Broken hip surgery

Thank-you for your reply Kathleen

It is the gp who told me to take the prolia and got quite annoyed when i told him a specialist is running test to find out cause of osteoporosis and blood clotting. He booked me in to have prolia next week and got the impression that if I dont he doesn't want any more to do with me (after 25yrs as my gp) Think I need to find a new Dr. as I also feel he should have done more to investigate causes of osteoporosis. Leaning towards waiting to see specialist in September and get his opinion on Prolia. 

Take your time Diana because you need to be happy with your decision.

The prolia is with you for six months and my sister could not wait for that time to pass. I keep thinking I do not want to feel sick and put up with any more than I have to so I have refused it.

But your decision is yours alone and you have to live with it.

Hope things get better for you soon.

Hi change your Dr, I don't know where you are in UK but wherever you are there has to be a good relationship with your medical care team, I have osteoporosis and was offered oral meds but after reading about them I decided to take the dietary route and wait and see how my fractured hip and pelvis managed first.

I didn't have surgery and I'm due for another dexa scan next month.

I totally understand your dilemma and think the decision can only be yours, research other options and make sure you stay safe, I climbed a fence and fell off the top silly me, my hip has not healed yet and still on crutches, not so bad and could be so much worse.

I am in Australia. I have broken ribs and fractured my spine just by seperating my dogs from fighting, broke my leg slipping in shower and now my hip just tripping on front doorstep. Seems to me what I have read on meds for osteoporosis that a lot of people have bad side effects. Worried about interaction with blood thinner (apixaban) and Prolia injections.Hope your hip heals soon and you get good results at your dexa scan. It has been 4 weeks since my surgery and not feeling much better yet bit sick of having to use walking frame think I am just impatient! 

I am in Australia. Whereabouts are you? I am down on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

I live in Adelaide S.A.

Nice. Not so far from me. Just a boat across the bay and along the Great Ocean Road and keep driving lol. We have done that trip a few years back and it was very pleasant.

No not impatient just wanting to get back to normal and sometimes it can take longer than you think, I'm over a year and counting, I hope you do better than me

So you had no reaction to prolia? Did it increase your bone density? There is a lot of information on how bad it is and hardly any positives on the net. 

Error that should have said -2.4 and -2.9 If it was as above I would not need any drugs. Must wear my glasses more!!!!

I also would not take anything to help a broken bone heal and allow nature to take its course first. But Diana is in her 50s not her 90s so lets keep this in proportion.Do you know what your mother in law was given?

Thanks for pointing out I am in my 50's not 90's. My mother was on fosamax for osteoporosis in her late 70's but never broke bones like I have. She passed away at 84 from suspected gastric bleeding possibly caused by fosamax. So I am very reluctant to take any meds but dr has told me if I dont do something about my bones (loss 15% density in 2yrs) next time I break something I mightn't survive as I get dvts and p.e. every time I break. Not getting any answers as to why I have such bad bones as I am reasonably fit and healthy dont smoke, drink, try to excersice and eat healthy. Does anyone know if there is any evidence that having 9 children and breastfeeding them would reduce bone density? Really freaking out over what to do as have appointment with my dr on friday as he wants me to have the prolia feeling scared if I do and scared if I don't! Thinking of telling him that I will wait until hip bone heals giving me more time to think clearly. 

I had five children and breast fed for a long especially the last one. That is an interesting point you made. 

I won't take the drugs either because I have other health issues and worry the impact on those. Swallowing is one and Crohns is another. 

Maybe the day will come when I see little choice but my sister had bad reactions to fosamax and prolia so I would expect the same.

It is very frustrating when Dr's  just push meds and don't take any consideration that they can have horrific side effects. I react badly to many medications and my gp knows this but still cant see my point of view on taking prolia. 

Prolia is even worse than  Fosamax. I looked into that and considered it but thankfully did not start that. It is a prison for six months and you live with how you feel every day. My sister longed for the six months to be up.

I can understand your dilema. I have no experience of the meds you mention but know for certain, different people react differently to  different drugs. You need to weigh up the risks of taking, against the risks of not taking the drugs. I could not afford to break another vertebrae if there was any hope of me leading a normal life. And, I do. My advice would be to wait a little longer for the healing to take place first, then make your decesion. Having been in the medical profession, I believe you should make a list before you speak with your GP and if possible, take someone with you. Pregnancy does deplete the mothers calcium levels. Baby gets priority. The UK gives free dental treatment to pregnant and nursing mothers, for thiis very reason. Its your body remember this.

No, that's why I said I didn't know anyting about the condition at the time.  Or i would have asked questions. 

Sorry, Diana.  I've been very far behind and reading posts very quickly on someone else's computer while I wait for my new one to arrive, and I just saw the line about bones of a 90 year old....  I do apologise!

That being said, my sister in law took fosamax for a while, I suppose she's in her 60s or was then, but had so many side effects (I don't know what they were) that she stopped.  

Unfortunately, it has been my experience, that many people in their 80s or 90s often go down hill quickly,  after a fall.It rocks their confidance too.

Hi Diana, so sorry to hear about your fractures resulting in your DVTs and PE. That's pretty serious as you're a relatively young person. So something must be done to protect you. 

I know that you're genuinely concerned about drug side-effects and you mentioned your Mum had gastric bleeding possibly due to taking Fosamax. You mentioned that she took this drug from her 'late 70s' and died aged 84. Could she have been taking it for this whole period? The current advice is that 3-5 years is the max. time to take these drugs, unless in extreme cases, so as to reduce the possibility of side-effcts. So you may be quite safe getting bone protection taking the med. for this period, the having a  break  for a couple of years, and then resuming again if your scores continue to fall. The other thing that comes to mind when thinking about your Mum's gastric bleeding is that research has shown that the very elderly often do not take the medecine strictly as advised which is extremely important.

Finally, your doctor is concerned about fruther fractures, (as I'm sure you are also) and Alison mentioned the possibility of waiting for your bones to recover while you considet your options. Can I make a suggestion? If I were you I would speak with your doc. about taking a different medication, Forteo.

It is very well tolerated, helps grow bone (therefore making your bones stronger, especiallly in the spine) and it helps heal fractures. Some patients also say it helps with pain relief. No gastric problems. The downside is that it's expensive, and is taken daily by pen injection. I used it for 2 years, having been diagnosed with 'severe OP', had minimal side-effects, and my spine scores increased by 11% in that period. Using the 'pen' (like a diabetic) was no problem at all.  

Kind regards, J 

  

Good suggestion for anyone who really has no choice but to use a medication.  Forteo acts to encourage the osteoblasts rather than working like the bisphosphonates which limit the activity of osteoclasts.  During the two years of permitted use it should be possible to develop one's own bone health regimen and with the benefits of the medication be well on the way to stopping and hopefully reversing any further bone thinning.  It cerainly seems to be a way to buy some time to get one's healing underway.