Got 2014 letter, any advice

[Jennymary]

Popped into GP surgery today and asked for a copy of my Dexa Scan results which no one told me about until a couple of weeks ago, I'm still waiting an appt for the 5 yrs follow up scan which I was referred for a couple of weeks ago, can anyone tell me what this means,

[HeronNS]

The number -2.5 is where we are told low bone mass (aka osteopenia) stops and osteoporosis begins. This number was determined almost at random as a sort of compromise years ago. So if you have numbers close to that, and your left femoral neck is -2.4, then it is wise to make sure your diet, exercise, a few supplements, are all directed towards promoting bone health, good sense of balance, etc. The number gets "bigger" the "thinner" the bones, but note that the number is a negative number. You are being compared to a healthy thirty year old, and the DXA scan measures deviation from this ideal. The scan is only measuring density, not strength or flexibility.

It is no longer considered best medical practice to prescribe osteoporosis drugs to treat "osteopenia" and there are a number of us who have improved bone density results without medication.

[Jennymary in reply to HeronNS]

Hi HeronNS, thank you for your reply which has given me more info than the NHS have in 5 yrs!!!! If memory serves my letter went along the line of intermediate risk of fracture no need to do anything just have another scan in 3-5yrs, hospital rejected my 3 yrs referral, it was only a couple of weeks ago that GP said about my T scores but didn't say anything more, no mention of vitamin D testing which i have only found out about through this forum, I'm still awaiting the appt to come through which I will chase up next week

[LynneH-19]

I cannot improve on your reply from HeronNS.

Apart from making sure you have a vit D blood test done and reading about bone supplements, you hopefully will get your DEXA appointment soon and when you get a printout of the results, you can compare them and seen whether you are still in the osteopenia range.

What were you told when you had your original scan done? Was diet, exercise and supplements mentioned to you?

I found the following book helpful.

‘Vitamin K2 and the Ca Paradox’ by Kate Rheaume Bleue

Also an article about the importance of Protein: blogs.creighton.edu/heaney/...

Good luck and keep in touch.

[Jennymary in reply to LynneH-19]

Thank you for your reply LynneH-19, as in my reply to HeronNS, I haven't been given any advice regarding anything in the 5 yrs since the scan, no mention made of diet, exercise or supplements so I really appreciate the advice from both HeronNS and yourself as you've given me more info than the NHS have in 5 yrs.

[annelii in reply to LynneH-19]

LynneH thanks for the protein reference - despite doing loads of research on OP I missed that one!

[Savbing]

I would add another aspect. According to my research the DEXA only measures the cortical bone and not the trabecular or spongy bone. An MRI can measure this, but is only infrequently done.

Another score, called the FRAX is also done to estimate your fracture risk.

The Meilo Guide, ROS in the U.K. and other websites give very good advice and explanations of your readings.