!
thank you,but i still have a lot of things to ask..Godbless..!

On the list of most generally accessible sources of vitamin D is undoubtedly direct sunlight. The moment sun light come to the skin, formation of vitamin D starts off within the body system. In addition to the contact with the sun, alternative ways to have vitamin D is certainly apparent - food. A lot of people believe that having food resources of vitamin D is not needed given that direct sunlight is definitely attainable and merely up to 20 minutes of exposure to the direct sun light is enough minimize vitamin D insufficiency. Nonetheless, the modern active life style which require inconsistent labor timings impart us with almost no time for sun rays direct exposure. Not surprising, vitamin D deficiency is typical in the metropolitan people. Limited vitamin D quantities may make the bone fragments fragile as well as maximize the potential risk of weak bones. Most of these medical problems might be stopped by simply adding food resources of vitamin D inside the diet program. A few of the healthy foods loaded with vitamin D will be talked about underneath:



Great Food Resources for Vitamin D



Fish

Basically a small number of kinds of fish are discovered to come with significant amount of vitamin D. Fish for instance tuna, spanish mackerel, salmons as well as sardines are usually an excellent increased risk of low vitamin D . This type of oily fish and also defined as healthy foods containing more vitamin D. In regards to maximum vitamin D quantities found in fish, salmon is without a doubt a guaranteed safe bet.

With a -3.6, I doubt you can get away without an RX for osteoporosis despite your age. Yes, you could break a bone easily, but you also could break a bone with osteopenia. You need to talk to your doctor about which medication is right for you. With the Caltrate Plus, be sure to read the label and see if the serving size is one or two tablets. Then figure out how much you'd need on a daily basis to make your dietary calcium consumption plus the Caltrate come out to about 1200 mg. I'd be real careful in my exercise program until I'd read the NOF booklet or talked with a physical therapist about correct and incorrect movements.

thank you again bonebabe..
ive read that stress too will aggravate osteoporosis,im not good at leaving "stress" alone..im so guilty of it..(
another thing,i have a kidney stone,will my daily Calcium intake affect my having kidney stone?..
ill check the nof booklet for correct movements or exercise.. but all i do is 30 mins brisk walking..and i know its not enough-most of those who posts here say they go o the gymn 3x a day..i cant do that..and aside form it all,i am also arthritic-my knees are...its sad really,growing old really bites!(

Depends on whether your kidney stone is calcium or uremic. Your body still needs calcium. If this is your first (calcium) stone, taking supplements as directed most likely will not be in itself enough to cause another stone. We encourage our patients to get most of their calcium from diet. Read your food labels. So many foods now have calcium added, it's entirely possible to get what you need from food. You just have to space it out throughout the day.

30 minutes a day of walking is fine. Actually the recommendations are 30 min/day for 3 days a week or be on your feet at least 4 hours a day.

Get the med, get the booklet and take it from there. Good luck.