I had a bone density scan in the summer and was told I have osteoporosis. I am 80, I thought I was quite fit but now I'm frightened of falling.
My Dr has suggested taking Alendronic Acid tablets. I looked for a support group and came across your website. I've been reading all your stories and feel quite frightened of the treatment.
I've always had to be careful of what I eat, no spicy foods etc. and had IBS for years. I also have a phobia about taking tablets and have to halve them sometimes.
I was told I have to start off with the tablets. GP not very sympathetic and makes me feel I'm being awkward. I have to think about it.
Wish I hadn't chosen such a silly title. 😊
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Viking1822
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I suspect most people in their 80s would be shown to have osteoporosis if they had a DEXA scan, because we all lose bone density as we age. Can I ask why you had the scan - have you had a fragility fracture? Whether or not to recommend medication should be based on your FRAX fracture risk score, combined with your age, not on your t-scores alone. Do you know your FRAX score (eg 10% risk of fracture in the next 10 years)? At age 80 you would need around a 20% fracture risk in order for medication to be considered beneficial - see the chart here: nogg.org.uk/full-guideline/....
I'd had back ache, I was referred in April and had a bone density scan in August. I haven't had a fracture. An MRI scan in the past showed my spine is curved. Looking on Patient Access the fracture risk assessment report mentions 10 yr fracture risk major osteoporotic is 15% and 10 yr risk of hip fracture 6.4%. T-score of AP Spine -2.0 and Right femur in Neck -2.8 Recommended scanning in 3-5 yrs. I take Evacal D3 . Hope this answers your question. I don't understand a lot of the information. Thank you very much for replying .
In that case I would take that chart to your doctor and ask why he recommends medication when it isn't indicated in NOGG guidelines, because your 15% fracture risk is below the 20% threshold! I'm not saying not to take the meds, because that has to be your decision, but I would certainly want to discuss it further with your GP. A lot of GPs don't know a great deal about osteoporosis and it may be that, with an osteoporosis diagnosis, he simply believes that indicates the need for medication. Or it may be that your DEXA report recommends it, but again I would question why. At your age, those sound remarkably good t-scores (they compare your bone density to an average 30 year old, giving an estimate of how much density you may have lost since peak bone density at that age). Your scores are similar to mine, but you're 12 years older than me!
Has your doctor sent you for an x-ray or scan to find out why you're getting backache? Osteoporosis isn't painful unless you've fractured, so if there are no fractures in your spine, there are a number of other causes, including disc and muscular problems and arthritis.
I have a young lady Dr, the backache was higher than usual but didn't last long. I assumed the scan was just a check because of my age. I was surprised to read recently that osteoporosis doesn't give you backache but it's just something we get if we overdo things. In 2000 and 2020 I had sciatic for months, an MRI scan showed it was a disc pressing on a nerve, it eventually stopped hurting as long as I don't pick anything heavy up. Thank you very much for that, I feel much more optimistic.
If you haven't had an x-ray or scan to check for the cause of your upper backache, then there's always a small possibility of a fracture. If that were the case, it would increase your fracture risk score. As it was short-lived, it's unlikely to have been a fracture, but it's your decision whether to pursue that further.
Perhaps I put it badly, I'm guessing the bone scan was only because of the backache which had stopped by the time I received an appointment for a scan.
I also have problems taking tablets, so my doctor prescribes soluble alendronic acid tablets for me. I take a calcium supplement which is chewable. The alendronic acid tablet is taken once a week. You could ring the Royal Osteoporosis Society for information, they also have a brilliant website.
There are alternatives. I won't take alendronic acid because of my digestion and the other medications the NHS offers all seem to have problematic side effects. There's a lot of information on the Algaecal site. I take Algaecal and exercise with a physio who specialises in osteoporosis.
Hi ,I can't add any more really, my mother was given alendronic acid in her 80s with no side effects,I took it for 5 yrs with no problems. But we are all different and as you already have gut issues, it's good to be cautious.GPs are very drug motivated ,both my mum and I had fractures before we were prescribed it,but that's because we hadn't been xrayed or dexa scanned.You also hate swallowing meds which must be making you very anxious at the thought of it.
