A few weeks ago I went in to have a bone scan done to make sure I didn't have Osteoperosis. Unfortunately my results show that I have Severe Osteoperosis in my lower spine :( I always thought that only old people get the disease ( I'm only 45yrs old), but I guess not. For those "older" women please get checked so you can avoid getting this "silent" disease.
That's one thing I have that's good. I have had several scans and every one of them said I have very dense bones, more dense than a teenager!!!
Sure sorry about yours. Hope you can improve.
GrGranny you are lucky to have dense bones. I am totally surprised at the results. I have always been active, dance,skating,working out, weight lifting,walking, etc.. I don't smoke,drink alcohol,sodas,caffeine, and eat a good diet-no junk. I think going through early menopause might be a factor.
And I don't exercise, eat too many sweets, bad diet. Maybe they've been telling us wrong.Actually, I imagine it's as much heredity as anything. I do take calcium but I didn't until the last 20 years or so. Sure hope there's help for you. It's certainly a bummer. I don't know about the early change. I had my hysterectomy when I was 40.
dlkksk8fan, I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My mother didn't find out about her osteoporosis until she fell and broke her wrist. The good knews is there's a lot you can do nowadays to improve the condition. There are new drugs like fosamax. Also, there's a lot of information out there on how diet and exercise can improve bone health. My mother has been taking fosamax, lifting weights, taking calcium supplements,and eating bone supporting foods like broccoli and soy. Her bone density levels have been improving steadily.
Sorry to hear your news. My mother suffers with a form of this and has had back surgery. It did not help her much. At least, you caught it early. Perhaps with treatment your condition may improve.Originally Posted by dlkksk8fan
I too am small boned and am at risk. They say we women should avoid soft drinks - I am afraid this is one of my biggest weaknesses - as it causes osteo problems.
Thanks for the warning.
I keep thinking that the scan readings are wrong. I have no pain in my back and skate 3 days a week. You would think with all my jumping and spinning that I wouldn't be able to walk! I've fallen many times on my wrist and butt while skating with no breaks. The good news is that the scan on my hip wasn't as bad, showing low bone mass, not osteoporosis.
dlkksk8fan:
Take lots of calcium and watch your diet and keep in shape. Walking and swimming are also very good work outs along with your skating.
All the best.
Donna,
I'm so sorry to hear about the outcome of your bone scan. Join the club. They're finding that a lot of it has to do with genetics, which is why some people can not exercise and never think about diet yet live to 110 with the bone density of a teenager, while others do everything right and are osteoporotic when they're 30.
But they have already made excellent advancements in medication--such as Fosamax and Evista--and I know they're working on other methods and medication.
It still sucks though. While the progress medicine has made is good, they also ignored bone density until the late 1970s. Also, most people don't realize how serious osteoporosis can get. Don't mean to sound like the grim reaper, but at least in the 1980s, about 40% of deaths in women over 75 were caused by the osteoporotic hip breaking first, then the woman falling, with the cause of death either being due to the fall or to the surgery.
But knowledge is power, and now that you know, you can take do what you can to keep the loss of bone density from increasing or even reverse the trend. You also have the Internet now, which wasn't around before. My gynecologist used to tell me that his patients would come into his office with studies from PubMed that he hadn't even seen yet. So some women are really taking the bull by the horns.
All the best to you Donna. I'm sure we're all thinking of you and hoping for the best. Hang in there--and jump up and down, too.
Rgirl
I am so sorry to hear this.What prompted you to have this test? Is this routine in women after a certain age? Should we all be taking this kind of test?
My business partner's mother took part in a testing of a new drug, which actually reversed her osteoporosis, of which she is now free. I didn't know that was possible. I also don't know if that drug is on the market yet. She does water aerobics almost every day.
Hang in there dlk and keep us posted. I'm thinking it's lucky you had the test early when osteo is still treatable................42
GrGranny, Lab, Rgirl, ReatorGal, Show, thanks for the support. My doctor suggested the test because I am post-menopausal and am not on HRT. I am also small framed. Three strikes! At first I was upset about it, but I'm not going to let it stop me from doing the things I love to do such as skating. I work out, skate, lift weights, eat good and at least look healthy form the outside. Along with my bone scan I had a thyroid scan (I have a thyroid disorder) and they found a nodule on my thyroid. I guess after 40 it is all down hill
Rgirl- you are right genetics plays a big part in your health. I have bad genes on both sides but on my dad's side everyone has some type of autoimune disease.
You know, with autoimmune diseases you need to make sure you get plenty of rest. I'd probably be better off if I had watched my diet, exercised, etc. But I didn't.
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