22 year old female with osteoporosis, don't have a lot of support
Posted , 12 users are following.
Hello, I'm new here and wanted to get some advice about my situation. Earlier this year I found out I have osteoporosis and low bone density. I think the worst results are from a part of my spine (-2.6) and femoral neck (-2.4). However, my hip is -0.6 and other results are in the osteopenia range.
I know it is very abnormal for someone my age to have this condition. I have been underweight for all of my teenage years and developed mental health problems and disordered eating habits when I was 15. This probably created the problem, I think I have been suffering from malnutrition for a very long time even before mental illness. I am lactose intolerant and I don't think I get calcium from my diet at all.
From a blood test, I now know I have high levels of parathyroid hormone and some proteins are at low levels. However, my doctor and the specialist I went to see failed to mention this, in fact my GP told me everything was normal from blood test results. I investigated this myself and have concluded that I'm not getting enough calcium from food and my body is literally taking it from my bones so blood calcium levels are in the normal range. Also, I've had chronically low levels of vitamin d (39.8 nmol/l) for at least a year. I'm currently underweight again and don't eat nearly enough food which is adding to the stress.
I want to stop being passive about this now and educate myself so I can make the right choices. I've been made to feel like it really isn't a big deal because I'm young and don't need medication. I've never had a fracture probably because I have been living an extremely sedentary lifestyle...which has really ruined my social life and mental health actually. I can feel the weakness in my bones everyday from dull aches and pains. I'm scared about the future.
The specialist I went to see gave me a sheet of paper with information about dietary calcium and wants my GP to prescribe me calcium supplements (500mg calcium with 500mg vit d). Will this be enough? I'm sceptical, it's like I've been left in the dark. I've relapsed back into eating disorder behaviour and feel really hopeless about my health. I'll have another dexa scan in 2-3 years and I think doctors want to see an improvement but I feel like things are just going to get worse from here.
Thank you for reading, I'm sorry for being so negative.
1 like, 26 replies
kathleen65757 maria475
Posted
You need help with your eating disorder for a start.
One thing you could add to your calcium tablets is vitamin K2 which will put the calcium onto the bones.
You need a caring GP who will support you with your food and exercise and also monitor your depression and eating disorder.
A good GP will refer you on for the further help you need.
There are people who will help you but you must ask for that help.
As you are unique you need each part of your health addressed and solved. It is doable!
maria475 kathleen65757
Posted
Thank you Kathleen for your kind words. I have an appointment in a few months with a psychiatrist who can help with my eating disorder behaviour. I also talk to a therapist about my emotional problems but it is very hard on me and I don't think I can resolve those issues any time soon. I will persevere though, I have to try.
I am missing the support a GP could offer and I don't know how to get it. Your right, I need to just ask and see who responds and actually helps. I hope I can cross paths with a doctor who is more sensitive and understanding, I really need to be monitored and held accountable for my poor lifestyle and destructive behaviour. I feel completely alone and afraid, like there is no one else on this planet who has to deal with the illnesses that I have. Thank you for replying and redirecting my thoughts to this huge problem.
constance.de maria475
Posted
"completely alone"????? There are hundreds of thousands who are in the same boat. Unfortunately THEY cannot help - there are only a few that can - YOU, a good doctor , and a psychiatrist. Others that can make you not feel alone are people who will listen and not judge (like us and others on forums). Don't dispair - there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.
Constance. 💐💐💐💐💐
kathleen65757 maria475
Posted
Your psychiatrist you are about to see may very well be the turning point you are needing.
All the best to you little lady!
constance.de maria475
Posted
You poor thing! You are sooooo young to have osteoporosis. No doubt, as you say, due to your food disorder. But you have recognised this, accepted it, so you have come a long way - now it is onwards and upwards.
Supplements, vitamins, etc are OK as additions but they don't take the place of good food. You have accepted that!
There is an anerexia forum on Patient Info - I am sure someone there will be able to give you good advice.
Good luck - and all the best. 💐💐
Constance
OsteoMan maria475
Posted
maria475 OsteoMan
Posted
Hi, thank you for the information. So the main things I should take daily are vit d3 with magnesium and vitamin k2 with calcium? Is there any other main things to be aware about?
Also, I read your story in another post and it was heart breaking to realise how much suffering you're experiencing. Are you seeing progress through doing these things? I hope your life can improve, you're in my thoughts.
Anhaga maria475
Posted
I read that if you have a magnesium deficiency it's a good idea to take your extra magnesium at a different time from calcium. Calcium is preferred by the body and you may not absorb the magnesium fully. Another way to get magnesium is to soak in a bath with Epsom salts! We do get a good amount of magnesium in a well balanced diet, the issue sometimes occurs when taking extra calcium. I don't think there is any problem taking K2 and D3 at the same time as you take your calcium.
kathleen65757 Anhaga
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Anhaga maria475
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You have made great strides in turning things around. The good news is that you CAN make things better! I am much older than you and developed osteopenia probably as a result of medication I was on. Instead of agreeing with my doctor who wanted to put me on a bisphosphonate (at least at you age they won't be pushing those scary drugs on you) I decided to try to help myslef the natural way. I was encouraged in this by a friend who had been diagnosed with osteoporosis and had completely through nutrition, supplements and exercise reversed the osteoporosis, improved to osteopenia and continues to improve. This is confirmed through her foloow-up DXA scans. In one year my femoral neck improved from -2 to -1.6 completely through nourishment and exercise.
