New to this

Thanks Jill, Im exhausted with it all and think I will put it to bed for tonight at least !  Tomorrow is a new day.  

I can understand!!  DEEP BREATH SISTER!!!!  I was diagnosed at age 30 with SEVERE Osteoporosis... and have come a long way since then!!  It's only recently (through this group) I began to learn about Vit. K2-7.  WHAT HOPE that gives me!!! There's always something new to try....  most of us on here avoid the drugs because of the adverse side effects.  I have been on several over the years, but there are some I refuse for sure now.  

You will figure it out!!! HANG IN THERE!  

Jill

 

Actually according to the literature osteopenia does not necessarily convert to osteoporosis. We have been misled.

Thank you Kathleen for your positive reply ! I've already ordered the vitamins. Unfortunately it would apoear from the X-rays that it's highly likely I've gone on to develop Oesteoporosis though still not confirmed obviously until I have my scan.

My mother was very badly affected by it but I put it down to a surgical menopause and at that time she wasn't ever offered HRT plus a poor diet , I've always been very careful to " eat healthily" and I'm a keen walker but in hindsight I should have requested a bone density scan much sooner .

Oh well today's a new day and I'm alive to enjoy it !

Thanks again for replying so quickly. Really appreciate it.

Thank you Pam, I would be very interested to know what you use. Many thanks .

Hi, Pam have been diagnosed with Osteoporosis after DXA scan but GP didnt tell me what my Tscores were so have requested them.  In the meantime he prescribed the weekly AA but I have NOT started it because I'm worried about side effects, plus I already take Prednisolone for PMR.  I have started taking D3 and K2 plus increasing my calcium with almonds and seseme seeds.  Can you let me know what use for the natural way.  thanks 

I'm finding the supplement thing is a moving target.  First things first, make sure you are eating a healthy diet, limiting refined foods, especially carbs and sugars, possibly reducing but not eliminating healthy carbs.  Increase your intake of leafy greens, like kale, collards, broccoli (spinach, beet greens and chard have calcium in them but it's not bioavailable and the presence of oxalic acid makes them a poor choice, other greens can give you a healthy boost of lots of nutrients).  You should not take any OP meds without having your numbers.  In my jurisdiction the GPs no longer receive the t-scores themselves, and have to ask for the full report.  My doctor incorrectly told me, based on the summary, that I had osteoporosis.  In fact I have "low bone mass" the correct term for what is still called osteopenia.  OP meds are no longer recommended for that level of bone thinning.  I did get one of my numbers and it's not wonderful, but still well within the range of "osteopenia".

Despite what the medical folk, including many dietitians say, dairy intake is not the best way to get your calcium.  I have a friend who has improved her bone density through exercise and eating healthy greens and other foods.  She simply didn't rely on drinking x amount of milk or whatever, just had what she wanted in her tea and on her cereal, that kind of thing, but did not increase dairy consumption.  Her improved bone density is proven by a couple of subsequent DXA scans.

Make sure that along with the supplements you're already taking you get adequate magnesium.  Like calcium and iron it should not be taken in the presenceof other important minerals (so much for all those supplements which have calcium and magnesium together).  Calcium in particular seems to interfere with the absorption of other minerals, as well as medications.  I've just recently learned this so am trying to figure out how to get my magnesium most effectively.  Eventually I hope to eliminate any magnesium deficiency I may have (and apparently most of us are deficient) and be able to rely more on food.

Good luck.  

Thanks so much for that info Anhaga, honestly the supplement bit is a minefield.  I am awaiting  my Oesetocare multi vitamins and  my Vit K.   What I am confused about is , given I should'nt take magnesium with other vitamins ( and calcium and iron) can I take a separate dose even if its included with the multi ones?  

I suppose it depends solely on how much is in the multi one and as long as its within normal guidelines ?

I do eat fairly well, but after reading more into this I will be upping my greeens and adding in some seeds too.  Im not a milk drinker but have it in coffee/tea and cereal.  I do eat cabbabge Kale and brocolli but not as muchas I should.

I try to walk every day for an hour at least, but thats been severely curtailed due to back issues, Im hoping to be back to that again fairly soon.

Im also considering joining a gym, though I much prefer getting my exercise in the fresh air, living in UK the weather isnt always on our side !

