Osteoporosis Community

You're too funny I wish I did get paid by someone other than the hospital where I work.

I'm sorry that you thought my reply was harsh. It certainly wasn't meant to be. I deal in realities in my profession. We see about 4000 patients a year in various stages of bone health. Not one, not a single one, has reversed her bone density if it was below -2.0 by the use of natural means alone. Not one!

To me the repercussions of low bone density are harsh. People die from fractures. There are medications that are proven to reduce their risk of having these fractures. I still maintain that for someone who is not a specialist in osteoporosis, who does not know an individual's personal health situation, but who does have a prejudice against medications to attempt to sway someone from taking a med that could possibly allow them to lead a fracture free life is irresponsible.

The femur fractures you mention do occur to people taking bisphosphonates. They also occur with the same frequency to people who do not. To date there has been no verified correlation between the meds and these particular fractures. The health professionals are stumped by them.

The lawsuits also are much publicized. The lawyers see a potential windfall ($) for them in bringing class action suits. Again, there has been no result of these. None has gone to court and no determination of culpability has been determined.

Osteopenia always leads to osteoporosis? No, it doesn't. There are many women who have low bone density all their lives who never develop osteoporosis. On the other hand, there are women who have normal bone density according to their scores, but who break a hip or vertebra. This gives them a clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Gwyneth Paltrow is not relevant because she is under age 50. She is still producing estrogen that protects her bones to a degree. (No diagnosis is given to premenopausal women or men under 50 unless their low bone density is secondary to another health condition.) Certainly she needs to do what she can to make them strong. Her weight is a huge factor that she chooses not to change.

If there were a magic diet that would reverse osteoporosis, we would be all over it. That would be wonderful news. The same as it would be for any other illness that requires medication. Taking meds is the pits. No one wants to do it. But I'm glad it's there if we need it.

And, just to clarify my position by working in a hospital - we neither recommend nor prescribe medication. Only the patient's doctor can do that. We test, educate, rehabilitate and support.

p.s. Remember I also said that I couldn't get the site to open up. Maybe you could share some of the highlights of their thinking. I'd be interested to know.

Bonebabe, no offense but I believe that you were educated by an archaic system by doctors who once believed wrongly that we can all pop a pill and voila!!! youl get better , this is outdated thinking and its based in GREED .
these bone drugs are so dangerous and millions of dollars in law suits are piling up ( Google it folks) the big pharma companies are keeping it quiet but its out there to read see google see all the law suits against fosamax and how many women have been seriously injured! Its difficult to fight these big companies because they are all lawyered up and extremely wealthy from pushing the junk they push, on unsuspecting women
the case the drugs are not only harmful but they dont even make you better - see the studies the "new bone" is fragile honeycombed garbage and it breaks so easily thus the law suits!!! In Aldus Huxleys BRAVE NEW WORLD everyone believed that chemicals were the answer the chemicals were going to cure us all but after so many yrs of taking bad medicine people are starting to wake up
there is proof that the drugs for osteoporosis are dangerous junk and we all know it ( I am sure you know that also but you wont admit it as you were taught to salute the chemicals. No offense but this is outdated thinking.
Everyone now knows that-
The best way to tackle bone issues is to eat correctly, have a healthy diet you and of course you should workout JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS

Of course you meant offense, otherwise you wouldn't have phrased your reply the way you did. But then we hear this kind of diatribe from people all the time.

While I continue to maintain my beliefs based on my personal interaction with many patients, I understand that you don't share them. I sincerely hope that you never contract a disease, suffer an illness/infection or experience an accident that would necessitate your popping a pill. I've seen too many lives saved or improved by medication.

My mother's brother died at age 5 from something as innocuous as a splinter which led to tetanus. She said she can remember him screaming with jaws locked and their mother holding him, crying, as he died. Thankfully big pharm is there with solutions to illness, injury, birth defects, etc.

I'm not here to change your mind; I'm not even interested in that. I'm here to provide information in a field where I've worked for 17 years and to link to creditable sites such as the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the International Society for Clinical Densitometrists. I have no dog in this ongoing discussion of natural vs medication as my bone health is fine. I simply relay my experiences and knowledge.