All the drugs for osteoporosis have dangerous side effects. What is best choice, or take a chance without drugs? Hope no falls or fractures. It is frightening. My Dr. wants me to see Endocronologist, Start on a drug to strengthen bones.
My 76-year-old mother has been on a daily injection called Tymlos for the past year. She is a lifelong smoker, and was put on it two months prior to her major neck surgery. They needed quality Bone to work with plus she needed Bone for her fusions to heal. She’s had no bad effects other than insomnia, which she’s always had but it’s worse. Her recent Dexa scan showed a good result. We were also told for accuracy to always get the scan on the same machine. I was just found to have osteopenia at age 50, two years ago. My risks include Being of small frame size, never ate much dairy, and never bothered to take supplements consistently. Now I take my calcium and D3 pills and walk. I’m due for the next scan in January.
My 97 year old Mom has a couple scoops of collagen peptides in her caffeinated dark roast coffve every morning. It seems to help improve her core strength and skin. Per the Cleveland clinic and Jennifer Aniston (the Hollywood movie star), collagen can help strengthen your bones. So it can't hurt, unless you do too much.
First try to get enough calcium AND protein in your diet. Bones need protein as well as calcium and vit D, etc. Milk/dairy products for example, are good for both. There are apps/online programs to record what you eat and find out if your food intake is adequate. If not adjust your diet accordingly,
Next exercise - walking is the simplest and good for many reasons. Walking downstairs is even better.
Finally, If as is the case for me. you are not able to eat dairy then supplements are probably needed. It's hard to get enough calcium without dairy. Be careful to take the supplements in 500 mg or less doses and with meals. Read up about it,
I'm 86 and my bones are good even though I can't eat dairy. I do watch what I eat, take supplements, and exercise.
By all means see the endocrinologist as there may be an explanation there.
That needle you get every six months to strengthen your bones...it was found that it may help osteoporosis but it makes the bones brittle and they break easier. Note that u see no commercials for them anymore. I am 74 and due a scan. I have had them since my 40s and have been boarderline as of 3 yrs ago. I have taken nothing in 30 odd years. I did no HRT. I fully believe that we go thru menopause for a reason. We aren't suppose to make estrogen after a certain age. My suggestion, eat calcium rich foods. Exercise.
I definitely agree, but I would add my opion would be it depends what stage you are in. If you are in the latter stages your going to break bones anyways.
My sister is in the latter stages, mom has been for a long time. My sister was 2 inches taller than me now she is shorter than me.
My mom did break her hip , while on the 6 month shots, I will say it was a fall, then a break. Not a break then a fall.
Yeah , no!! If it wasn't for these bone meds my mother would of been a pile of broken bones 30 years ago. Sure the meds suck but and it's up to you if you think you want them or not. Educate yourself, but don't think that let's just drink milk and it will solve all are problems. My mother has been on test trials that actually grew her bones, 20 yrs ago. Probably the same meds people take now. When your bones are just crumbling MILk is not the answer
My doctor put me on bio-identicals (HRT's) for stronger bones and heart health at the age of 60 after I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis. The OBGYN's I've seen discouraged and even tried to scare me from taking HRT's because there is no money in it for them OR the drug companies. Osteoporosis drugs are BIG BUSINESS ($$) so they push them. The side effects of those drugs, however, are horrible. BUT, after 2 years of being on Estrogen and Progesterone my DexaScan results remained unchanged for the 3rd year in a row. Estrogen and Progesterone are the natural hormones we lack at a certain age and science has come a long way to make a way to replace those hormones safely and effectively. Do your own research and read all the pros and cons of this hormone replacement therapy for yourself. Good luck.
Sorry, but doctors do not go to college and years of residency/internship just to make big bucks from drug reps. Maybe doctors recommend certain drugs because they can help their patients?
My Mom was always drinking milk... eating cottage cheese... eating ice cream... yogurt... regular cheese... plus over the counter calcium tablets. For her it worked as with her many falls, never a broken bone, passed at 98 yrs. She tried to get my Dad to eat/drink the same, but he was lactose intolerant.
I inherited the lactose intolerance, plus can't tolerate calcium tablets, but do ok with taking a couple Tums each day and D3 daily. But I know my bones are thin, did have a hairline fracture a few years back.
My mom took quite a few tumbles too. She had mobility issues due to Parkinson’s disease. Yet, she never broke any bones either.
She also escaped being in a wheelchair. She did use a walker.
I felt sorry for her because she also had bad knees but wasn’t a candidate for knee surgery.
In spite of her discomfort, she worked extremely hard in home health and at the rehabilitation facility.
Mom may have been old, could barely hear, and so on, but put a good looking man in front of her and she took notice! LOL 😝.
She did whatever the handsome physical and occupational therapists asked her to do! It helped her tremendously.
