Osteoporosis Community

Did you take Actonel or Atenelol? One is for angina and one is for osteoporosis. Do you have a heart condition and had to take Atenelol? I'm thinking you meant Actonel, but I need to be sure.

At 46, you're most likely perimenopausal - which is the 5 years or so leading into menopause. Your estrogen level drops and you can lose up to 20% of your bone density at this time. If your T-score is already into the osteoporosis range, you can be assured that it will drop even lower when you are completely menopausal. It is very important that you do something now to stop that slide.

The possible pregnancy factor is why the osteo meds aren't deemed suitable for premenopausal women. There just hasn't been enough testing on them in that respect to give a clearance. However, if there's no chance you could become pregnant, I'd suggest you take a med.

The biggest side effect in the oral bisphosphonates is the GERD. If that was your problem, you could try the Reclast annual infusion. There's also Evista, which is basically a synthetic hormone that has no effect on breast tissue.

The Prolia is meant to be used when all other meds have not been successful. I wouldn't see it as just another choice when you haven't tried the others.

Be sure that whatever you decide on, that you consume 1200 mg of calcium a day. The meds won't work if you don't give them the calcium to work with. Spread it out throughout the day as it's not easily absorbable. You also need 1000 IU of Vit D to send the calcium to the bones.

You can look through the National Osteoporosis Foundation website (www.nof.org ) for a lot of good reliable information and an excellent FAQ section.

Thank you for the information. I tried the Actonel and it made me so sick. I am also not good at taking pills. I try to take daily vitamins when I remember. I like the fact that Prolia is an injection so I dont have to worry about taking pills every day but I guess I still do since I need to remember to take the calcium and vit D. Thank You for your insight. I am not dure what my best option is and I definetly need to do something. I am -2.7 on my dexa. I thought I was too young for this but I guess not.

Do you think Prolia is a good choice for me or should i look into reclast?

I don't know your health situation or family history. Is there some reason you're wanting the Prolia rather than the Reclast? If you have no big health issues other than the low T-score, talk to your doctor about Reclast. My brother takes it as he travels extensively and only has to do this once a year. It's also covered under your health insurance as opposed to drug insurance since it's given as an IV in a medical setting.

I would stay away from that stuff I hear it is pure junk.
can even be dangerous