Osteoporosis

[julie1908]

Good Afternoon, has anyone on here ever been diagnosed with secondary osteoporosis due to taking steroids?

[medway-lady]

No but I was warned of a risk years ago.

PS My mum has it really badly with fractures and morphine so I’ve been careful. But when I had the AKI it was an extremely high and unavoidable dose. I was prescribed AdCal to go with it and ever since some 6 years. Last year I accidentally broke my leg and ankle. Both breaks mended well with no lasting damage so I don’t know but did the AdCal make the difference as I’ve been told my bones are good.

[Amnesiac3637]

Hallo. Yes, have been on prednisolone on varying doses (mostly 7.5 mgs daily) for 34 years and now have secondary osteoarthritis to go with my RA. Lovely! I also have osteoporosis and glaucoma - both attributed to steroids - but none of the above arrived until fairly recently so had a pretty good run before disintegration has begun in earnest……..

[AgedCrone]

It’s a known side effect. Luckily I Icouldn’t take steroids, but Osteoporosis is something that you possibly can’t avoid, I was extremely lucky only to Develop it in my very late 70s.

But if you can manage to stay off steroids ……do. Don’t just take them, when you think the pain is getting bad- unless your rheumatologist really advises it….because the pain from osteoporosis is equally as bad.

[sylvi]

I have been on steroids nearly all of the 22yrs i have had RA, My daughter has been diagnosed with osteopenia which could cause osteoporosis, so she is on a form of Adcal to prevent it.xxx

[Runrig01]

My gp has me listed as having steroid induced osteoporosis, however as far as I’m aware, it’s only been in the osteopenic range at -2.3 T score. I was put in Alendronic acid, but over 18 months had identical stress fractures in each ankle, though not at the same time. I was also put on AdCal D3, when I started steroids. The AA was stopped, I had another dexa 2 year ago, which was -1.3, and I’m due another soon. I’m lactose intolerant, so don’t eat a lot of dairy. AA stays in the system for 10yrs, so I don’t know if the improvement was due to that, or doing more exercise.

[Artfanatic]

Hi Julie1908, I was 1 point short of Osteoporosis when they realised I hadn't been prescribed Calcium even though I was on Steroids & Methotrexate for my RA. I was 34 when diagnosed & I'm 70 this year so had it a long time. They put me on heavy dosage Alendronic acid which I was left on for many years. In 2000 I broke my ankle in 3places & then in 2019 I broke my right thigh. They then realized it was the Alendronic acid which had caused the break. Apparently in 15% of women the Alendronic acid can have the opposite effect & cause bones to be brittle & break easily! This is not something that is widely known so I would advise anyone who has been on Alendronic or Ibandronic acid for any length of time to request a Dexa bone density scan. I now have metal in my ankle & a rod in my thigh & I am just recovering from a full replacement knee operation due to Osteoarthritis bone on bone in my knee! So I am officially a half bionic woman now!! I guess the moral of this tale is to get regular dexa scans where possible. I hope yours improves.

[zen4]

As has been said before bone thinning is a well known side effect of steroids and you should have been warned of this. Keep steroids as low as possible by weaning yourself off them very slowly. Your body produces steroids naturally and it stops doing so if you are taking extra steroids so it needs time to adjust to the levels. never just stop them. Get a blood test to check calcium levels and as well as calcium you need vitamin D otherwise the calcium cannot be absorbed.Do exercise daily as this helps too, even if you can't do a lot do what you can. If the DMARDs are working well you shouldn't need steroids. They are often used to settle flares as they are brilliant for this but once the inflammation goes down you may be able to slowly reduce the steroids. Balancing meds is one of the trickiest things to do. Many drugs have side effects Good Luck

[Passionflower]

I’ve been on steroids prednisolone for 15 years and Adcal daily last dexa showed osteopenia which is side effect of steroids at the moment I’m down to 5mg again but this has to go up and down as I also have asthma, are you taking adcal ?

[hopegalore20]

Hi julie1908, yes I have osteoporosis in both hips and base of my spine. Been on steroids for over nine years now. Steroids were great for my condition in the early days could not have coped without this med.

Like most medications there are always side effects and a price to pay!