Oh, and she had a crush on all of the handsome firemen who picked her up off the floor when she fell! Couldn’t hear, but definitely saw the good looking men.
Her nurse was married to a fireman and she told me that all of the old ladies loved him!
I was impressed by how much effort mom put into occupational and physical therapy.
Just a heads up about calcium supplements. My husband took them when he was receiving prostate cancer treatments.
He started getting kidney stones. When he questioned his doctor about the sudden existence of kidney stones, the doctor said that kidney stones appear more frequently when calcium supplements are taken versus when someone drinks milk.
Kidney stones are very painful. We had no idea what was causing his pain because he had never had kidney stones before taking calcium supplements.
When I took him to the ER in the middle of the night we were told that it was kidney stones.
Everyone reacts differently to everything. My mother took calcium supplements and never experienced any problems.
Mom didn’t have osteoporosis. She drank milk her whole life and lived to be 95. I am not sure why she was even taking calcium supplements. Her bone density tests always came back with good results.
I had a really bad bicycle accident and experienced an open compound fracture. I have never been a huge milk drinker. I have steel rods on both bones in my arm.
When I asked my orthopedic surgeon if I could take calcium supplements since I didn’t drink a lot of milk, he said that he would prefer that I get my calcium from dairy and vegetables.
Of course, ask a vegan about any of this, they will tell you about the benefits of a plant based diet. Plant based diets are wonderful if done correctly.
Many people consume too much meat. For me, it’s all about eating a balanced diet that includes all foods.
My primary care doctor says that it isn’t necessary to eliminate all dairy products or meat. Everything can be consumed in moderation.
Ya can't push too much calcium, my mom has osteoporosis, so I keep up with calcium and vitamin d, my last blood work my calcium levels was slightly high, so they told me to slow down a little.
I feel like if I was just starting on meds I wouldn't want the 6 months shots, that my mom gets. Because if they made me ill then , would I be sick for six months. That would be something I would have to ask a doctor but I don't think I would take that .
I know someone that is doing physical therapy for osteoporosis. Not sure if she is doing meds too but I know she is going to physical therapy all the time. You could ask a doctor about that.
Someone can have too much calcium. I was taken off of calcium -- I think they called it Hypercalcemia - too much calcium in the blood. I was on Prolia for a while --- until I developed an thigh fracture (one of the side effects I was never told about). I now have a titainium rod in my leg. For the last 5 years I hav refused any medication for oesteoporosis.
See the endocrinologist first to figure out what is going on. I was also told that I should start on Fosamax and I resisted and saw an endo and it was discovered that I had a parathyroid that was the cause of calcium loss. My levels started to return within minutes of it's removal. I am now back to "osteopenia" and not "osteoporosis" I did learn something interesting in order for the Dexa Scan to be accurate with the numbers tests should be done on the same machine so when they compare they are more sure of the numbers. (this was according to my current endo) Second and maybe a third opinion!!!!
"... there may be a link between high-dose calcium supplements and heart disease. The evidence is mixed and more research is needed before doctors know the effect calcium supplements may have on heart attack risk. A similar controversy surrounds calcium and prostate cancer."
You can't just start shoveling calcium and other supplements into you without consequences. Most of the time you pee out the excess anyway. In addition to talking to a specialist, consider a consultation with a dietician (and if your doctor refers you it should be covered by Medicare).
My Mom was prescribed Fosamax many years ago but it gave her gastric discomfort so she stopped. She's now 94 but has osteoarthritis and is very stooped over, making it difficult to do things.
If I were you I'd work with your doc to find the best possible medicine to help you so you can retain your independence and mobility. Not all side effects listed are caused by the drug, if you know anything about how clinical trials work: the clinicians have to report any and all complaints/changes from the participants and sometimes there's no correlation. For example, that certain drugs cause "menstrual cramps". Not a problem if you're a guy, or past menopause.
Go see that endocrinologist. If it is important enough to ask you to do that then they are seeing lots of bone loss worries. You know what is the BEST way to strengthen normal bones? It's WALKING.
Walk as much as you are able. Walking strengthens bones a whole lot. The fact that your MD is referring you means he wants to r/o (rule out) more serious conditions. So keep that appointment and don't take the advice of a bunch of folks on a Forum, but the best MEDICAL advice you can get.
Per the Cleveland clinic and Jennifer Aniston (the Hollywood movie star), collagen can help strengthen your bones.
So it can't hurt, unless you do too much.
Next exercise - walking is the simplest and good for many reasons. Walking downstairs is even better.
Finally, If as is the case for me. you are not able to eat dairy then supplements are probably needed. It's hard to get enough calcium without dairy. Be careful to take the supplements in 500 mg or less doses and with meals. Read up about it,
I'm 86 and my bones are good even though I can't eat dairy. I do watch what I eat, take supplements, and exercise.
