My name is Kev and I joined this community on behalf of my mam, Rosemary who is 82.
My ma was diagnosed with Osteoporosis last year and has had a dramatic change in her lifestyle as others on here I imagine. Following many appointments via the usual routes, DEXA scan, GP follow ups, etc all she takes to manage the pain is a combination of pain relief (paracetomol and Codiene) sometimes these work, sometimes not.
The main issue my mam has is sleeping without sleep disturbance and occasionally a pain that emits from her sides to across her tummy. The tummy pain has increased over the past 2 weeks, we have been to see the GP who indicates this could just be stemming from the Osteo hip area but I would come on here and see if this a common symptom from fellow members. The pain normally starts when she is in bed, then improves when she gets up and rests in her chair downstairs, however this has a major impact to her sleep which in turn creates a knock on effect to how she ill feel the next day! A vicious circle!
Would anyone be aware of experiencing this? My ma was also diagnosed with bowel cancer 3 years ago however regular follow ups indicate no issues since and multiple visits to the GP for blood tests, etc show nothing else untoward. My mam is convinced it could be the cancer returned however from other consultants they have said Osteoporosis can stem to the hips in turn causing hip and tummy pain. We are at a loss and I just want to help her!
My mam has an appointment with NHS physio soon but not expecting any real answer from this, does anyone have any hep or advise for us please.
Thank you and take care!
Written by
RBarker80
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Sorry to hear your Mum is in so much pain. Has she had a hip fracture? If so, that would explain the pain. If not, then something else (perhaps osteoarthritis?) is causing the pain and she needs tests (x-ray/MRI scan) to find out what's behind it.
I’m very sorry to hear about your poor mum. I can easily understand her being worried having had bowel cancer in the recent past plus lack of sleep won’t help her and everything always feels worse at night.
I can also see her having hip pain when she lies down - my hips ache more when I lie down, I’ve got a touch of osteoarthritis and bursitis in one hip as well as osteoporosis but I'm not sure about her having so much tummy pain so I would definitely push for some sort of scan.
The pain could be caused by all sorts of things - diverticulitis which I have had can be very painful, it could also be that the codeine is making her constipated which could cause pain. Has she been prescribed any medicines for osteoporosis that could be causing her tummy pain? If nothing else an X-ray or preferably a scan would put your mums mind at rest.
The physio appointment might be useful in as far as the physio could possibly give her advice on how to sleep comfortably and could maybe request that she has a scan which might hurry your mum’s doctor along. Don’t take no for an answer and don’t get fobbed off.
Thank you for your reply that is very helpful my mam seems to think the tummy pain has increased since her 1st infusion but yes I shall push this further
Oh sorry I just noticed she already had 1st infusion. For me I always prefer tablets than infusion because if I suffered from medicine side effect I can stop it strait away
Hello Kev. Sorry to hear about your mum. It could be worth checking it isn’t coeliac disease. There is a link between that and osteoporosis and the disease can cause stomach pains. Hopefully it is that because it is easily treated by simply cutting gluten out of your diet, as I have been doing for a few months now.
Doubt it’s anything to do with osteoporosis. She likely has frail bones from age. My bones are fragile but not so much from osteoporosis. I suspect she needs a proper diagnosis. Depending on where you are would dictate the route to follow to get your mother checked properly. Here, in Australia, I’d go to the emergency department where they are able to do tests until they have the answer. Osteoporosis is silent where pain is concerned unless you have broken bones.
I feel with your mum and I feel sorry about her because the pain always is vey hard.
I think this is a side effect from Osteoporosis’s medicine. If she takes tablets for this , I think she should stop taking it for a while and see if the pain is gone because in this time she can confirm if it’s a side effect or not.
Hi, really sorry to hear about your Mum. As soon as I read she was taking Codeine a red flag appeared. Codeine like Nurofen can cause stomach bleeds and I know as it happened to me with Codeine and it was sooo painful. GP took me off it straight away and now do take Nufofen, 4 tablets a day, with prescribed 20mgs Omeprazole daily which seems to cover the Nurofen.I'm 80 and have a very bad crumbling spine which is a pity because the rest of my bones are "fit and well"!!
I sleep badly but take Amatriptalene an hour before bed which gives me 4 to 5 hours sleep most nights.
My Consultant wont allow physio if you have Osteoporosis as it can do more harm than good.
Good luck to your Mum. Getting old shouldn't be allowed!!
The consultant might be right. It could be the osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can even cause knock knees as the bones move. There's quite a lot that goes on with osteoporosis.
We just wanted to stop by to wish you and your mother a very warm welcome to our community It sounds like there's a lot that your mother is having to cope with, and anything that disturbs our sleep can be especially difficult. It's also really hard to know our loved ones are struggling, so we appreciate you being here and sharing with our community, as these things can be difficult to talk about.
We just wanted to mention that we have lots of information and support on our website about osteoporosis, bone health, pain, and more that might feel helpful at this time: theros.org.uk/information-a...
We hope you can continue to connect with our valued members
Does your mam get pain in both hips? Because of spine, pelvis and one hip causing pain at night I can only sleep on the side where my hip doesn’t cause pain. I have pillows front and back to prevent me turning over too much and small pillows between my knees and ankles to keep my spine in line and to prevent my leg pulling my hip over.
It’s a bit of a palaver when you need to get up to the loo during the night but I’m worse sitting in a chair, I’ve been wondering if a recliner would help but they’re quite expensive if they don’t help.
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It sounds like there's a lot that your mother is having to cope with, and anything that disturbs our sleep can be especially difficult. It's also really hard to know our loved ones are struggling, so we appreciate you being here and sharing with our community, as these things can be difficult to talk about. 
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