posted on January 6, 2002 01:24:27 PM
I had a bone density test about a week ago to check for osteoporosis. On Friday the doc's nurse called and said that the test indicates osteopenia meaning that I'm at risk to develop osteoporosis. I have an appointment scheduled this week to discuss this with my doctor. Has anyone else had this test? Did your doctor recommend an aggressive treatment?
posted on January 6, 2002 05:03:26 PM
I'm 53 and have taken HRT for almost five years. That's why the doc did the test a couple years early. I've taken calcium sporadically for the last ten years or so. I'm not crazy about continuing the estrogen indefinitely but I'm not crazy about the alternatives either. This getting old is a royal pain.
posted on January 6, 2002 05:30:34 PM
There are several meds that assist in building bone density that some people tolerate well. A person needs a source of calciun (usually 1200 mg/day) in addition to these meds.
posted on January 6, 2002 06:19:59 PM
Saabsister,I have not had a bone density test done. I don't take HRT but could. I think I have a secret desire to be shorter so I don't think about this enough. I do drink milk and eat dairy and lots of broccoli but I do not take a calcium supplement even though I know I am supposed to.
posted on January 6, 2002 06:35:24 PM
I haven't had a bone density test and probably will not have one. I don't take any medicine but if I saw a doctor, I'm sure that he would supply me with some.
posted on January 6, 2002 06:53:09 PM
Helen, five years ago the doctors I know were really pushing HRT - mainly to prevent heart attacks but also as a guard against osteoporosis. Since then, I've read articles that implicated HRT in heart problems and strokes in the first couple years it's taken. Other doctors,particularly the surgeons with whom I've spoken, have said five years max and then get off of HRT. My regular physician says to stay on because of the threat of osteoporosis - she says elderly patients who fall very often die from the complications. I'm not sure what I'll do because I'm not crazy about any of the alternatives.
Rawbunzel, I've probably lost about 1/2 inch in height. I wish I could say that about width too.
[ edited by saabsister on Jan 6, 2002 06:54 PM ]
posted on January 6, 2002 09:29:33 PMHi Rawbunz and Helen
Saabsister, I guess the recommended post-menapausal dosage is 1500 mg/day of Ca++
There are pros & cons of HRT and with the other meds too. Pretty much any med has side effects. Researching recommended treatments is about the best way to make an informed decision.
Please call me Charlotte so I don't have ta change my ID.
posted on January 6, 2002 09:46:40 PM
Saabsister: Maybe I can reassure you. I've been on HRT since 1987, when my menopause was in full swing and I reaaaallly needed help. I've stayed on it. I've taken two big calcium pills daily since then, too. At that same time, my woman ob/gyn, who is a Goddess!, did a bone-density test which showed me doing pretty well but she said it was odd that my left hip seemed not quite so dense, etc. I just ignored it. And four years ago I had that hip replaced (at age 60)!
On the advice of my woman doctor, I'm going to stay on HRT AND calcium. Too many elderly women in my extended family have broken hips and other had bad osteoarthritis problems.
It's a crap shoot, isn't it? But you have to trust your doctor. . . . And eating right ain't a bad idea, either!
posted on January 7, 2002 06:22:25 AM
Hi Charlotte and Roadsmith!
Genetics is a good indicator of bone density...probably as accurate as a bone density test in my opinion.
My relatives died of heart disease and because of that, I don't expect to live long enough to break a hip. I try to eat right and excercise in order to feel good today. Beyond that, length of life and possible serious health problems is just a crapshoot.
Living too long is not a desirable goal in my opinion.
posted on January 7, 2002 07:15:15 AM
Roadsmith, I'm probably genetically prone to developing osteoporosis. My mother has lost two inches in height despite the fact that she's been on HRT for over twenty years. My bone density test was okay for my wrist and ankle but not for my pelvis. (I would have thought that sitting on my butt in front of the computer would have counted as a weight bearing exercise so I can't understand this loss. )
[ edited by saabsister on Jan 7, 2002 07:16 AM ]
posted on January 7, 2002 09:13:44 AM
For being at the age where bone-loss is even a consideration, I think you all look marvelous! Even Helen, whom I'm not talking to right now, doesn't look old enough! Whatever you're doing, keep it up!
I'm not there yet, but I take Tums everyday for calcium because I don't drink milk. I've looked at calcium suppliments, but they're really expensive. My doctor said Tums work just as well and are cheap.
Also, what about those "natural" hormone replacement pills you get at the Health Food store? Are they just junk?
posted on January 7, 2002 10:07:09 AM
Helen: On the off-chance that this might help you, I'm posting this message. I have hereditary hemochromatosis (HH)(iron overload in the blood), discovered 3 years ago. This is the most common inherited disorder in the world but has just in recent years been seen as the culprit in many deaths that don't seem to be related to blood issues at all.
Iron overload, unless treated by phlebotomies and regular blood tests to be sure the levels of iron are down to normal, causes iron to be deposited in the heart, liver, pancreas, and joints of the body.
Example: My maternal grandfather died in his early sixties of hardening of the arteries, heart problems, and "bronze" diabetes. This is the side of the family my HH seems to have come from. Iron overload can cause early osteoarthritis, heart failure, liver cirrhosis or liver cancer, and severe diabetes. In the past, the cause of death for many was that, rather than the underlying cause, which is iron overload!
