Strong Bones Support Group (2)

Well done on new post to try and relieve pressure on old one   Be interesting if it is indeed faster lol

​Re the Dexa scans; I had mine done on the NHS here so presume it was accurate but have no other way of finding out.  I did read somewhere that sometimes they weren't that accurate, or that OA can have a bearing.  I just took what I was told at face value at the time as I knew no different.

​Have good days all

kind regards Carrie 

​Colin if you come on; I am still going to try improving thru exercise and diet as I strongly believe that that is equally important so any tips you are able to share will be gratefully received

​kind regards Carrie 

I shall try not to use up too much space at one go but no guarantees.

I've been chatting to Patty on the message line and she gave me a new slant on the 'Blog' that I regularly engage in and she gave me an insight into aspects that I had not previously considered. So here goes

Never thought about the blog like that. For me it was largely a way of clarifying and cataloging my thoughts along my journey, coupled with random bits and pieces as they come to mind. I would probably find it extremely difficult to present a coherent and logical discussion without deviating into some part of my daily existence.

I was most interested to hear of Pattyy's gym / doctor experiences. It sounds like she has an excellent physio who actually cares. I have never attempted to involve anyone else in my problems and needs until the last four months when I have been bombarded with information and I now need help to sort it into an order that will be the roadway for me.

This is where I copied the foregoing as the start of today's blog and posted it with editing on the new discussion.

As usual I went to the gym yesterday and have found that I may be overdoing things a little (over-confidence) since I now have a slight ache in my right knee and hip. The hip ache reminds me of when I had sciatica years ago but it's in a slightly different position.

Have now got a sisal rope 8mm x 3 metre for skipping but this is going to be a very long term operation since I find it quite difficult to keep my balance, twiddle my wrists and get the eye-leg co-ordination correct. So it will be gently-gently for some time, I can't afford to be falling. I probably need some posture training which is what Patty is doing!

After looking at some links that Jean sent me I decided that much more information was needed before I finally decide which route I am going down with regard to the Acid / Alkaline debate. It does seem that the 'Experts' can't agree amongst themselves as to which is the correct answer and one media presentation seemed to come from a total plonker. I think I need to eliminate the extreme views and see if I can come up with the view that seems to have the most successes. There is still a lot more research and reading etc to do before there is an acceptable answer. One good outcome from all this is that I am slowly learning to more deeply question anything that is presented as a fact and to try and find alternatives and comparisons. I actually owe much of this to Jean who is very good at digging up controversial and very relevant pieces of research which have been known to cause momentary sensory overload!

I'm still with the book and have also got one from 2008-9 from another person who has developed a method of recovering from OP which I have yet to evaluate. That makes four books to read and it all takes time as does filling up the screen with my burblings. Pauline finds the replies interesting and likes the idea that OA might be related to OP and might also be 'improved'

I think that it's time that I went outside and gave the rope a try while the weather is still clear.

Bye to all and TAKE VERY GOOD CARE of your bones after all they're not very old! (something else that i learnt)

Kindest Regards

Colin.

It does seem that there is a lot of activity amongst the members of the Bones group but that is good and information is being shared around on a regular basis.

I'm going to try the Chia seeds in some of my coconut flavoured non-dairy milk, poured over my cereal, and see if I can get some of the super-food benefits that Chia is supposed to offer. (Particularly Calcium).

Glad to see that you are persevering with the exercise but I don't really need to remind you to take care. Gentle stepping on the bottom staircase step is recommended to me, the recommender didn't know what I actually do!

Going to exercise the rope. Chat again soon

Bye for now

Kindest regards

Colin.

​Firstly, I hope we stay in touch, if not on the link than thru messaging

​I am also on non dairy milk; soya, as with the M.E./Fibro I am dairy intolerant tho I seem able to take a little now and then.  I also eat non dairy cheese   So hoping that gives the much needed calcium I need as well as theicalVitD   I have added Chia seeds to look out for next time I go shopping! 

​Yes I am very aware that I can't do 'bull at a gate' - I normally can go up and down stairs no problem and have improved my speed in walking as well which is good.  This is as long as the rest of my health doesn't make me too worn out to do so! lol  I seem to have such a long list of exercises it is a question of trying to fit it all in!!!!  Yes, my Dad used to do exercises on the bottom step and that is something I will try.  It takes me a long time just to do my wrist exercises to get my wrists back into some semblance of normality, the physio yesterday said it could take up to a year so I am at times probably pushing myself too hard to do too much too soon - but I guess that is human nature lol

​I am going to google Jean's Polymyalgia too - she has come up with so many good ideas and points I agree   Including the Chia seeds!! lol

​Good luck with all your exercising; it is good that Pauline is so interested in all the replies too, and perhaps if we do indeed find a common link between OP and OA that can only prove beneficial to all.  I hope your daughter isn't suffering too much at the moment too.

​Forgot to say - my wrists exercises are obviously taking precedence over OP exercises as I am doing them as frequently as I can - the OA means until I soak my wrists and hands in hot water in the morning I am not that mobile, but they ARE gradually improving so I have hope

​I am very grateful to you and everyone for all the shared information; obviously not everything suits everybody, but if it is something we want to try and it works then that has to be beneficial   I am a great believer in that in joining groups with M.E./Fibro and learning what I could which has enabled me to work out what suits me best    This is what I hope to accomplish with OP and OA too

​Hope rain doesn't stop play your end!  Take care, kindest regards to you and Pauline Carrie

I really do intend to keep in touch with you all, indeed after today, it would be rather churlish to do anything else. Besides, who else am I going to get to check all my statements and theories? Actually it's very nice to have friends who look out for you and do their best to help you solve your problems. You may have noticed that I'm good at jumping to the wrong conclusions.