You will need to make sure you get all the micronutrients needed for optimum bone health. This includes what the others have mentioned, magnesium, D3 and so forth, and also Vitamin K2 (not K1 which although important doesn't help the bones). Both D3 and K2 will need to be got through supplements.
The good news is that dairy is not the best source of dietary calcium. It comes with too much animal protein which has too much phosphorus for good bone health. So get a lot of leafy greens, the kind which have bioavailable calcium, like kale, collards, broccoli. There are lots of tasty ways to prepare these so it should be an interesting challenge for you to create a new way of eating. If you can, try to eat some fermented foods (yoghurt if you can, and kefir, but non-dairy sources include sauerkraut, kimchi, and many other foods). If you are not accustomed to fermented foods introduce them very slowly in tiny quantities to give your gut microbiome a chance to adapt.
Exercise. My helpful friend found Nordic walking helped her most, and I too have taken it up. I thought I would feel like a fool but in fact I enjoy it so much I don't mind doing it in broad daylight, and people who stop me do it not to mock but because they are interested and want to know more. Other good exercises for the bones - any kind of walking and other weightbearing exercise. Tai chi and some kinds of yoga and pilates are also helpful. Swimming not so much as you aren't bearing your weight, but anything which stengthens muscles will indirectly help the bones. I also wear a weighted walking vest. I have one which comes with tiny weights so over time you can add more weight. It was originally designed for bodybuilders but the osteoporosis community has discovered it. This challenges the bones to make more!
Good luck!
maria475 Anhaga
Posted
Thank you so much for the encouragement, I am starting to feel hopeful about this. I was not told a lot about nutrition other than to eat more green vegetables and try to incorporate dairy into my diet. I do believe in a more holistic approach to health and I think my doctor just wanted me to rely on calcium supplements for now, which had me very worried. I wasn't told about k2 and magnesium! I don't know why, it seems very important especially for someone like me who gets little nutrition anyway.
I googled nordic walking,it looks fun! I definitely want to try pilates when I get to a healthy weight again so hopefully that will help. A while ago I wanted to start going to the gym to strength train but when I got this diagnosis I thought I could never attempt something like that. I think I have to be more delicate with myself compared to other people my age, maybe over time I could progress to lifting weights, who knows.
Would water kefir be a good alternative to milk kefir? I guess it doesn't have the calcium but it would help gut health regardless right?
Also, how old is your friend who reversed their osteoporosis? That's so amazing, maybe I could do that too! Congratulations to you as well, wow. I think I'm going to put my trust in online resources, doctors don't think this kind of information is important
Anhaga maria475
Posted
I am 69 and I think my friend is a little bit older. She must have started doing all this stuff to help her bones a while ago, though. I seem to remember her talking about doing parkour (look it up - I could never aspire to that) maybe as much as ten years ago. Another acquaintance told me she did the same thing, but has since slacked off and she has become osteoporotic again, so this is a lifetime commitment for us!
I don't see why the water kefir wouldn't work. There's a kind of fermented tea, I think, which is also full of good things. Variety is the spice of life!
My doctor only told me to take calcium and vitamin D. She also wanted me to consider starting alendronic acid. Everything I know I've learned from my reading, and was started on this path by my friend who mentioned Vitamin K2. You do have to be careful about internet sources, however. I have a little bibliography, which I did send to the moderator to make sure I wan't promoting anything untoward, and having had no negative feedback I assume it's okay, so I'll private message you.
ruby06073 maria475
Posted
Hello darling, I am sorry to hear at such a young age you have osteoporosis and osteopenia, I too have both. You are right you cannot play this down when you are only 22, and yes, the usual dosage of calcium is 500mg,when prescribed by your GP and the vitamin D is in with the calcium tablet, and is usually called D2, also take vitamin k2 MK7. Typically your 'parathyroid hormone' is high from lack of calcium, and yes your body will then take the calcium it needs fro your bones. If you are still having problems with eating I would suggest you buy 'super foods', and suggestions such as; 'Wheat Grass', which contains 92 minerals, or pollen, which claims to be a complete food and I sprinkle on my cereal in the morning, another super food is sea weed. I make 'wheat grass' power into a drink and buy mine from any natural food store, 'Holland and Barrett', 'Natures Store' etc. every town usually has a shop where you are able to buy these supplements.
Stay in touch, if you need any more help, there are plenty of people on this sight willing to help you. xxx
ruby06073
Posted
maria475 ruby06073
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Hi Ruby, thank you for confirming my suspicions about the parathyroid thing. I am really interested in superfoods actually although I don't have a lot of money to spare right now. I'll research about powders and such things anyway, the more knowledge I have the better. I tried blackstrap molasses which has very high calcium and iron but it tasted so bad! I couldn't be consistent with it. Maybe I'll have to try that again because I did feel less muscle and bone aches when I was taking it.
I haven't started using calcium supplements yet. I have Calceos tablets which have 1250mg calcium carbonate and 400iu vitamin d3. I might just be paranoid but wouldn't taking that much calcium lead to other problems, don't people say that it might not be properly absorbed and do damage to the kidneys and heart over time? Or is that a worry for older people?
I'm very interested about vitamin k2 now, I had no idea what it was but it could be one of the answers I'm looking for. I'm pretty sure I've never eaten anything with k2 in my life! And my teeth are rotting and really bad, which could have something to do with this vitamin.
ruby06073 maria475
Posted