new to this

[KieranB]

hi I’m 46 and have some fractures in my spine

I had a series of strokes about 2 years ago and am partially sighted

I have been told that I have an SD of -4.5 in my back

im not sure what this really means!

any help would be much appreciated

thank you

kieran

[ROSModerator Partner]

Hi KieranB ,

Welcome to our community, thank you for joining us here! Experiencing spine fractures can be really isolating, so we hope you can connect with others here who understand

We noticed you haven't yet had a reply so we wanted to share some information that might feel helpful. We have lots of information about living with osteoporosis on our website, including about understanding DXA results: theros.org.uk/information-a...

We also have a helpline of friendly nurses who can chat things through and offer specialist advice. Find out more about our helpline here: theros.org.uk/information-a...

Wishing you all the best,

Lulu

ROS Moderator

[MnMTwo]

I hope the information from the ROS moderator has been some help.

Please don’t be put off by the lack of response if you have further questions.

[Met00]

An SD is a standard deviation and the -4.5 means that your bone density is 4.5 standard deviations lower than an average 30 year old. It's usually expressed as a t-score of -4.5; normal bone density is -1.0 or above, osteopenia (reduced bone density) is between -1.0 and -2.5, and osteoporosis is -2.5 and below, bearing in mind that negative numbers appear to get bigger, the lower they are (so -2.5 is worse than -1.0).

[KieranB in reply to Met00]

Thanks very much Met00

That’s helpful

What I’m trying g to work out is how low the scale goes if you see what I mean

I get the scale for determining osteoporosis but not the scale of severity between -2.5 and whatever

So I’m trying to work out how severe my condition is so I can ask questions when I see the consultant….

Thanks very much,

Kieran

Oh and here’s is a picture of a couple of polar bears

A young cub playing with his mum in Svalbard

[Met00]

I don' t think there's an easy answer to that, sorry! -4.5 is a very poor t-score, but I once read of someone with a score of -6.0 who had never fractured. It's fracture risk that's the important measure, rather than just t-scores. You should have a FRAX fracture risk score (if not, I would ask for this to be done), which will tell you your chance of fracturing in the next 10 years (for example 20% risk of fracture). As you've already had spinal fractures, unfortunately that does raise your risk of further fractures and is a factor that will be taken into account when calculating the FRAX score.

[KieranB in reply to Met00]

Thanks that’s very helpful.

Yeh 9 fractures isn’t brilliant but I have my anaesthesiologist appt next week Thursday for an op on 3-4 of them hopefully by end of the year

So after the op that will hopefully help and I can reduce the transdermal buprenorphine patches the 2,100 of gabapentine and the codine and tramadol!!

I’ll ask for a FRAX score and that’s so useful.

Really appreciate the help for a newly diagnosed not quite up to speed person 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

I will have lots to ask the rheumatologist so thanks again and here is another polar bear for you.

Cheers,

Kieran

Sleepy polar bear