Hi
I have osteoporosis of the lumbar spine and am being considered for Teriparatide as a treatment followed by one dose of zolendronic acid. Tests prior to the decision being made have shown a low 24 hour urinary calcium level at 5.4 mmol (range is between 9.0 mmol and 17 mmol).
Anybody have experience of causes and treatments for this please?
Thank you
Misty
Hi, thanks for responding. I had an osteoporosis consultation this morning and consultant was happy saying it indicated I wasn't loosing calcium and more of it was going to the formation of bone. However, I am missing a PTH blood result so we'll know more when this result comes in.
Hmm, no it was an osteoporosis consultant! I’ll await the PTH blood test result and take it from there. Thank you!
Thank you! My blood calcium levels are normal. If abnormal, I will be seeking a referral to endocrinologist as you say 😊
Have you had your blood calcium levels checked? If you have do you know what they were. High blood calcium can be caused by hyperparathyroidism which if left unchecked can lead to osteoporosis kidney stones or both plus a range if other symptoms and a small op could make a vast difference including improving your bone density......you can have normal calcium and high pth levels its called normocalcemic hyperparathyroidism see what your pth is.....
Thank you Cappuccinobaby, my blood calcium levels are within range. I'm still waiting for a PTH blood test and will know more once I have the results for this 😊
Your question reminded me years ago (early 2000s) I had had a routeen appointment with osteoporosis consultant at that stage I was in the pre osteoporosis range, I had 'usual blood and urine' requests.
Two days later I had a call from the consultant's office asking me to phone the consultant who wanted to check how I was feeling.... 'I was fine' - turns out consultant was pretty sure that my urine results where just wrong / got contaminated - reason being very high level of calcium in the urine sample, a possible indication of sudden bone calcium loss ( at that stage I was pre medication stage). From that I had always taken low levels of calcium to be 'good' either showing medication being absorbed and or minimum loss.
Good luck with your treatment plan it was the same med plan for me once I became in osteoporosis range.
Best Wishes
Posy White
Thank you Posy White x. Hope you are doing well now?
FYI, more info from UC San Francisco website: A low level of urine calcium may be due to:
Disorders in which the body does not absorb nutrients from food well
Disorders in which the kidney handles calcium abnormally
Parathyroid glands in the neck do not produce enough PTH (hypoparathyroidism)
Use of a thiazide diuretic
Very low level of vitamin D
That's Interesting! My vitamin D levels are well above the required minimum and I am not taking any diuretics. Will await results of PTH and discuss further re: absorption of nutrients and kidneys not handling calcium well. Thank you for responding as I wasn't aware of the first two points you make 😊
I have had osteoporosis for many years. I am 87.put on teriparatide 4 years ago following 2 fractured femurs a year apart. The injections were easy to do myself butI was glad to stop after the required 2 years. Mainly remembering to do them the same time every day. I blame all problems on AlendronicAcid taken for 7 years. Good luck. Gillymar
Thank you Gillymar. So sorry to hear your news. I have resisted taking any bisphosphonate based medication (or any other) to date as I have read about too many patients with rebound fractures taking them! Thankfully my latest DEXA results css as me back the same as the results six years ago so I won’t be going on any medication for now. I’m going to stick with my lifestyle and dietary changes and the weight bearing exercises.
How can one prevent the fractured femurs? I just started Alendronate and now I'm worried. My scores are: spine T -3.2, hips T -1.6. They've been declining over the past 7 years so I finally decided to start Alendronate. I'm tolerating it very well.
Thank you all for your comments. Just to update you my latest DEXA results came back the same as the results six years ago so I won’t be going on any medication for now. I’m going to stick with my lifestyle and dietary changes and the weight bearing exercises. Seems whatever I am doing is at least not making my osteoporosis worse. Fingers firmly crossed. Take care x
Hi Aerobics-Instructor, I'm sorry to hear your news. I suspect you carried out your research before starting on Alendronic Acid? Have your scores declined drastically over the years? You would need to consider your age, other medical conditions, how quick the decline has been and whether you have had any fractures etc.
You could, if you are not already, incorporate weight bearing exercises (simple as walking), tai chi, removing convenience and highly processed foods from your diet, incorporating calcium and other bone healthy nutrients into your diet and ensure you have an adequate amount of vitamin D3 in your body.
Take care
Calcium and Heartburn
