Raloxifene

[Jennymary]

I've been diagnosed with osteoporosis in my spine, had first hospital appt about it last Wednesday, consultant has changed me from Tamoxifen to Raloxifene to improve my spine, reading up on it one POSSIBLE side effect is Peripheral Oedema, as I already have Lymphodema in my breasts and no nodes in my right arm should I avoid this new medication. Many thanks and stay safe in this weather

[Lynora]

As you say, It’s a POSSIBLE side effect - it may not happen, and could be controlled with diuretics or compression. Has your consultant had a chat with the lymphoedema clinic?

[Jennymary in reply to Lynora]

Hi Lynora, not to my knowledge and he didn't even ask if I've got lymphodema, he was only concerned about my spine, and I felt my other health issues didn't matter, next week I'm going to ring both the Osteoporosis Society and my Lymphodema clinic

[Jennymary in reply to Lynora]

Hi Lynora, just had a chat with one of the Lymphodema nurses who had never heard of this medication, her advice is to speak to my breast care nurse.

[bigleg]

Jennymary, I think we are all nervous of medications being given as the first line of control for health conditions that are usually caused by metabilic issues. I went to dietdoctor.com and put osteoporosis into their search engine. The first article to come up was discussing protein. The 2nd was an interview with Dr. Westerman. I copy/pasted the transcript and put osteoporosis into the search engine. His response relates to seeing too little protein in the diet of those with osteoporosis. The 3rd article to come up is authored by Megan Ramos, who works with Dr Jason Fung. This is the link to that artcle: dietdoctor.com/a-lying-scal.... If you are not familiar with the dietdoctor.com project, I do recommend a visit. It is crowd funded - absolutely no input from industry. Contributors are a wonderful mix of medical professionals who are now understanding and advising on root cause along with patients passing on their personal experiences.

Personally I have had secondary lymphoedema (result of bad bandaging for sprained ankle) since my teens and now at 72 the leg is still large and requires heavy compression, but since adopting the LCHF way of life, the leg continues to improve and is the best I remember. A couple of years ago I experienced a serious fall - ended up with a beautiful, and quite serious bruise on my hip (where I landed) - but all bones remained totally in tact. I don't recommend testing one's bone strength that way - but it gave both my husband and I confidence that our bones remain strong. Hubby fell at the same time!!!

I hope you find the information at dietdoctor.com helpful to you.