Since I've been diagnosed (and treated very successfully, I might add), I've nagged members of that side of my family to be tested (serum ferritin test, not the usual blood test you get in a checkup). So far, my brother has severe HH and is being treated, ditto his son. My mother's niece's son ditto, my mother's nephew's daughter, ditto, and several others come up as genetic carriers but not full-blown HH. This is a simple thing to treat IF CAUGHT EARLY.
You can tell I'm on a soap box about this, but when friends tell me they have osteoarthritis, for example, I always urge them to be tested. In the last city we lived in, three of us who worked together on city projects (a business mogul, the editor of the newspaper, and I, a city councilmember) all were being treated for this.
So, take it for what it's worth--but if you want to learn more, go to the Americanhs.org site (American Hemochromatosis Society) for more information.
End of sermon! I guess I don't want you to die early, Helen--you're too valuable here!
posted on January 7, 2002 10:30:14 AM
Well, Thank you, Roadsmith!
That is very interesting information. As far as I know, I don't have osteoarthritis but we should all get a blood problem that can cause so many problems checked out. In fact, it should be routine.
Next time I see a doctor, I'll tell him what I need because I doubt that he will either know or care.
I'm printing it out because I'll never be able to spell it. LoL. Thanks!
posted on January 7, 2002 11:15:14 AM
Thank you for the compliment,kraftdinner. You earn extra points.
My doc said Tums are fine for a calcium source too. She just said that I'd have to take a lot of them to get enough calcium.
A friend of mine uses some estrogen supplement that she buys at a health food store. My concern would by with the amount of the active ingredient in that source and that it doesn't have any progesterone to counterbalance some of the effects of estrogen.
posted on January 7, 2002 01:34:05 PM
roadsmith, I saw a story on TV about too much iron in the blood and how harmful it can be. Thank goodness you were diagnosed and able to help the rest of your family out!
saabsister, I'm in Canada, so all food suppliments and vitamins are ridiculously priced. (The cost of things is nuts here sometimes!) For some reason, calcium is very expensive here so I just use Tums Extra Strength. 3 a day is a very good suppliment which is about 2250 mg. calcium carbonate or about 1000 mg. of elemental calcium (I'm reading this on the back label).....just so you have something to compare.
I was just wondering where the calcium in Tums comes from? Is it bone-meal? Does anyone know?
HELEN!!! You're speaking to me! Well, I wasn't going to, but I forgive you. Is kava kava the one that's supposed to be bad for you?
posted on January 7, 2002 01:47:38 PM
kraftdinner, I'll find some info on kava kava in a book I have and post it later. The book said that there's a problem with kava kava addiction in some Pacific islands if I remember correctly. I think it said it could be used safely for about a month.
The book which mentioned kava was Jean Carper's "Miracle Cures" which details studies(many European) of about fifteen common herbs or vitamins including kava and St. John's wort. Her book cited German studies that suggested a three month limit on kava use. It didn't mention arrythmia but the book was written several years ago. (I think some antidepressants can have that effect - arrythmia.) I'd be inclined to get an accurate diagnosis from a psychopharmacologist or someone in the know before I'd experiment with too many of those substances. Many drugs have just the opposite effect on me than what they were prescribed for. One of my docs prescribed Xanax for me after a car accident. Instead of making me less anxious in traffic, it had the opposite effect. I think you really have to stay on top of things when you try new medications.
[ edited by saabsister on Jan 7, 2002 04:41 PM ]
[ edited by saabsister on Jan 7, 2002 04:41 PM ]
posted on January 7, 2002 04:44:21 PM
I believe I just read in the newspaper a week or so ago, that the FDA is looking into kava kava and possibly taking some kind of action restricting it's sale. Evidently there may be some troublesome side effects. When I have time, I'll try to find the article and post the link.
posted on January 7, 2002 05:29:00 PM
Helen: A couple of things: You don't have to have osteoarthritis to have hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). I happen to have some of the osteoarth., and a year after I'd had my hip replaced, my GOOD hip started twingeing on me and I panicked because I was too young to be having that problem. I went to a rheumatologist; he asked where I had pain, and I showed him my hands. When I mentioned that the big, first knuckles hurt sometimes, he said that isn't osteoarth. and you don't have rheumatoid arth. And I think I know what's going on! Ten minutes into the visit, he diagnosed HH, and subsequent tests showed it to be true. He said the first, larger knuckles of the hand don't get involved in osteoarth. but HH often shows up there, with iron deposits causing the pain.
Anyway, unless you have a family history of death from heart problems or liver cancer or severe diabetes, your doc probably won't want to do a serum ferritin test on you. On the other hand, if you do have that sort of family history, it wouldn't hurt at all to get checked. There are families all over the world with all sorts of health problems who may never know there's a simple way to treat HH or even that there IS such a disorder.
One more thing: Women who have it (from birth, I might add) don't usually have any problems until menopause (like me) because we bleed every month and get rid of just enough blood to keep us pretty healthy. With HH, your body stores iron in the blood rather than using it and getting rid of it in other ways. Men's symptoms tend to show up when they are younger. My cousin's son is in his 30s and had been having some really big health problems but was never tested for HH until I started nagging my extended family group.
)
