LUCK or not?

[StThomas]

Here are my numbers: Age today 67yrs

2007 2011 2015 2019

L hip -2.0 -2.2 -2.9 -3.3

spine -2.7 -3.3 -4.2 -4.6

Risk factors: smoke No

alcohol No

steroids No

R. arth. No

GI disease No

DM No

Hx of Fx No

family hx No

secondary osteo No

I have declined prescriptions. I do weight lifting, aerobics, yoga and take 630 mg of Citrical every day, Vit. D 2000 iu every other day. I jump rope, broad jump and 8 years ago, I fell on my coccyx while running backwards on a concrete garage floor with no fracture.

What do you think?

[Bettyboop7499]

Sounds like you are in pretty darn good health and you've been blessed! I don't know what is considered dangerously low but I'd be concerned about the broad jump it seems high impact for spine and hips...but I'm not a Doctor.

[StThomas in reply to Bettyboop7499]

Thank You Bettyboop, I am researching and praying daily to make the best decision.

[Hidden]

Your aerobic and jumping exercises may be too stressful for your spine now.

Also add magnesium, vit K2 and Boron to your diet as they help the calcium in your diet and vit d absorb into the bones. Be careful of calcium supplements as it can cause other issues I try to get calcium from my daily fiod. Some walk with a weighted vest and find that helpful to build up strength.

I am new to osteoporosis and I find reading many of the past posts and make note of the links many have posted Tgey are very helpful. They suggest websites such as Better Bones and also many books. It was beneficial to me to take the time to go through past posts.

[StThomas in reply to Hidden]

read "Osteoporosis Treatment:An Evidence-Based Approach" Journal of Gerontological Nursing, authors disclose no sig. financial interest. Ordered "What your doctor may not tell you about osteoporosis"(Warner)--Thanks for diet tips and cautions!

[FitnessBuff in reply to Hidden]

Hi what type of K2 do you take? I heard you can get heart palps from it esp the MK7 form. Would like to know how you are doing on it.

[StThomas in reply to FitnessBuff]

I don't take anything except 650 mg Citacal (Costco) and D3 2000iu daily. I recommend an experienced trainer (mine was CSCS, Certified Strength and conditioning specialist) or physical therapist. I also recommend reading or listening to "How Not To Die" Dr. Greger. I got the book on CD because it is a big book.

[yogalibrarian]

It sounds like you were lucky. And luck can change. (Did you watch the Kentucky Derby?)

Have you input your data into a fracture risk calculator? You can acceess the American Bone Health's calculator (FRC) on their website -- americanbonehealth.org. You might run the assessment with your data from 8 years ago and again with your current data to see how your risk has changed.

The weightlifting, (low-impact) aeorbics, and yoga are great. Jump rope and broad jump may a bit more of a concern. Miriam Nelson, in her book Strong Women, Strong Bones, suggests that those jumping activities are good for premenopausal women with good balance.

If you are at high risk of a fracture (based on the FRC), then high-impact exercise may not be the best actiivity because of the possibility of an impact-related fracture and the danger of a fall. (And even those of us with great balance - like me - have fallen.)

Keep up the good work with exercise, diet, calcium, and vitamin D. Try to get most of your calcium from food, and use supplements to make up the difference between your food and the RDA. Vitamin D does probably require a supplement.

Good luck (no pun intended) decision.

[StThomas in reply to yogalibrarian]

I have refused meds since 2007. This years calculation tool FRAX score numbers for me are : Major osteoporotic 11%

Hip fracture 5.5 %

My femoral neck T-score I entered was -3.3

I plugged in a fake T-score of -2.4 and the #s were Major osteoporotic 6.4%

Hip fracture 2.2%

Thank Yo

[yogalibrarian]

P.S. There are still some moderate impact activities that are safe: dancing

, hiking,

stair climbing

.

I saw a group of women (mostly in their 70s and 80s linedancing at a senior center last week.

[HeronNS]

This may interest you. healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Also, has your doctor investigated possible causes for your worsening bone density, given your active and healthy lifestyle? Parathyroid issues?

[StThomas]

Heron, you are my kind of girl. I have refused meds since 2007. This years calculation tool FRAX score numbers for me are : Major osteoporotic 11%

Hip fracture 5.5 %

My femoral neck T-score I entered was -3.3

I plugged in a fake T-score of -2.4 and the #s were Major osteoporotic 6.4%

Hip fracture 2.2%

[2019pro]

I just used a Sheffield.ac.uk site for frax, but Im not sure how to interpret the results or if I did it correctly.. it asked for the make of the machine used in the last test (Hologic)?

Mine came back as major osteoporotic 34% and hip as 3.7%

Age (between 40 and 90 years) or Date of Birth

Age: 63 Female

Weight (kg) 65.8

Height (cm) 165.1

Previous Fracture Yes

Parent Fractured Hip Yes

Current Smoking No

Glucocorticoids No

Rheumatoid arthritis No

Secondary osteoporosis No

Alcohol 3 or more units/day No

Femoral neck BMD (g/cm2) T-score: -2.3 Hologic as the source

BMI: 24.1

The ten year probability of fracture (%) with BMD

Major osteoporotic 34

Hip Fracture3.7

That doesn't sound too good to me? maybe because my mother had a fracture and I broke my radius 3 years ago? My Dr keeps calling to get the Prolia set up.. confused.

[Mark_ABH in reply to 2019pro]

Previous fracture and family history of fracture are major indicators of fracture, so those probably account for the higher overall risk factor.

[2019pro in reply to Mark_ABH]

So is that a reason to go on the Prolia? just don't want to get worse, trying to get better and delaying treatment.

No other problems have surfaced to indicate any issue that would cause it. I am relatively pretty healthy … the only thing I can come back to is that b/c my mom had a hip fracture and I had a stupid fall 3 years ago that shoots my numbers up?

[Mark_ABH in reply to 2019pro]

I don't want to tell you whether or not to take Prolia; that's up to you and your doctor. But yes, those are considered major risk factors for a fracture.

Here's some more information on Prolia (aka denosumab) for those who are interested. americanbonehealth.org/medi...

[Met00]

I'm also declining meds. I'm 62 and my scores last year were -3.6 spine and -2.5 hip. I haven't fractured and apart from a good diet and variety of supplements I'm working on increasing impact exercise. I now do a bit of jumping and skipping, use a weighted vest when walking, and exercise with weights - currently 2 x 3kg dumbbells, increasing gradually. It's a fine balance between doing high impact exercise to build bone, and low impact to be sure of avoiding fractures.... at the moment, as I haven't fractured, I'm choosing the former because if it increases my bone density the risk of fracture will be reduced.

[Hidden]

Encouraging. It's such a crap shoot! Since my numbers are -2.1 to -2.8 (neck) low, I'll stick with exercise and eating well plus Vit. 3 supplements. Can't take K2 since I'm on blood thinner.