Avoiding things quite nicely

[mully]

I'm still waiting for treatment after my Dexa scan. I received the results in a long and informative letter from my Rheumatologist, The first and most informative letter I have ever had from her I see her for another condition and became convinced she had bought her qualifications online so I was really surprised! Her finishing sentence was that if I want to try oral bisphosphonates contact my GP however if I wished to have the yearly bisphosphonates contact the Rheumatology department directly I have of course contacted the department and unsurprisingly had no response I also had an MRI to check for broken bones but again still no reply regarding the results Has anyone had an insufficiency fracture of the sacroiliac joint? I've been told my risk of having a broken bone is high in the next 10 years So I'm figuring I have another 9 years to go so why rush haha

[Sheeniejay]

Hi. I would probably keep contacting the rheumatology dept, to speak to a specialist in this area rather than go to the GP or feel pressured into making a decision. Ask if there are other possibilities re drugs or even timing - for example, ask them what they mean by high? What does that look like in a percentage? If you're still unsure, ask to be referred to another rheumatologist for a second opinion. It would be unfair to simplify the decision to biphosphonates or nothing. You need all the facts, including side effects. Perhaps research various other drug treatments and talk them through with the rheumatologist(s). Good luck.

[t1gernidster]

I would suggest you do a lot of investigation and hard thinking before rushing into taking any medication. Have you been checked for hyperparathyroidism for example? If you suffer from that no treatment will work until that has been treated. It’s a matter of a simple blood test from your GP. What are your dexa scores? You need to know those to know how severe your osteoporosis is if you do indeed have it.

There is a lot of good advice to be had here from people who have experience.

[walk21]

I suggest you look at the Royal Osteoporosis Society website. There is lots of information about different treatments there. You could join the Society to get lots of ongoing information.

[Fran57]

Hi.

I would strongly recommend you ask your GP for a blood test, to check out your parathyroid hormone levels ( nothing to do with the thyroid, and can be linked very closely to osteoporosis…mine was!

It’s really important that you check this out first.

As others have said, don’t rush into medication without doing your research.

Kind regards,

Fran 😉

[josephinius1]

First, yikes! I'm so sorry. I was also left to dangle after my DEXA scan. I could see the numbers, but honestly didn't know what they meant, but after some googling to try to find out, saw scores are on a bell curve and mine were pretty far past the end point. and that didn't seem good. So I was surprised that my formerly rather prompt PCP (here in Oregon, USA,) was so slow in responding. I guess ultimately I felt that if she wasn't in a hurry, I didn't need to be either.

As to the insufficiency fracture, I also wonder if I've had one or more, but if I have, it doesn't show on an x-ray, and that seems to be sufficient for the medical professionals I've seen so far. I guess it doesn't matter; if I did have one, it healed. But when they happened, I didn't know I had OP, so the idea that I might have actually fractured something seemed ludicrous. Yet, that's what it felt like, like my back was broken, and seriously unstable. The pain was extraordinary, nothing I had available to me would even blunt it, my only relief was sleep. I could walk, but I looked and felt like an 80 year old. One time I thought hanging from monkey bars might help, (maybe it was just a weird muscle tightness?) Hanging from my knees, that is. Fortunately, my husband was there, because I couldn't get myself off of them (I was 59ish and a runner, pretty fit,) and once off, I wasn't sure I would be able to walk home. It still could have been something else, but now I can verify fractures of T 11, 12 and L1, and same thing--Stretching was the absolute worst, and it makes sense if the bones are actually moving, ragged edges rubbing against each other?

Anyway, I hope you get seen to soon and get solid answers.

[mully]

Thanks for all your replies So hip and spine -3.2 so not too bad Ive been checked for hyperparathyroidism and I'm all clear My treatment options were Alodronic acid , or risedronate, If so contact the GP or Zoledronic acid and to contact the rheumatology department directly if I wanted to try this I have absolute screaming stomach acid so don't want to take anything orally So still no reply from Rheumatologist She said she would give me a follow appointment to discuss , and yep no appointment I have Trigeminal Neuralgia and I've been told by fellow sufferers that osteoporosis meds can make the pain intolerable. I'm waiting for surgery but it's up to 6 months waiting list I'm terrified of having osteoporosis meds before this but am equally scared of breaking a bone So wonder re the appointment whether I should leave it to fate