Seeking comments about osteoporosis/ostepenia. Dr. says I should take Fosamax, I won't. I am 53 & thin boned.
To try to get my bone density up I have drunk so much milk etc. that when I went to give blood they said the milk interferred with my iron count. I hate drinking milk, it makes me groggy, I always feel better if I'm off it a few days. I am very very very thin boned, when I buy a bracelet I have to buy a child size. I am 5'2". I sort of think these test are just a huge hoax and anyone who is small boned automatically has osetoporosis. I am 53 and have never broken any bone nor has anyone in my family.
I never never never drank milk as a child. I hated it. But now as an adult I will drink it. I had bone density readings two years straight and it says I have osteopenia. My doc says the readings might stabilize after menopause, which I think I'm over with. So that's what I'm hoping for now. Most of my friends (many) on the Fosamix have dropped it after years. Also, I do jog nearly daily to get that 'weight bearing excercise' one needs with low bone density. Thanks.
Answers:
I had osteopenia and was put on Fosamax and I hated taking so I quit. I now have osteoporosis. I am 5'1 and walk everyday. I drank milk as a child and take calcium, vitamin D and magnesium every day. They put me on Actonel, Miacalcin and Boniva and I quit those too. I just don't like the routine of no food, lots of water and sitting up for 30-60 minutes. It interferes with my life so I never stay with it. So now I get a 15 second IV every 3 months of Boniva. I make the appointment to coincide with other bloodwork and the actual drug costs less than all of the others. (Insurance included) I will have my first density test after taking the IV Boniva for a year in August and I am hoping for a good result. Osteoporosis is a serious disease so ask your Doc about the IV Boniva. It is painless, cheaper, and studies show it is effective. Good luck!
You are choosing your death.
I have had many patients that have spiralled downhill quickly after their hip fracture.
When I am your age, and my doc tells me I have bad bones, I would take fosamax (or its best competetor in the market) in a heartbeat.
Hip fractures are an awful way to go. Trust your docs. They actually might know what they are talking about...
Wishing you the best health for yourself...good luck!
My doctor put me on Fosamax two years ago. I go the end of this month to see if it has helped. So far I haven't had a problem taking it. My aunt had osteoporosis and when she reached her 70s she started getting really humped back. Her spine kept fracturing and she got really short and in so much pain. I didn't want that so when my doctor said my bones were begining to thin I took his advice. Hopefully it has helped. I saw the other day there is something you can take interveinously once a year now for bone thinning. You might check into that.
I think you should reconsider. My grandma had osteoporosis and had never had a broken bone until she fell in her driveway and broke her femur. She had to use a wheelchair after that--and she'd been a very active farm wife! My mom took care of her the rest of her life.
Also, did you know that women with osteoporosis are less likely to survive car crashes because they have so many more fractures? My mom, who has osteoporosis, was in a wreck and barely survived. She had over a dozen fractures, including several broken ribs and three pelvic fractures. I spent *months* taking care of her.
If for no other reason, consider taking the medicine for the sake of the people who care about you! Spare them the heartache.
Bone density has nothing to do with whether you are small boned or large boned. The density refers to how closely knit the the bone spicules (hardened cells making up bone) are. Optimally, you should have a dense bone b/c it is stronger (this wound be so much easier to explain if I could draw.) Think of it this way, your bones are like Angle Food Cake when what you really want are bones that are brownies. Fosamax can really help, it is far more effective than trying to slug down all of that milk. If you are drinking milk, make sure that it is fat-free, there is a higher calcium concentration than whole milk.
Also, add some light free weights to your routine. Try the book "Strong Women, Strong Bones" by Miriam E. Nelson and Sarah Wernick
i am 26 and have osteopenia. my dr suggested that i take calcium supplements along w/ vit d.
"thin boned" means just the same as "big boned"---- nothing.
osteoporosis means that the bones in your body are brittle and do not have the "thickness" of someone w/ normal bones. drinking milk is going to do nothing as well. over 65% of your bone mass is accumilated by the time you are 30. once you hit that age, medication is the only resource you have to rebuild your bone strength. fosamax, boniva, and actonel are all proven to "regrow" the thickness of your bones. that would be your safest bet.
Fosamax destroys the bone in your jaw.
Fosamax does NOT rebuild bone... it only slows the process of bone breakdown.
Our bodies go through a continuous bone-building cycle, in which old bone is broken down and new bone is formed. This balanced process keeps our skeleton healthy and strong.
Osteoporosis is caused by an imbalance in this cycle, in which too much bone is broken down and not completely rebuilt.
Think about two "pacmen" (like the video game, lol.) These are your osteoclasts and osteoblasts.
Osteoclasts look for old bone and dissolve it away (bone resorption). Once this is completed, the other 'pacmen' called osteoblasts move on it to start building new bone (new bone formation).
Then your body goes into a resting phase where your bones remain good for a certain length of time before it gets old and crystallises and our pacmen get back to work.
Fosamax works by killing the osteoclasts, the 'pacmen' responsible for dissolving the old bone. If you kill these cells, of course your bone will get denser. What studies do not show is that four years later the bone actually becomes weaker even though it is more dense.
Evidence suggests that progesterone receptors are present in osteoblasts and that adding progesterone will actively increase bone mass and density and can reverse osteoporosis.
Natural progesterone is the only thing that has been proven to rebuild bone. Dr. John Lee used it in his practice, and found that his patients showed a 10% increase in bone density within 6-to-12 months, followed by an annual increase of 3% to 5% until the bone density of his post-menopausal patients stabilized at the levels of healthy 35-year-old women!
Why do we think that we can poison our body back to health (through the use of prescription drugs)!
taking milk alone won't help as your body surely doesn't absord the calcium that you're taking. i think you should really go to a doctor to get the most appropriate treatment for it.. actonel is a really good pill that my mom used when she was still alive.. consider it, if not for your sake, at least for those who love you..
my mom would not touch those pills until it was too late for her.. she started the pills exactly 2 days before her fall...
im 17 and have osteoporosis (i know, lucky me!). i don't take my calcium supplements and im really paying the price. in a year alone i have gone from not being able to tell i had it to constant pain in my feet when i walk, bones constantly cracking and the worst: i think i have broken my rib from coughing! please listen to your dr. they dont say this stuff for no reason.
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