By all means see the endocrinologist as there may be an explanation there.
Good luck!!!
My sister is in the latter stages, mom has been for a long time. My sister was 2 inches taller than me now she is shorter than me.
My mom did break her hip , while on the 6 month shots, I will say it was a fall, then a break. Not a break then a fall.
But my mom's been on one form or another form of meds for 20 plus years. And did very well until about 3 yrs ago.
My mother has been on test trials that actually grew her bones, 20 yrs ago. Probably the same meds people take now.
When your bones are just crumbling MILk is not the answer
I inherited the lactose intolerance, plus can't tolerate calcium tablets, but do ok with taking a couple Tums each day and D3 daily. But I know my bones are thin, did have a hairline fracture a few years back.
My mom took quite a few tumbles too. She had mobility issues due to Parkinson’s disease. Yet, she never broke any bones either.
She also escaped being in a wheelchair. She did use a walker.
I felt sorry for her because she also had bad knees but wasn’t a candidate for knee surgery.
In spite of her discomfort, she worked extremely hard in home health and at the rehabilitation facility.
Mom may have been old, could barely hear, and so on, but put a good looking man in front of her and she took notice! LOL 😝.
She did whatever the handsome physical and occupational therapists asked her to do! It helped her tremendously.
Oh, and she had a crush on all of the handsome firemen who picked her up off the floor when she fell! Couldn’t hear, but definitely saw the good looking men.
Her nurse was married to a fireman and she told me that all of the old ladies loved him!
I was impressed by how much effort mom put into occupational and physical therapy.
He started getting kidney stones. When he questioned his doctor about the sudden existence of kidney stones, the doctor said that kidney stones appear more frequently when calcium supplements are taken versus when someone drinks milk.
Kidney stones are very painful. We had no idea what was causing his pain because he had never had kidney stones before taking calcium supplements.
When I took him to the ER in the middle of the night we were told that it was kidney stones.
Everyone reacts differently to everything. My mother took calcium supplements and never experienced any problems.
Mom didn’t have osteoporosis. She drank milk her whole life and lived to be 95. I am not sure why she was even taking calcium supplements. Her bone density tests always came back with good results.
I had a really bad bicycle accident and experienced an open compound fracture. I have never been a huge milk drinker. I have steel rods on both bones in my arm.
When I asked my orthopedic surgeon if I could take calcium supplements since I didn’t drink a lot of milk, he said that he would prefer that I get my calcium from dairy and vegetables.
Of course, ask a vegan about any of this, they will tell you about the benefits of a plant based diet. Plant based diets are wonderful if done correctly.
Many people consume too much meat. For me, it’s all about eating a balanced diet that includes all foods.
My primary care doctor says that it isn’t necessary to eliminate all dairy products or meat. Everything can be consumed in moderation.
I feel like if I was just starting on meds I wouldn't want the 6 months shots, that my mom gets. Because if they made me ill then , would I be sick for six months. That would be something I would have to ask a doctor but I don't think I would take that .
I know someone that is doing physical therapy for osteoporosis. Not sure if she is doing meds too but I know she is going to physical therapy all the time. You could ask a doctor about that.
Good luck, best wishes to you
I was also told that I should start on Fosamax and I resisted and saw an endo and it was discovered that I had a parathyroid that was the cause of calcium loss. My levels started to return within minutes of it's removal.
I am now back to "osteopenia" and not "osteoporosis"
I did learn something interesting in order for the Dexa Scan to be accurate with the numbers tests should be done on the same machine so when they compare they are more sure of the numbers. (this was according to my current endo)
Second and maybe a third opinion!!!!
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/calcium-supplements/art-20047097#:~:text=It's%20not%20definitive%2C%20but%20there,surrounds%20calcium%20and%20prostate%20cancer.
You can't just start shoveling calcium and other supplements into you without consequences. Most of the time you pee out the excess anyway. In addition to talking to a specialist, consider a consultation with a dietician (and if your doctor refers you it should be covered by Medicare).
If I were you I'd work with your doc to find the best possible medicine to help you so you can retain your independence and mobility. Not all side effects listed are caused by the drug, if you know anything about how clinical trials work: the clinicians have to report any and all complaints/changes from the participants and sometimes there's no correlation. For example, that certain drugs cause "menstrual cramps". Not a problem if you're a guy, or past menopause.
You know what is the BEST way to strengthen normal bones?
It's WALKING.
Walk as much as you are able. Walking strengthens bones a whole lot.
The fact that your MD is referring you means he wants to r/o (rule out) more serious conditions. So keep that appointment and don't take the advice of a bunch of folks on a Forum, but the best MEDICAL advice you can get.