hi all had an mri scan i have osteophorisis and rheumatoid arthritus and fibromyalgia and many more i am worried .i have 9 fractures not sure where they are T9 T10 T11 T12
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 seems my bones keep breaking so will have to use my wheelchair i am in constant pain how do i fin where they are my doctor is going to give me something to protect my bones have asthma and copd .help please .
You should have choices there if you look for them. Try to find sportsmed biologic who do treatments like cell therapy and other stuff not the awful drugs for osteoporosis.
hello i had an mri scan 2 months ago where i was told i had 2 wedge fractures they me on gabapentin just made me sick i have tried ibuprifin paracetamol morphine nothing works my doctor is putting me on mesication to strenghen my bones i was shocked when i was told that i have 9 fractures i have not been offered any tratment as of yet thank you .
Oh you poor lady, that’s awful. What kind of medication? Can you look into stem cell treatment or something similar. I’ve found a place in Melbourne, Australia.
If someone has a lower back MRI for back pain, not specifically for osteoporosis, would the doctor/radiologist be able to see bone loss on the MRI if the person was having bone loss?
If you don’t have bone on bone which I do then 30% or more should be discernible. I got my dr to look, doubted she had done more than look at the written report before that. Where I have the break my tscore is -5. One other place showed that which is my lower arm. I’ve baulked at the drugs yet again.
Thank you. Asking because I told my primary care physician (PCP) in 2017 that I had a burning sensation in the center of my back—thoracic spine. She was supposed to send me for an MRI of my thoracic spine but for some unknown reason they did an MRI of my lumbar spine—believe me, I was highly annoyed, because I wasn’t have any issues with my lower back. The results of the MRI came back “unremarkable”. 2 years later when I had my 1st DEXA, my lumbar t-score was -3.9. I really can’t believe that in 2 years I went from my bones being fine to having a -3.9 t-score, and I really wonder why no one caught my bone loss on that MRI. Something seems off.
Questions: Do you take calcium supplements? and how do you take them, meaning dose and timing or when do you take them?
I only take vitamin K2, vitamin D3 and magnesium chelate. I go by my blood results and they don’t show a need for calcium. I never had any HRT because of breast cancer in two sisters. That’s where I think my issue lies.
Unless you are having some specialized blood test that I am unaware of, a blood calcium test doesn’t indicate whether or not you are getting enough calcium in your diet.
Your blood calcium level should always be within the normal range and if it’s not, that means you need to have your parathyroid glands checked. Your parathyroid glands monitor your blood calcium level to keep it within the normal range. If you don’t get enough calcium via diet/supplements, your parathyroid glands release PTH to go “find” calcium from other places, which often means taking it from your bones.
Good information thanks! I think we can work it out from our intake of foods too. But good idea to check that all again.
The reason I asked about your supplements originally is that when started research how to make my body absorb more calcium (which is when I learned what I wrote in my last response to you) I changed my calcium supplements. My endocrinologist had told me to take 1200 mg in calcium supplements a day but he didn't tell me how to take it. I had been taken 2 600 mg calcium supplements in addition to the calcium I was getting through my diet. I immediately went out and bought Citracal Petites. Citracal petites contain 200 mg of calcium per pill. I started taking those throughout the day and I staggered them between meals/snacks that contain calcium. That way I was making sure that I get smaller doses of calcium throughout the day rather than large quantities that my body would not be able to absorb no matter what. Additionally, as of January 2022, right before I get in bed at night, I take a calcium supplement. My reasoning was, if the body is healing/regenerating while I am asleep, I want calcium to be on hand in case it needs it while I am sleeping.
About two days ago I was looking up info on how to prepare for bone turnover marker blood tests (because my endocrinologists office refuses to get back to me with an answer about this). While searching I found this article which pretty much confirms my decision to take a calcium supplement just before going to bed.
nps.org.au/australian-presc...
It states:
The intake of food influences bone turnover. Dietary calcium appears to inhibit bone resorption. Calcium supplements taken in the evening significantly reduce resorption markers, in the fasting state, the next morning.
So I was going to suggest that you consider taking a calcium supplement (or drink a glass of milk, if it won't make you wake up during the night to go to the restroom) just before going to bed.
Note: When I switched to the Citracal Petites I also stopped taking the 1200 mg in calcium supplements that my endocrinologist had told me to take. Now I make sure I get between 1200 - 1500 mg of calcium per day via a combo of supplements and food but I always take a Citracal calcium right before I go to bed.
Do take the advice of your doctor...hopefully a bone specialist. I hope you have an appointment soon.
What bone specialist? There isn’t one! I wish that there was, sadly.
