Osteoporosis

Yes twaddle I guessed the reason we don’t get routine DEXA scans is because of the costs involved.

twaddle

Frogs, DEXA scans are quite expensive, so they need to be justified in terms of outcomes - and I'm not sure they are.

I take hormone blockers after breast cancer, so have had two DEXA scans and am due to have a third one later this year. My mother broke her hip when she was in her late 50s, which is an additional risk for me.

I have confirmed osteopenia. The second DEXA scan showed that the condition was deteriorating faster than would be expected for my age (hence the third scan). Nevertheless, I haven't been prescribed anything. I've been given advice about taking a daily Vit D supplement and was told that my normal diet has enough calcium. I was given some fairly vague advice about weight bearing exercises. Medications for osteoporosis can have horrendous side effects and I would be reluctant to take anything, unless absolutely necessary.

The point I'm making is that bone density decreases with age anyway. It can be slowed down but never cured completely. A person's bone density is built up in childhood years and decreases naturally during adulthood.

If somebody with confirmed progressive osteopenia (me) can't be treated other than with lifestyle advice, there's not much point diagnosing it in the first place, so money spent on DEXA scans could be spent elsewhere.

It's inevitable that bone mineral density decreases with age even if there are no symptoms. Therefore, everybody (especially those over about 60) should make sure they have enough calcium and Vitamin D, do some weight bearing exercise (even if it's only chair exercises) and learn how to minimise the risk of falls and to fall "properly" when it happens.

The NHS might be wiser to spend money on subsidised exercise and wellbeing classes for people of a certain age (which would also help other conditions).

I find the NHS pretty rubbish when it comes to advise on exercise, diet, vitamins etc. I'm about to rejoin a gym at a nearby retirement village. It's quite expensive but I know some people [who are better off than me] that had it paid for by their surgery. They also do aqua aerobics and chair pilates. I should have rejoined ages ago. Our local leisure centre is quite cheap and has amazing facilities...I'm sure if everyone went to one the population would be much healthier. For people that don't like gyms they do organised walks, too.

I’d like to know how I could have learnt to ‘fall properly’ when I slipped on ice, breaking my wrist. Then 10 years later flying through the air after tripping on a broken paving slab. 🤣🫣🙀x

The answer at one time was HRT. it did'nt cure it but it did stop it dead in it's tracks. I don't know if the still do this.

Frogs

I’d like to know how I could have learnt to ‘fall properly’ when I slipped on ice, breaking my wrist. Then 10 years later flying through the air after tripping on a broken paving slab. 🤣🫣🙀x

You should have done a triple toe loop then a twirl, maybe?

Prevention is key to keep this awful disease at bay.
Vitamin D is an absolute must, have others have said a healthy diet but mostly the right kind of weight-bearing exercise (not swimming) such as pilates, and resistance bands.
Any exercise which builds muscle will help, as many do not realise good muscle tone and posture are what really protects your bones from injury-and also helps maintain balance and prevent falls.
Most women are diagnosed with osteoporosis when it is too late, after a broken bone.
Don't leave it until then!

MayBee, I agree with you about NHS advice on exercise and nutrition. There's generic advice online, but nothing tailor-made for the individual.

My local leisure centre is similar to yours. It costs £42 a month and I go to about 10 classes a week, so that works out at about £1 a class, which is amazing value. I can also use the swimming pool and gym as much as I like, but I'm not very motivated so I don't :-(.

Most of the classes I use have people of a similar age to me with various levels of fitness. The instructors are brilliant - always positive and aware of any aches and pains we have, so offer alternatives. They're much more clued up about bones and muscles than the NHS staff seem to be.

I think the NHS logic is that nobody needs a DEXA scan to tell them that their bone density is decreasing. It would be a miracle if it weren't. I have them because the medication I take is known to affect bone density and there could come to a time when I have to weigh up the alternatives - increased risk of osteoporosis or increased risk of my cancer returning. The trouble is that people don't take warnings about their health very seriously, unless they can see warnings in black and white, in broken bones or heart attacks/strokes.

The trouble is, pain prevents people from excercising, and then it's aready too late by the time they find out.

Still, the question remains - where is the pain coming from?

keepingquiet, I agree with you.

