I have recently been diagnosed with osteopenia. Bit of a shock! Im currently taking pregabalin, baclofen and fentanyl. GP reckons I shouldn't be having this much pain. I have slight brain damage called ataxia. I'm seeing a Neuro psychiatrist next week in the hope they can re-train my brain and lead a more life.
Did your GP discuss any underlying contributions to the osteopenia such as, e.g., long-term use of oral steroids for asthma? Or digestive problems that have led to dietary restrictions or difficulties absorbing vitamins and minerals from your food?
Have you had a referral to a pain clinic to assist you with appropriate pain management? I hope that you have a good consultation with the neuropsychiatrist and that you can jointly decide on a useful plan of action.
it will probably be worth your while to phone the helpline of NOS (details on the home page of this forum) - and they'd probably talk to you about the osteopenia and be able to answer some of your questions. NOS has lots of helpful free guides to download.
There's a discussion in the comments of this post about general diet, exercise, and supplements that members find to be helpful: healthunlocked.com/boneheal...
Hi. Thanks for getting back to me. It is caused by my end stage liver disease, years of alcohol abuse and malnutrition has finally taken its toll on my body. Don't know if i read right on another discussion that vit D and calcium tablets can cause constipation? If so then I got problem. I cannot allow myself to be constipated as it will trigger a hepatic encephalopathy attack and i will end up in ITU again! I saw pain clinic last year they prescribed pregabalin. Basically everything boils down to the ataxia and this Neuro psychiatrist being able to retrain my damaged brain!! I will call NOS later today for advice.
You do not have to take the calcium/Vit D meds dished out by doctors, it would appear, as a matter of course. If you take enough calcium in your daily diet via food then you would only need to be prescribed Vit D tablets. You can discuss your diet with your doctor, as I did and it was decided I was ok re daily calcium so was prescribed Vit D only.
Definitely phone the NOS helpline and talk to them about your options as they have specialist knowledge of what is appropriate in more intricate circumstances like yours.
Not all calcium and vitamin D supplements are 'binding' - if you need supplements, this is one of the options for which it might be helpful to talk to NOS as they know about these things.
Good Luck.
Its unlikely that you will be experiencing pain from osteopenia, unless you have fractured, possibly the pain you are experiencing is related to one of your other illnesses.
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