Opinions of Prolia

thank you for reporting my problem . Can you tell me how I can do it myself or am I not allowed to?

I was told that I should not take Fosamax because it does not help heal the bones and can actually slow the healing process . That's why my doctor decided to put me on Prolia. It is an injection you have once every 6 months and it's supposed to help the healing.

my last two bone density test (and my only bone density test) have both said I had osteopenia just like you. when I asked how they can come up with that and I have 5 fractured vertebrae I was told that they only measure three places on the body and they do include a section of the spine. so I suppose the radiologist or the technician could have missed it that way. But I was also told that if you get compression fractures you no longer have osteopenia instead they elevate you to osteoporosis. you have osteoporosis regardless of what a bone density test says.

Hi amk....HATING the way I'm getting (or not) notifications!

anyway, as far as the moderator, I went back thru old notifications til I found one from 'ennis' (?) and told him of your problem. if you need me to help you further, don't hesitate to ask...I'll be glad to do whatever I can!😍

I'm a bit confused about my dx of osteopenia....Rheumy definitely said that's what I have, even tho I've got several compression fractures! my back "kills" all the time, especially if I've got to stand in a line or walk very far (which I no longer do either of....my world's become VERY tiny).

the cable tv went out the other day for over 24hrs....I thought I'd die!! I told my daughters this is how pathetic my life has become....my world's sooo small right now (due to my inability to stand in lines/walk) that when I loose access to tv, it's become a calamity!! WOW! how pitiful am I??

sorry, I digress....I'm gonna have to question my Rheumy when I see her in a few weeks as to the osteopenia....I sure don't want ANYMORE problems!

thinking of you...let me know if you need help w/the moderator!😘💕

Hi Amkoffee

When I first started having problems with my back I asked for X-Rays. They showed all the fractures/collapses & damage to my spine. Then I had the Dexa scan.

I was told at my Dexa scan that if I hadn't already had the X-Rays, I would have been sent to have them.

Both were needed for the diagnosis.

Are you in UK or States? I'm guessing things are done differently.

I would ask for X-Rays to be done & then you'll know for sure just where you are in all this.

All the best.

I have had all kinds of Imaging done on my back. MRIs, CTS, X-rays and a bone scan which is different than a bone density test. I live in the US. Thank you for your remarks.

I started having back pain when I injured my back while working out 13 years ago. over the years it's gotten worse and worse and I am to the point where I was disabled from the pain even before the compression fractures in my back. I haven't been able to stand or walk for quite a long time. And don't feel bad that you're one and only escape quit on you and you panicked. if you consider for a minute. What the TV is really doing for you is distracting you from the pain so it is a needed thing for all of us that are have chronic pain. and because the TV can go out I have both a cell phone and a tablet. that way I have backup but not only that I often times do both I'll have the TV on and my tablet because I need the distraction at the time. since you're in so much pain I think you need to ask for a referral to a pain management doctor. I'm sensing you're in the UK I don't know why I've come to that conclusion but I'm in the US so I don't know exactly the chain of command you have to go through to get to it pain management doctor but I strongly recommend it. I also wonder if you've had an MRI done of your back yet or did they just do the X-ray and found the fractured vertebrae. An MRI will show so much more than an x-ray will because an MRI scan image soft tissue as well as bone and an x-ray only shows bony structures. not being able to walk or stand and in my case at least sitting for very long does narrow your world a lot. And many people with chronic pain lose their identity because they no longer have a job since I've had to quit and they're not able to socialize with her friends. you lose yourself you find that you are gone and it's at this point when you have to reinvent yourself. if you take few minutes look up The Spoon Theory. I think you will identify with it v

as you will see there are a lot of mistakes in my post to you . And that is because everything went kind of crazy and I was not able to proof it before it got posted . my problems with this group started with this latest upgrade. I am very frustrated because I dictate into my tablet and I've done it for years and I use the same tablet as I do on my cell phone. I don't have any of these problems with other sites so I know that it is a problem within this group. So would you please do me the favor and report it. Number one it's not capitalizing the first letter after a period. this has been reported once and he has said that they're working on it but that was quite a while ago so I don't know if they think they got it fixed or if they're still working on it. another new thing is that it leaves a space before the period when I dictate the word. it's also begun to do a very strange thing. After dictating I go back through and proof it and when I click on the space just before a word and then when I press delete it delete the first letter of that word even though my cursor was clearly to the left of the word.

I hope all this make sense to you . I'm going to try to locate where I can report this doing it the way you did it but if you could report it too I would really appreciate it .

If you want to report a problem you can write a post about it and post it. Then click on the flag and report (in red, bottom left of post) and click on "feedback for moderator".

I have reported your post as a request for the head moderator's attention.