Thanks again, theres a lot to take in and I slowly getting my head round all the different issues.  My physio was great this mornng and explained fully my xray findings showing me where " end plates" were and what they do etc. She said a lot was down to normal wear and tear but the fact that osteopenia has shown up on xray woudl indicate its quite far on and could be Osteoporosis.  At least I am much more informed than I was this time last week, and by the time I get my scan it wont seem so daunting.

Many thanks 

I think osteopenia showing up on x-ray is the correct use of the word "osteopenia".  This is quoted from a website of the department of radiology University of Washington: "One of the most common findings in skeletal radiology is increased radiolucency of bone, most properly termed osteopenia. This term is much preferred over terms such as “demineralization” or “undermineralization”, since we really can’t tell the exact mineral status of the patient’s bone from the radiograph alone. The most common cause by far of osteopenia is osteoporosis. However, there are many disease entities that can cause osteopenia, so the mere finding of radiolucent bone does not make this an automatic diagnosis. Rather, it prompts a search for other more specific clues to the exact underlying disorder." 

So until you have DXA results you don't really know the status of your bones.  And even that result will not tell you have strong your bones are.  You might have low bone mass but still have healthy, flexible bones, and there's no reasonable test to determine that.  I think I can tell you that OP meds do not give you healthy flexible bones, although many of them do increase density.

Regarding supplementation, as I think I said, it seems to be a moving target.  Most doctors seem to just send us off with instructions to get lots of calcium and take Vitamin D3, but that is not nearly enough information.  I have written a little essay to keep track of my own journey and I'll private message it to you.  But please understand that I have no medical training, and I am constantly tweaking things as I learn more.  There is a lot of information on line although one has to be careful to read with a critical eye.  

Thanks for that Anhaga, yes there is so much information that it can be very bewildering at times.  Im conscentrating on this site for now, as everyone has been so helpful and friendly.  I am putting it out of my mind until the results !  I fully realise you arent advising me based on medical training , but sometmes personal experience is as good if not better !

Boy isn't that the truth... that sometimes personal experience is better than medical training!  

Actually I got the information from my doctor and a well known medical website I use often.  I have been told that osteopenia is the early stages of osteoporosis.

At the clinic offered at my hospital we were specifically told that osteopenia is correctly used to describe the situation where a radiologist detects in a standard x-ray translucence in the bone.  We were told that osteopenia as a precursor to osteoporosis doesn't really exist.  This stage is referred to simply as "low bone mass".  Judging from the internet and common usage I think they are fighting a losing battle.

That makes what I was told odd because no mention was made except I have osteoarthritis, mild scoliosis and herniated discs in my back. My GP was emphatic that had there been I would have needed to rethink my opposition to the drugs.

But you've had a DXA scan anyway, haven't you?  So x-ray useful for other issues, but DXA needed to measure bone density.

Hi Anhaga, Just to say that even with Osteopenia one is at elevated risk of fracture. A month before my diagnosis of OP, a friend I worked with in the hospital, slipped in the carpark, fractured both wrist and sacrum, and, after emergency admission, testing found osteopenia/low bone mass. She was a hugely active athletic woman (49) and a runner. So maybe the common usage of osteopenia referring to a bone 'condition' could be helpful in making people aware that it can have consequences and not to be passed off lightly as ' a bit of age-related bone thinning'  . . .  Take care, J

The terminology used by our hospital is "low bone mass" and this diagnosis together with my being on prednisone and having had a fracture in recent times places me in "high risk" category, so by no means was this being "passed off lightly as a bit of age-related bone thinning".   It's just that apparently "osteopenia" as a medical term is being misused.  It looks to me as though the radiologists are going to have to come up with a new term as the common misuse of "osteopenia" is now firmly entrenched.

Hi, I didn't actually mean yourself.  I think you're really clued-in!  I have a couple of friends with  'just osteopenia'  who confine themselves to eating an extra yoghurt daily really aren't careful about their activities.. . . 

Agree with substituting a new term for osteopenia . ... . Kind thoughts,  J

Yes. She seemed to think that if there was a mention of fragility though then I would need to reexamine my decision.

My Dexa scan shows severe osteoporosis.