Recently diagnosed but confused??!?!?!!

Hi Julia. No wonder you are confused. Ask to be referred for a MRI. It is your body and you have a right to know the true problems. Once you have them results then you will be able to see which is the right course of action. My mum has osteo and she also have a bulging disc but one is dealt with by a Rheumotologist and one by an orthopedic specialist. It is best to find out asap. I can tell you that when mum had a xray nothing showed up on there and yet an MRI showed she had 4 compressed vertabrae fractures and 8 rib fractures. So in one way you GP is right however in another it is worrying you have 2 different diagnosis. Go see a differnt GP if yours is not helpful or compassionate. xxx

Hi Julia, I have just gone through just what you are talking about Jan I fractured a vertebrae doing a handstand with the kids (I'm 37) and fit enough to do the north three peaks in 23 hours!

Non smoker and don't drink and have healthy diet, all the things that says I should not have osteoporosis yet I do, diagnosed two weeks ago as I pushed my GP to do a dexa scan as my mother has osteoporosis.

A) it's your health, pursue answers

B) find out if either parents/grandparents had OP

C) from what I gather a dexa will not be justified unless you either have a parent/grandparent with it or broke a

Hip.

Or you have had a low trauma spine/hip fracture already.

Now Here's the scary bit, after fighting for answers to osteo, I'm hospitalised with bowel issues and other symptoms this weekend gone, after bloods and camera down and biopsy, I've been diagnosed celiac...... Osteoporosis is a secondary cause of celiac, treat the celiac and the osteo theoretically follows suit.

My advise do a little research on both osteo and celiac and if you have similar symptoms, go for it with th GP for investigation

Feel free to ask any further questions

Paul

I did have a serious rta 19 years ago and injured my spine which is where my back problems started..I've also asked my gp for a MRI but was told I don't need one...but when I was in hospital last week and asked a Dr there they told me I need a gp referral, I'm so uncomfortable can't settle in any position have a tens machine on constantly.. I will admit my calcium intake is rubbish and has been for many years.... I also suffered from epilepsy for many years so took anti seizure medication..I've told my gp all this but still nothing even though these are factors of osteoporosis

You definiely need to have a DXA scan.  If the x-ray showed damaged to vertebrae which might or might not be due to arthritis or OP, then you must get a definitve diagnosis so that you know what kind of treatment is reasonable.  Now I'm going to say that whether or not you get that scan there is a whole lot you can do to improve your bone health without resorting to questionable medications.  You're really too young, not necessarily for the diagnosis of OP, but to take any of the medications which might be prescribed because they can have serious side effects even in the short term. let alone when taken for many years.  

If you are interested I'll send you by private message the account I've written about my own osteoporosis journey.  But note that it's only based on my reading, I have no medical training, and I'm always looking to learn more. 

All the best.   Jean

Only a bone density scan can reveal osteoporosis or osteopenia.

I have two bulging discs and that is the source of the pain. That can also cause other back issues and, in my case, I have a problem in the sacroiliac joint. Others suffer with sciatica because of the bulging discs.

Ask for a Dexa scan which is the bone density one to set your mind at rest.

The X-ray would have picked up the bulging disc but cannot diagnose osteoporosis.

 

I'm meant to be at work now...I've had 4 days off in total since last week so I'm down 400 pound on my wages this month so will struggle...I have 12 hour shifts from tomorrow at a desk...so dreading it... if I was 100% sure of what I definitely have and get some answers I can get on with things and make the decisions I need to make like whether my job is right for my health as I can't keep getting up and down where I work and there are no shorter shifts or part time roles...also I'm quite fed up of all the pills I've been given... I save tramadol, cocodamol and naproxen too... they just throw prescriptions at me that I pay for.. it's so confusing

Hi Julia. "Crumbling" of the spine is not a term I've ever heard used before in reference to osteoporosis, and your doctor seems to have used it in an imprecise, sloppy way that naturally has made you anxious. If you really had "crumbling" you likely would have broken many bones in your fall rather than none. Also, as your GP said, osteoporosis can't be diagnosed on a regular xray; it can't be diagnosed on MRI either. A special bone scan called a DEXA scan would be used. In the U.S., patients are seldom given DEXA scans before the age of 60+ unless they have already had a fracture or have some other high-risk factor for osteoporosis. I can think of two possible courses of action: (1) Ask for a referral to an endocrinologist or rheumatologist, as those two types of doctors have more expertise with osteoporosis, and see what they think; or (2) Try to disregard, for the time being, the off-the-cuff "diagnosis" of osteoporosis that you were given, as there doesn't seem to be any particular evidence that this is in fact something you have (and it does tend to occur in people who are older than you, as your GP said ... though as with any medical condition there are exceptions). Unless your job involves a lot of physical exertion, which would probably aggravate your bulging disc, I would try and take reassurance in that you've not fractured despite falling.

I would definitely be trying to find a new Gp or insist that your GP Order the tests. I was diagnosed at age 30 with severe Osteoporosis and had one dr argue with me, but when he ordered yet another Alexa he had to go back on his word when he saw it was the truth. There are MANY young women who have it. Not to scare you. I'm 54 now and live mostly pain free when at that time I was in severe pain. ans maybe it's not that, but it's a bulging disc. At any rate, you need to find out. Those meds are not good to be taking long term either. Be insistent, as hard as it is!!!