I have had a couple also for about 10 years, last time doctor just cleaned out the openings in the spine. I don't know what they want to do now.

🙃

hey michdonn...just got your post (the only one I've received in 24hrs!)....sorry, it may be outta order, but I can't tell what you're referring to😕 You've had a couple if what??

hating this format!

Lynda, bad disc in my back, confuses the doctors. They want to blame everything on the bulging disc. Thank God this surgeonI had just just did a clean out.

🙃

Omgosh jean! I'm so Very sorry to hear of all your medical issues....not to mention the wide array of medications you've had to be on! I'm feeling very humbled right now!

on top of Everything else...you've lost 5in in height?? I didn't even know that was possible!

my thoughts and best wishes go out to you...please keep in touch.

Some thoughts on compression fractures : I knew a 30ish registered nurse who had spontaneous vertebral fractures with terrible pain. She never took pred and did not have PMR. HER HUSBAND BOUGHT HER A SUBSCRIPTION TO A FEW TANNING BED SESSIONS. The pain went away. The conclusion was that the tanning bed increased her vit D.

Since pred decreases the absorption of vit D normal supplement amounts will not promote calcium absorption into the bone. A recent CANADIAN trial of micronutrients resulted in dramatic improvement in persons with osteoporosis/osteopenia. These were persons who could not tolerate bone medications. The supplements included:

strontium citrate 680 mg, vit K2, 100ug, Mg 25mg, DhA 250mg, VIT d 2,000 and maybe others. The protocol did not recommend Calcium supplements but recommended dietary sources and of course exercise. The results were very impressive after one year.

Nobody was on pred though. I am following this but I am taking some calcium and much higher D for another condition.

I showed my doctors the study and they allowed me to follow this protocol.

I add that since pred weakens muscles and the spine is supported by muscles - not the other way around strengthening muscles with reasonable exercise is necessary. Without trunk muscle strength everyone''s back will collapse.

Hi Lynda

When spinal fractures & collapses occur, that causes the vertebrae to become unstable & settle into new positions as they stabilise again. The only direction they can move in is downward. Organs move downward too relative to the drop in spinal length. My lungs, kidneys, stomach & all my inards now have a smaller internal space in which to "be" so they're a bit squished at the moment. Losing weight will help this, so I'm now on strict eating regime! Thanks for your good wishes.

All the best to you in your journey too.

that's crazy that you've lost 5 inches. I'll have to have my husband measure me and see if I've lost inches like that. Prolia is the same thing as Denusamab, Prolia is just a brand name used in the US.

I don't really want to advise you of this but have you looked into getting kyphoplasty? I had it done on 2 of the lowest of my fractured discs. it helped my pain immensely for about 3 days and then the one above the two he repaired broke and I was in agony again. The spasms are absolutely horrendous and what I figured out is that I have spasms after breaking one but my spasms only last a couple of weeks and at first they are mild then they get worse and worse and finally taper down to nothing. so I'm no longer getting spasms at this time.

back to the kyphoplasty they can only do that to acute or new fractured vertebrae. and if you're getting spasms I would have to say they are acute. although I had kyphoplasty and it stopped the pain of the two lower disc I will never have it again because I had a horrible thing happen to me. when he was injecting the cement into my bone some of it got into my artery. the cement then travel in the artery through the heart and into my lungs. Now that the cement is there it will always be there. it could cause a pulmonary infarction which is where part of your lung dies off or it could go into my heart again and cause me problems there. I ended up in ICU just a few hours after my surgery and I was put on Heparin and of course oxygen because I can't breathe without it. and then I was sent home on blood thinners and oxygen. I'm told it won't be any longer than 6 weeks as a guesstimation. but this is an extremely rare thing to happen. it is so rare that the emergency room doctor had no idea how to treat it. so he called the surgeon that perform the kyphoplasty he didn't know how to fix it either. so the doctor in the emergency room just started calling random doctors of different specialties to get a treatment protocol. once he got the answer he sent me up to ICU and put me on heparin. and one thing that was funny about it is that all the emergency room doctor had to do was Google it. Because when I Googled it I got all these case studies from I assume medical people on this particular thing that can happen. And the treatment protocol they gave was exactly what I'm on now.

hey amk....once again, I found your post by accident😣...Wfewww, holy, moly, what a wild, SCARY ride you had with this "cement" issue!! I'm sooo sorry! can I assume you're ok now???

I also have Terrible spasms in my back (along w/the pain). they sometimes get so bad, I almost feel paralyzed...literally can't move til they let up! however, I SURE wouldn't want to go through what you did, and it would likely happen as I ALWAYS am the exception to the rule!....Ahhh! Good times...⚡🎆⚡

this is absolutely been the worst year I have ever had in my 57 years on this Earth!