Osteopenia

[redolive55]

I was diagnosed with osteopenia a few months ago. I take Prevacid for GERD which can have an effect on my bone health. The next time I see my PCP I am going to ask for a DEXA. I exercise every day with the Silver Sneakers program.

[Met00]

It sounds like you're doing the right thing, getting regular exercise. How were you diagnosed with osteopenia if you haven't had a DEXA scan yet?

[99real]

If you are interested in seeing if you can manage your GERD without a PPI, check out information from ENT doctor jamiekoufman.com . She has a four-stage plan for getting GERD under control so you can manage with diet/lifestyle choices instead. She never recommends proton pump inhibitors, she is a fan of H2 blockers to help in the first phase of healing. I dumped my PPI after being DX'd with severe osteoporosis and kidney disease (are you checked regularly for that?).

[yogalibrarian]

Question: How were you diagnosed with osteopenia? DXA is the "gold standard" for diagnosis of osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Other tools, like ultrasound are useful. But you need the DXA for diagnosis. And a heel scan is an interesting conversation at the health fair, but not valid for diagnosis (and certainly not for treatment). You wouldn't diagnosis or treat high BP based on a health fair or the BP monitor in the drugstore either....

Definitely ask your doctor to schedule a DXA. Your medication history puts you at risk for secondary (medical condition/medication-related) osteoporosis. Your age and post-menopausal status puts you at risk for primary (age-related) osteoporosis.

[redolive55 in reply to yogalibrarian]

Thanks for your feedback.