A DEXA scan three weeks ago showed osteoporosis in one neck of femur and L1-L2 spine. The GP called me in for a blood test and I went yesterday to discuss the results. Meanwhile I bought the book recommended on here, Bones' by Lara Pizzorno. According to the chapter on nutrition intake of Ca, vit D3 and K3 are vital for bone growth/strength. However too much Ca can be detrimental to kidneys and other useful body bits and I was eating vast quantities of fat free natural yoghurt. I've cut back!Well my results were : Ca, fine, kidneys fine, cholesterol a bit high but unchanged for past 12 years and ratio of good to bad, good. Serum creatinine high but, looking back, it's the same as 12 years ago but the range used for 'normal ' had changed!!! Vit D not done at all.
The GP was lovely, didn't push meds on me, agreed with my exercise plan (I hope the neighbours can't see) and apologised for the lack of tests done on my blood. She couldn't tell me if I should take vit K3 and hadn't heard of overdoing Ca (milk-alkali syndrome or Rolaids-yogurt syndrome).
I came away asking myself if I really needed to have seen her even though asked to by the practice. She did print off my records which is useful as I can't yet access them on the app.
Does anyone know anything about vit K3 and do they take it?
Sorry for the long spiel!
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Smithie49
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It's Vitamin K2 you want, either K2-MK7 or K2-MK4, and many of us take it because it helps send calcium to your bones. I'm in the UK, where most of us take K2-MK7 because MK4 is much harder to get and very expensive. The recommended amount is 90-180mcg K2-MK7 or 45mg K2-MK4. NB the latter is mg, which is 45,000mcg, so if you see an MK4 product with only a few hundred mcg, it isn't worth having!
Many thanks Met00. I'd never heard of K3 until I started reading the book. K2 is I the multivit I take on alternate days since my old woman creaky bones were diagnosed!!!! I too am in the UK and am cold 🥶!!!!!
Do you mean K2? Yes, I have added a K2 supplement. Seems like everyone on this site takes K2 to help their bones
Did your doctor do bone turnover marker blood tests? If you take a look at my bio on this website, there are 4 links you can copy and paste into your browser for useful info. One of the links is to a pdf on bone turnover markers. Also, one of the links is to my DEXA results for the last few years—my numbers are improving a little but they aren’t nearly as good as yours.
Thanks for that. I've had a look at a couple of the links to find out what I should be looking for on my results in order to answer your question on bone markers. It appears they did Ca, phosphatase, and albumin - all normal. No Vit D done nor Mg. I'll now read your other 2 links
It sounds like you had some routine bloodwork done. Bone turnover markers are specific tests. This is the exact link to the pdf I was referring to (you may have already found it, it is one of the links in my bio) s3.amazonaws.com/Food4Healt...
My endocrinologist did not order these before he prescribed osteo-meds and I am bit aggravated that he didn't. I only resently had some of these tests run at my request. Tomorrow is my appt with him and we will discuss the results.
It's my understanding that if you have these tests done before you start osteo-meds it gives you a baseline and it can indicate if you are losing way more bone than would be expected. Even if you don't currently intend to start osteo-meds these tests might provide helpful info on what is going on with your bones.
About a year ago, I was doing a little research on how exactly the body absorbs calcium. I was hoping to figure out a way to sort of "force" my body to increase the uptake of calcium. What I learned was significant and I don't understand my endocrinologists and others' doctors are providing patients with this information.
- The most your body can absorb is about 500 mg of calcium at one time.
- The more calcium you take at one time, the lower the percentage that is absorbed, so there is no point in drinking 4, 8 oz. glasses of milk at one time, because although that would equal 1200 mg, your body can't absorb all of it.
- The parathyroid glands (you have 4 in your neck, they are not related to your thyroid gland) regulate the calcium in your blood.
- When you have bloodwork done your calcium should always be within the normal range, if it is not, you need to have your parathyroid gland checked.
- Just because your bloodwork shows that your calcium levels are in the normal range, doesn't mean your are getting enough calcium via your diet. When you don't get enough calcium from your diet and supplements your parathyroid gland releases PTH to go "find" calcium in order to keep your blood calium level within the normal range--"finding" calcium can mean taking it from your bones.