MissAdventure. I'm sure pain does prevent people from doing a full body work-out. Nevertheless, even chair-based exercises will help and most "normal" exercise can be adapted. I lift weights at the gym, but started off just lifting the bar to get my technique right. I have spondylotic damage in my upper spine, which causes some pain, so it's absolutely vital that I don't put pressure on my spine. I also lift bar bells without a bar at home. My neck and shoulders are now much stronger and the pain in my neck has decreased, although not disappeared. I also have pain in my hip, but exercises for my glutes, hamstrings and core have helped.

I usèd to do chairobics with the residents of last care home i worked in.
That was only around four years ago... sigh...
Every morning, after breakfast, 10 mins of chairobics.

I don’t know if things have changed but when I first started having arthritis I found the best information came from Australia; I felt that they were far more knowledgeable about diet and exercise. Maybe it’s because it’s a very out door’y sporty place. When I started taking iron tablets after a blood test I realised that I needed to take them on an empty stomach with Vit C but my doctor didn’t give me any advice. Maybe they assume that everyone will consult Dr Google?

My last lot of blood tests, the new gp told me that I've been low in iron for the last 5 years or so.

Its nice to finally be informed!!

MissAdventure

My last lot of blood tests, the new gp told me that I've been low in iron for the last 5 years or so.

Its nice to finally be informed!!

I always check my own results. If I'd seen that my iron results were low but no action was to be taken, I'd query the lack of action.

There was a thread about people having access to test results. This is why they should.

I think I’ve been low on iron forever. Sometimes I feel that I could just lie down on the floor and go to sleep…even in the street or walking round a supermarket.

MissAdventure

My last lot of blood tests, the new gp told me that I've been low in iron for the last 5 years or so.

Its nice to finally be informed!!

Likewise in the last year, finally had VIT B injection as results showed deficiencies..when I saw a new GP in March, showed him my MRI and he questioned what my doctor had done and if I was on medication for this issue…he seemed astounded that I’d not had any discussion about about my 2spinal fractures seen on MRI scan last year…
This has left me reeling that no action was taken..

Just had Dexa scan and I let radiographer know I had 2 fractures and wondered if they’d healed at all…she let me know that the fractures I have , NEVER HEAL …

I was told 4 years ago by an osteoporosis specialist that I did not have it and to go live my life, eat a healthy diet and not worry. I have severe osteoarthritis, both hips replaced, loads of back problems and now my spine MRI shows a fracture caused by osteoporosis . So now I am in the state of confusion. The meds have such severe side effects.

Not everyone has access to results and reports, but to my mind, if a pateient had complained of fatigue consistently, I would have a few things i would check on, if i was a gp.
Vitamins and iron would head the list, surely?

I'm coeliac and osteoporosis goes with it. Dexa scan in 2018 showed lumbar -3.8, Right total hip -1.3 and
Left total hip -1.7
Took alendronic acid from 2003 - 2006 and Strontium Ranelate after that before stopping all medication. My coeliac mum took alendronic acid for years but later tests showed
that her bones were, according to the consultant, "Shot to pieces.".
50 % of all older women have osteoporosis. Drugs are pushed at us but, according to my consultant, there has been NO research into other ways to combat it because no money goes into such research. My own doctor said that no one really knows the long term results of the drugs so at nearly 75, I've decided not to take any more drugs but have bought a vibration board and try to use that when I remember.

MissAdventure

Not everyone has access to results and reports, but to my mind, if a pateient had complained of fatigue consistently, I would have a few things i would check on, if i was a gp.
Vitamins and iron would head the list, surely?

Everybody in the UK does have access to results, unless they can't get online. You obviously can because you're here.

You can either register with your doctor for Patient Online (or whatever they use) or use the NHS app.

You wrote that the doctor told you that you'd been low on iron for five years, so presumably you've been having tests but they weren't reported to you as not normal. Otherwise, any claim that you were low on iron was a guess. I have no idea what information you've been giving your GP, so really don't know what you're complaining about.

Due to having been on the same medication since aged 8yrs of age that has led to osteoarthritis as it takes away the vitamin D . For this reason I have been taking vitamin D for many years and for about 10 yrs an injection every 6 months. So far no major aches or pains although I do try and walk up a steep lane every day.

Good, because I've no idea what you're talking about.

Oops, sorry Cath9,
I didn't realise you'd posted.
Sounds as if you've hit on the right note for your osteoporosis.

MissAdventure

Good, because I've no idea what you're talking about.

You can have access to your medical records!! Everybody does.

If you've been iron deficient for five years and were tested, I don't know why you weren't told.

Exactly my point.

MissAdventure

Exactly my point.

So why didn't you check your own records?