Enough of that, the heavens opened within two minutes of my previous post so there was no testing of the rope today. It will have to wait until tomorrow after the three plus mile walk and lunch. I really need to write down all the meals and do an acid / alkaline analysis on them so that I have some idea of what's happening. I still don't have a definitive view on that.

Carrie, it really is my pleasure to try and help any of our little group and any knowledge that I have is yours for the asking. I'm just sorry that I haven't totally digested all the new stuff yet so I can still make mistakes.

There's probably lots yet to become aware of, the only thing I seem to be short of is time, but writing these is my pleasure and relaxation and I sort out my thoughts whilst typing. (That's something that has improved a lot). Enjoying 'Back to the future' at the same time. ( I have lots of theories about time-travel and they too are developing into one over-tiding postulate. That's what I want to happent to the OP information. Well, here's hoping.

Carrie, Glad to read that your wrists are improving even if only gradually. If the improvement continues there should come a time when they are close to being what they should be. Then you'll be able to do the same for your OP.

I might even be becoming an optimist. I'm now 100% certain that I shall beat the OP, I may have bother finding out that I have but that doesn't really matter. My cup is slowly filling up and will eventually runneth over.

Well that's it for tonight, I had a somewhat stressful day with a stroppy daughter and an upset wife. We'll get over it. (Stress gets the osteoclasts working to disolve your bones)

Kindest regards to you all

Colin.

Hope that your bones are recovering and that your road back to the future is smooth and straight. You may have gathered from my previous post that I have views on Time Travel. The main one is that if time travel  is possible at other than forward at one second per second, then all times must exist at all times. That's an easy one to prove. Some of my other ideas are not so easy to prove at the moment.

Been out walking and enjoying a beautiful day by the sea with a nice lunch thrown in. Then back home and some time on the the home-made stepper with steps and jumps appropriate to me and then christened the rope. Didn't do too bad - 10 bouncy skips followed by another 20 bouncy skips. This should increase slowly over the next few days until I reach a level at which I get bored. I felt slightly puffed after completion but it wasn't too bad overall and it must help in some respects if the books on jumping are to be believed. We shall see.

I came across a definition of osteoporosis which was more general than the one that I had previously seen. It suggests that the real definition of Osteoporosis is a condition of the skeletal system mainly caused by the body's attempt to correct an unhealthy biochemical imbalance by utilizing the calcium that should normally remain in the bone, thus causing bone density loss. Normally, this may be corrected by diet and lifestyle changes.

I like this definition because it is gender impartial and doesn't bother with statistical standard deviations and merely tells you what it is, not when you will have it.

Additionally, I have at last found a list of causes applicable to males older than 70 although I suspect that they also apply to males much younger who have physiological problems. The main thing about this was that what I have always believed was the cause of my OP is listed and I think I mentioned previously that as a result of a football accident when i was twelve, I now have a low testosterone count and this is on the list. It's a bit like the female hormone deficiencies, it just doesn't seem to get mentioned because males mostly don't get OP. It also suggests that the hrt I've been taking for the last 20 years, isn't sufficient. It was the only item other than age-related bone loss that actuall applied.

I'm burbling on about me again but I am quite pleased to find reasons for things. I still don't have a definitive answer to the acid / alkaline discussion and this may end up being a play it by ear job, being careful and not pushing things. I also found out that at the time of the publication of the book (2008), there were only three bisphosphonates approved for males. This should be zero! (My own opinion).

I'm still reading, viewing and downloading lots of applicable stuff but nothing drastic or that changes where I am at. Lifestyle and diet changes have been significant but have been subsumed into the daily routine. I thank you for all your input both to me and generally.

I shall continue with my collation of some previous posts.

Take care, Kindest regards

Colin.

I sent a post earlier and commented that I was going to collate some of the previous messages. Well, that was time well spent. I came across a whole load of links which had been sent and I missed them completely. The links were to osteoporosis sites and are interesting and need significant revisiting so I may find very little time to blog tomorrow (Gym day) since I intend to follow some of the links.

Carrie - you sound as if you have similar problems to my daughter who drives herself nearly to collapse and then takes days to recover. This is why I keep reminding you to take it carefully. I know it's actually none of my business but it does pay to pace yourself and conserve your energy. I have seen my daughter use her energy when it was available and then barely have enough to get herself into my car. Just concerned for you, You need some energy left to fight your OA and OP (and write such interesting blogs).

Take good care of your bones everyone

Kindest regards, will be thinking of you

Colin

​Thanks Colin, I understand, and yes that is the trouble with M.E./Fibroymyalgia; pacing is indeed the best way but unfortunately Life itself is not always kind to the idea of pacing and decides to throw curve balls our way which we have to deal with! lol  Someone one explained the M.E./Fibro in the spoon theory; you have so many spoons per day, and if you use a spoon for something, then you can't use it for something else!  Or as I try and think of it, as having a battery that never really fully charges with energy! lol

​Yes indeed, I do have to concentrate on the wrists as best I can; and am sort of collating all the info with regards to OP/OA letting my brain figure out the best way forward for me

​Your analogy or theory about OP is hopeful as if we can indeed help ourselves through diet and exercises and beat this than yay!!  I get re the male hormone and OP from the book

​Will try and respond more fully in longer posts in next few days - the curve balls I mentioned were thrown at the weekend!! lol  Good luck with your exercises and yes please with all the info and your posts/blogs

​Jean - I still haven't had time to google polymyalgia but have every intention of so doing

​Just need to pop out for walk to post office before it rains !!

​Take care all kind regards Carrie

I do have two herniated discs but the bones did not look frail as my GP and I supposed they would.