Maybe another chat with GP ,armed with all the info people have given you
Hi Viking. I too have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and refuse to take alendronic acid as I have reflux and difficulty swallowing tablets. The GP - a young guy - was very annoyed. He never gave me any other advice but people on this site have been amazing. Firstly they suggested taking Vit D3, K2 and Mg which I now do. I eat a lot of fat free natural yoghurt for Ca and there was a video clip showing various easy exercises to help strengthen bones - heel drops being one that I remember!!! It's a difficult decision but I hope it works well for you.
I think your title is great. It is very daunting and I wish your GP was more understanding of how you feel. I am going to be 66 in February. I was told I have very severe osteoporosis. I totally understand your fear of falling. Just take your time to digest it all. To be honest some people on here are so knowledgeable and I feel I know and understand not a lot about it. I have to inject myself daily for 2 years and take tablets. Hopefully it all helps. Take care
A friend of 82 was in the tablets for 5 years. She also has severe osteoarthritis and that is how they discovered she had osteoporosis. She had taken of the tablets after 5 years and was amazing with both problems. She was taken off the tablets after 5 years and was almost bed bound after a month or so. Doctor said it was the arthritis. They went private for scans of all sorts and the private doctor put her back on the tablets and she is mobile again. I am on Zoledronic Acid infusions (second one yesterday) and my pain level has dropped dramatically. I chose to see a Rheumatologist (I live in France) who walked me through the options and as I have GERD (acid reflux) she chose the infusions which have reduced my pain considerably. I would really talk to the doctor and take all your advice and research with you. I had no idea my spine had collapsed and I had a fracture. All I had was some pain until a nerve was trapped and the pain was unbearable. It is your body but please get proper advice re treatment and please don’t decide against it just because you are tablet phobic, there are treatment alternatives. Best of luck. PS, osteoporosis used to be called a silent illness. How wrong they were.
Why don’t you ask your doctor for a referral to physio or find a good private physio who can work on your balance - not falling is a good way to avoid fractures.
Take your time to decide - nothing is going to happen instantly just because you now have a diagnosis, you are the same as you were before your DEXA.
I stopped taking alendronic acid after four months because my body really didn’t like it and I felt dreadful BUT I have many friends who are perfectly happy taking it, either in tablet form or by annual infusion. They think I am absolutely mad.
I take the vitamins and minerals you will have seen mentioned earlier and I do two Pilates sessions a week with a teacher who is experienced in working with clients who have osteoporosis - she also thinks I should take alendronic acid - plus I walk for about an hour on most days, I think you need to be careful who you choose to work with when it comes to exercise - it is important to keep moving but you don’t want to go too ‘gung ho’ and damage yourself.
I also eat a mostly bone friendly diet. You could also push your doctor for ( or pay privately ) for an MRI scan to see what is going on with your spine - a physio I was seeing organised a couple of private MRIs for me when my GP wasn’t interested and look on the ROS website there is masses of information on there about all aspects of osteoporosis.
If anyone offers you Prolia / Denusomab be careful as once the treatment is under way you can’t afford to miss, be late in getting your next injection or stop altogether without going onto a relay drug such as a bisphosphonate.
I'm sorry, I thought I'd replied to you but can't find it. What is a bone friendly diet please ? Thank you for your experiences. As my Dr knows how sensitive my stomach is and phobia with swallowing tablets she is insistent I must start with the AA before trying anything else. A more caring person would have explained more. After all the suggestions from the group I won't be pushed into it. Thank you.
Have a good look through the site, there is a huge amount of information on there.
I eat lots of oily fish, eggs, chicken, bone broth, vegetables particularly leafy green vegetables, raw nuts and seeds fruit but mostly berries and I drink a lot of water. I avoid things like coca-cola and fizzy drinks, fast food, sweets, I stick with a square or two of 90% black chocolate. I went totally gluten free about ten years ago when I developed inflammatory arthritis as I had not long recovered from Graves Disease so another autoimmune condition was very annoying really and I think going GF was something I could control to fight back.
As it was my thyroid antibodies reduced massively - they still go up and down a bit but in a normal more healthy way. It could have just been that it was time for that to happen but I’ve stuck with GF ever since as it made a massive difference to my IBS, besides it’s not really difficult to do.
One thing it has kept me away from McDonalds as here in the U.K. they don’t really cater for people who are gluten free.
Perhaps if you tell your doctor you are not even going to risk putting your gut under stress she will offer you an infusion which will by pass your gut.