After learning this I made several changes. First I stopped buying 600 mg calcium supplements. Now I take Citracal petites--200 mg per tablet. I aim to get between 1200 - 1500 mg of calcium per day via diet and supplements and I break it up into small doses throughout the day. Also, I used to wake up and go for a morning walk before breakfast. Now, the only exercises I do before breakfast are my heal drops. I make sure I eat before and after any workout. Additionally, the last thing I take before bed is a calcium supplement--I actually take 400 mg right before I go to bed. I've read that your body does a lot of "repairing" while you sleep and decided I would make sure it had calcium available to repair my bones if needed. Then recently I found this article which seems to support my decision nps.org.au/australian-presc... It states, "The intake of food influences bone turnover. Dietary calcium appears to inhibit bone resorption. Calcium supplements taken in the evening significantly reduce resorption markers, in the fasting state the next morning.”
Thank you so much for your detailed comment. It is so useful and I'll try and get some Citracal. When I was eating vast amounts of fat free natural yoghurt I peed for England so stopped eating/drinking it after 2.00pm ish. I now limit myself to 1 x 500ml pot every third day. Maybe I should break that up and only have a third if a pot at a time but more frequently. As for the tests, I've almost decided that it's not worth taking up the surgery's time as I am not going to take bisphonates. I am annoyed they didn't do a vit D test as I would have liked to know what level of supplement I needed. Grrrr!!! I'll continue with the one I'm taking and hope for the best.
Isn't it a shame we can't tap our bones and know their density by the resonance!!! That way, we'd know ifcwe were doing the right thing or not 🤔
It's important not to rely on guesswork for Vitamin D as we're all different. I'm fortunate that I can get my level tested twice a year at my GP surgery, but if your doctor won't do that, I recommend you buy a postal test. In the UK we can get a fingerprick test from an NHS lab for about £30, for example vitamindtest.org.uk/ or monitormyhealth.org.uk/vita...
Many thanks Met00. I think it was the lab that missed it but I'll ask. They were also concerned about my creatinine level (87 mmol/l) but I think again, the lab messed up as they've put the normal range as 44-71. It was 44- 90 in my last blood test 2013 and up to 91 on Internet sites I've looked up. They made an error on the thyroid test (TSH) so no results for that. Must have got a learner!!
If there was a mistake at the lab, you can ask your GP to run the relevant tests again. Have you ever had your parathyroid tested (not the same as thyroid)? If not, I would ask for Vitamin D, calcium and parathyroid in the same blood draw, as they all interreact. Hyperparathyroidism can cause osteoporosis, but many GPs fail to test for it.
Hi again. I've just booked in for another blood test - vit D parathyroid and Ca. I wasn't able to get a bone marker test but a bone profile was done in the previous test. I presume that is different - or not??? That was 35 u/l - so a bit on the low side but within range
You're correct. They did that for me. However, there's a newer test BTM (bone turnover marker) that I think measures the osteoblast and osteocast (if they are the right terms) activity that can be redone after a few months to assess any improvement or otherwise.
Yes, I think that's been available for many years, but in the UK it seems it has to be a rheumatologist that requests it. I asked my GP about it and she didn't know what I was talking about!
After talking with friends about this and reading stories in this website, I am convinced that most doctors in UK and US know little if ANYTHING about bone health.My doctor could only throw Fosamax at me, which I refused until I could find out more about my condition (2 scores of ostiopenia, 1 score of osteoporosis on DEXA).
Vitamin D3 is VERY important (aim for score in the 50-60 range) and K2 should go right along with it (100-180mcg). Please check Dr. Susan Brown on YouTube or website, betterbones.com. She also writes books re bone health.
BTW, stress does not help bone health. It seems many doctors create this. Bone health is important and CAN be improved.
Very many thanks Rainshower! Another blood test booked and I will push again for VitD, parathyroid and Ca to be done together this time. Ifcthey worked more efficiently they would save a huge amount of time!!! I've also ordered vit D with K3 tablets, am reading loads on bones and am dancing, stomping, stretching, balancing like an old loopy!!!!!!!
there an ingesting interview by Dr Mercola, regarding OXALATES in superfoods depleting calcium from the bones, calcifying connective tissue instead, strongly recommended, share is possible bitchute.com/video/RGrVE03B...
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