I am 86 and had a total hip replacement in mid July this year after breaking my hip in a fall

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I am walking pretty well now and managing stairs - just cant lift that leg as high as my other one. My doctor wants me to take Alendronic Acid as he says I have osteoparosis. I am very worried about starting this as I have a narrow gullet and a very delicate digestive system. The side effects listed

are very worrying. Prior to my op. I was taking bone broth, calcium tabs, magnesium, vit D and eating live yoghurt and a mainly vegetable and fruit diet so am quite unsure what I should do now. Advice would be very welcome as Im most apprehensive about starting Alendronic Acid

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  • Posted

    Do you know your t-score?

    I will private message you a link to my story. I am younger than you - 73 now - and I had a t-score of -2 which I improved to -1.6 without medication. So you may find some tips in my story which you can adapt to fit your circumstances. One thing I do recommend and that's to add a Vitamin K2 (not K1) supplement. If you are on a warfarin type blood thinner you should get advice from a doctor or pharmacist, but Vitamin K2 does not affect blood clotting as much as Vitamin K1. What K2 does is make sure calcium goes to the bones where you want it and doesn't settle onto the walls of blood vessels or into organs where it can cause harm.

    Keep on walking as your hip improves. Nordic walking could be a thought - the poles can give you a bit of support to maintain stability, plus they exercise the upper body and have been shown to improve bone density. Tai chi also is good for bone density although it may not be easy to find classes in the time of covid.

  • Posted

    can you find out what your T score is? I also fell and broke my hip but you were lucky! At least they told you you had osteoporosis. They sent me for a DEXA scan and completely forgot to give me the results. It was only when I was bored one day that I phoned the hospital and tracked it down. I have very serious osteoporosis as the T score in my hips is -3.3. I went on Alendronate Acid. I didn't swallow it properly and ended up with a lacerated gullet which caused horrible chest pain. As I have MS a case was made for me to have the yearly infusion which is fine. If you do take the weekly drug, do make sure you drink lots of water quickly to get it down. There is a new drug which has been licensed but Covid has delayed everything. It's supposed to be far more effective and is given by injection. I'm praying it will be available soon.

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