osteoporosis

[TWEETYCAT]

Just joined and wanted to get some feedback from you all. I'm 66 yr old female, I walk 4 miles a day, do elliptical 40 min. and rebound 30 min. daily, along with stretching. I'm 5' 81/2 and 130 lbs, my weight is not an issue. I have always been very athletic and worked out my entire life. I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis 2 years ago, so I started taking BONE-UP. Heard really good things about it and took it religiously for 2 yrs. Just got my dexa scan back and no improvement. Everything thing is 2.5. I really don't understand why I have this and I think there must be a reason why my body is not absorbing calcium. I have ordered a product called NEW CHAPTER BONE STRENGTH and will try this instead with algea. My doctor want's to put me on medications. I refuse to go down that rabbit hole. After reading all the problems with medications, I never plan to get on them. I do not take any medications, but use herbs and vitamins. After reading the comments on this site, I plan to ask my doctor for a parathyroid test. Not sure why she has not done that already. I know something has got to be causing my body to not absorb calcium. I have seen studies that show that after the age of 50, you lose a lot of the stomach acid needed to break down foods and such. I see that it is recommended to switch to calcium citrate complex because your stomach can break it down and use it by our body much better. Has anyone heard of this as well? People also swear by Lions mane mushroom and red clover for women with this condition with great success. Your feedback would be appreciated.

[Met00]

I'd like to reassure you that t-scores of -2.5 at age 66 really aren't that bad! If your scores are unchanged, everything you're doing has at least stopped your bone density from deteriorating further in the past 2 years, so that's an achievement, even if you haven't increased your density as hoped. It's normal to lose about 1% bone density per year from around age 40, with a faster loss for several years around/following the menopause.

It sounds like you haven't been checked for underlying causes for your osteoporosis. You should have been checked for blood D, calcium, parathyroid (which you mention) and thyroid levels, along with any absorbency issues such as coeliac disease. Calcium and parathyroid need to be checked together, as they interact.

You don't say whether you've had a fragility fracture. If not, a score of -2.5 doesn't usually indicate the need for medication, unless you have other issues that put you at high risk of fracture. There's little if any evidence that medication prevents fractures for those who haven't already fractured and, indeed, if taken long-term it can actually increase fracture risk! Better to save the meds for the future, should it become necessary at that point.

[TWEETYCAT in reply to Met00]

Thank you for your comments. My vitamin D levels and calcium levels have been good, I take around 5000 a day of D3 and take MK7 etc. I just sent my doctor a message to have my parathyroid blood test done. It's so amazing to me how doctors are so quick to put people on medications when there are so many healthy alternatives.