I know when I was prescribed AA there was a note on the information from the hospital saying ‘If the patient *really* can’t tolerate alendronic acid then change to’ whatever the infusion was. I felt offended by the *really* as if I would say I couldn’t tolerate AA just for the fun of it.
As someone has suggested there seems to be a liquid form of alendronic but your doctor has a choice - she either prescribes a form of alendronic that you are happy to take or you don’t take anything at all - she can make her choice based on that.
Sorry to hear how ill you have been. I would have been offended by that note too. Thank you for the website. I tend to eat a lot of the food you do apart from not tolerating nuts. I find after cutting out sweet things they taste awful if you eat something sweet by mistake. Thank you for telling me your experiences.
I too was terrified for months, thinking every odd pain was a fracture. This fear has gradually receded. I take alendronic acid with no obvious problems after 3 years - but luckily dont have a problem with tablets.
My advice would be to try and find a physio who knows about osteoporosis and can advise you on exercises and help you work out a programme. Doing something, however small, is always a good thing. Or try the Royal osteoporosis society website. Balance exercises can reduce your risk of falling.
Considering 50% or more women have osteoporosis, some gps are very uninformed.
Hi I think your title is very apt. I too am medication sensitive. 68 now and been like this all my life. We know our bodies and what works and doesn't work for us. So please don't feel you are being difficult when you want to take time to consider. GP's always go for the cheapest option first and Alendronic Acid is one of these. Most know little about osteoporosis and the complexities associated. Wishing you all the best in whatever decision you make
Thank you. Wish my Dr was more approachable but she isn't. I've always walked a lot though not so far now and do some exercises. When I've looked for classes like pilates they all seem to be for younger people and haven't even bothered to reply to phone calls or emails. I am reading through everything and noting all the information. I've always had to be careful with my diet, eat lots of greek yoghurt, cheese and vegetables. Apart from bananas can't tolerate much fruit. I'm so thankful for everyones advice.
Hello Viking1822. I am 76 and have been taking Alendronic Acid for over two years now without any problems. I too thought I was fit until I fractured 4 vertebrae in quick succession, this is not unusual apparently. The tablets dissolve into a glass of water so no need to worry about swallowing them. Since starting the treatment I have had no more fractures although the ones I have continue to cause pain, I am 4 inches shorter and with a bent back. My advice would be to give the treatment a try to see if you can tolerate it and avoid painful and disfiguring fractures.
The problem with spinal fractures is usually you don't know they've occurred. Unlesss there is related muscle spasms in the back which are excruciatingly painful and debilitating. I cannot take AA so I get annual Zoledronic Acid infusions, which have their own set of rare and not so rare side effects. I have 10 vertebral fragility fractures. Perhaps they can give you a complete spinal xray? It could also be your discs acting up. My Osteoporosis was caused by Prednisone which I take for PMR. At 80, I think some osteo is rather "normal" and your dexa is pretty good overall. Fingers crossed.
Thanks. At 80 I have the expected aches and pains. I haven't had a proper discussion with my Dr because she won't listen, just thinks I'm awkward - patronising if I'm honest. I will take a long hard think about it, I feel ok just now. You've all given me a such a lot of information for which I'm very grateful. Will contact the physio at our surgery though. Many thanks.
Not a thing wrong with being awkward! 😉 as for your age - well some younger people don’t even seem to realise that if life goes well for them they could reach your age too.
I agree. This website can be very frightening. Seems to me a lot more people post about big problems than post about it being ok and manageable. I was lucky and had several months of taking aledronic acid tablets before discovering this site ....and had no problems at all. 12 months on still no problems. I wouldn't dream of contradicting other's view but be assured that there are plenty of people who don't have problems. 70mg tablets are no bigger than paracetamol so if you can take those you should be fine. Re gut problems I have found a daily dose of natural kefir is brilliant for making guts healthy and function well - and it has calcium in it so that's good. One other observation - remember that most people who post here are not medically qualified - they can report there own experience but that may not apply to you
Hi Narajito.. I just wanted to say that I found your positive attitude very refreshing and encouraging. I have very similar T scores to you; hips are normal but ostoepenia in lumber spine (-1.5) I'm 68 and very active and follow a healthy diet. A year ago, I was running at least 10k twice a week and feeling invincible (and to be honest a little smug) to feel so fit in my late 60's! Then, after a bad fall during a backpacking week along Hadrian's Wall, I discovered that I'd suffered from some small fractures to my sacrum and pubic symphysis. Initially, a GP told me that I'd pulled a tendon in my groin, so I continued to do exercises for tendonitis. Obviously this made everything worse, so I paid for a private consultation and these fractures showed up on an MRI, but not plain X Ray. I was pretty shocked. Recovering from the fractures was hard as I hate to be inactive, but luckily I'm now fine and not suffering from any painful after effects.