What I don't understand is why rheumatologists deal with osteoporosis, when surely, logically, orthopaedic consultants would be better placed? If you need surgery on any part of your skeleton, won't it be orthopaedics you're referred to? It all seems crazy to me, and indicative of the low priority osteoporosis is given by the NHS. The only two experts who've ever given me good advice with regard to my osteoporosis have both been orthopaedic consultants, both seen privately, the first for a very slow to heal (non-osteoporotic) fracture, the second for a REMS scan.
Met00, I hope this helps your query. Hormones are derived from the endocrine glands. Many hormone imbalances result in diseases which the endocrinologist then deals with. Examples include diabetes, thyroid disease, and parathyroid disease and others. Osteoporosis can be caused by parathyroid imbalance and also reduction or lack of oestrogen i.e. due to menopause, both examples are causes of osteoporosis. So, a physician (a doctor who does not perform surgery) such as a rheumatologist or endocrinologist are the doctors who know most about, and treat this disease. An orthopaedic surgeon operates to repair damage caused by a disease, but they are not the specialists who diagnose or provide long term management of those disease, such as osteoporosis.
A rheumatologist may be involved when patients are referred to her/him with pain, or indeed as the first line doctor to treat osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease and some countries are adequately advanced to have specialist clinics etc to manage those patients. I hope this clarifies the question you asked. Apologies my reply is a year late, but I am new here!
Hello Emersee. I do understand the roles of different specialists, but still believe that osteoporosis would be better placed under a orthopaedic consultant. Bearing in mind that osteoporosis only becomes an issue when fractures occur, it would make sense to me that, if surgery were necessary, that the patient were already under the care of someone who is able to operate, rather than at that point needing a referral to a different consultant. I'm sure orthopaedic consultants don't operate on all their patients, so seeing patients who don't need surgery could still fall within their remit. Alternatively, and maybe even better, there should be specific osteoporosis consultants!
Hello Met00.
Thank you for your reply. I understand what you are saying and ortho surgeons do not operate on all patients they such ie 90% of patients with back pain do not need surgery, but, are referred to surgeons when conservative management has failed. Ortho surgeons do not train in metabolic bone disease such as osteoporosis and there are alreadyspecialists in that area. Nor do they train in osteoarthritis, scoliosis, diabetes or any other endocrine diseases. There is a clear division of disease management. It is a matter of whether a consultant is a surgeon or a physician. If what you suggested were to happen, then one could suggest that the surgeon specialises in endocrine disease where the patient might occasionally need surgery and at that rate, they would train for double the number of years and there would be a shortfall of surgeons. The current issue may be that there are not enough specialists in metabolic bone disease as that is a relatively new area and that leads to many of us feel that our management could be overseen somewhat better. It's a gap for sure.
I am sorry I don't live in the uk. Here in Israel we have osteoporosis clinics in the hospitals. Are you sure the NHS doesn't run any (usually endocrinologists are part of them not rheumatologists)?
I’m in Australia not the UK. It should be a bone dr who looks after osteoporosis. I doubt an endocrinologist has specialised in osteoporosis. We go to an endocrinologist here for diabetes. I might look into whether such a person exists who specialises in osteoporosis just in case. Not just someone pushing the drugs!
hello i dont have any apointments yet just found out i am in a lot of pain i have an electric blankit which helps i am asmatic and feeling breathless thank you .
I was shocked too when told I had 6 spinal fractures,9 is ridiculous,no wonder you’re in agony! My pain wasn’t addressed atall properly till I got a new gp.Finally got Fentanyl patches,had to go up to 50mcg but nausea and loss of appetite lost 3 stones. So got myself down to 12 mcg which takes worst of pain- I know how well they work when forgot one and I was faint with pain. I still have quite a bit of pain so top up with a Tramadol when very bad.Works for me.Hope you find some help,maybe yell till they get your pain under control,no need to suffer so much.
Good luck.X🤗
Hi! I’m sorry to hear you have all these broken bones. I believe I have seven in my spine. I had one go in 2013 then two in 2018. I then had a dexa scan that showed I had Osteoporosis quite badly. I had four more bones go in 2020. I’m sure there is medication that can help you. It won’t cure the pain you have from the fractures but it will get a lot easier. My friend is similar to you and I’m sure she will come along to reassure you. They need to get that bone meds to you as quick as they can. Don’t let it go quiet. Phone them to ask when you can get it.
I started on Terraparatide and am now on Denosumab which they told me I would have for life. I’ve been absolutely fine on it and luckily have not had any more fractures since 2020. The Consultant has said I’m likely to get more as my bones are still quite bad.
Have you considered red light therapy for the pain? I don’t have any fragility fractures and I have not tried it but there is a good amount of research showing that it works. You might want to ask your doctor about it or talk to an orthopedic doctor.
You could ring and speak to an Osteoporosis Specialist nurse on the free helpline. They talk through all your options. 0808 8000035
I have had many fractures was diagnosed when i was 58 after a very bad wrist fracture ,i now have prolia injections twice a year and that seems to help
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