I've spent the last 3 months dithering about medication due to so many horror stories and even considered asking my consultant to prescribe anabolics on a private prescription. He would have, if I had really wanted to go down that route, but told me I'd probably be wasting my money particularly as my scores are not bad. My bones are probably not best quality because I'm a very small frame and my mother suffered from OP. So, in summary, I bit the bullet this morning and took my first Alendronic Acid pill and so far ok. Pschologically, I did feel as if I was about to swallow arsenic but if I have any discomfort, it's because I feel like a water balloon after making sure that I drank over a pint of water!
Your post resonated with me as I'm also interesed in healthy eating and I intend to tackle this condition from every direction to hopefully prevent it worsening. I've joined a gym and am following a programme that my Physio has written for me to get started, I've cut right down on my lunchtime treat of a glass of wine and now walking briskly several times a week with a little bit of running added in. I've also followed your recommendation and started to drink Kefir! Every cloud has a silver lining and if I hadn't have fallen last year, this condition would have progressed silently without me knowing. So let's put the positive message out there and do our best to enjoy quality lives as much as possible!
hello again Corcho - you situation sounds v v similar to mine. I considered myself fit - and still do - still go to gym and always include some impact. I try to walk 4 miles at least 3 times a week. I'm 5'2'' and under 8stone so small like you and my mother took similar medication - though I only discovered that recently from my cousin who is a gp. I've tried to continue everything I always did - tho I did give up skiing as it seemed like asking for trouble. I don't really understand why I have the compact vertebrae fractures - no fall around the time it started - but have stopped trying to fathom - just focus on being as fit as poss and keep diet as healthy as possible - touch wood its working so far. BTW I do have a glass or two of wine at the weekend!
It seems that we're the same height and weight too! Our small frames and age are probably major contributory factors. 24 hours after first Alendronite and no obvious side effects. Keep in touch, it's good to chat with someone with a positive attitude. 😁
Hi Viking1822At 70 I was really shocked to have a rather high T score on lumbar spine. I looked at a lot of RoS info so when I had a telephone appt with GP, I said I have swallowing problems and he prescribed the effervescent Alendronic acid. After fizzing subsides just give a gentle stir to make sure there are no bits at the bottom. Before drinking it I usually have a few mouthfuls of water to prep stomach!
Also, on here, I heard about Osteoscan UK, run by an orthopaedic surgeon, Mr Nick Birch. On there are some really interesting podcasts that give more information about bone health and their relation to different heights and weights of people.
Hi I am also on alendronic acid with no issues so far. The only thing I wld say is I feel as if I have put on weight especially round my stomach. I eat healthy and exercise. Has anyone else experienced this.My scores from my dexta scan was
Spinal osteoporosis (T-score-4.0 L2 to L4).
Neck osteoporosis (T-score-2.5)
I really don't understand the scores and would really like to stop the tablets but to worried incase I make myself worse in time.
Just wanted to drop by to wish you the warmest welcome to our community Receiving a diagnosis can be a very worrying experience, as you mentioned, so we're glad to see you here and connecting with our wonderful members.
As it's been mentioned in this thread, we do have lots of information about medication, understanding scan results, and many other topics around living with osteoporosis on our website: theros.org.uk/information-a...
Feeling informed in decisions about our health is so important, and we do have a helpline of friendly specialist nurses should you wish to chat through your situation.
Everyone's health journey is unique, and we're wishing you all the best on yours.
when i was first diganosed with osteporosis i was given alecdronic acid . it gave me bad mouthulcers. but it might be ok for you. chat with your doctor and see if there is something else you could take. i am 78 and i was 64 when i had it; but you learn to live with it,and get on with life. please make sure you have treatment to help it. chin up xxx
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Receiving a diagnosis can be a very worrying experience, as you mentioned, so we're glad to see you here and connecting with our wonderful members. 
Just had first Zoledronate infusion
Tooth extraction 
meds for osteoporosis 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Ostoporosis
