I was just diagnosed due to a dexa scan. I've been prescribed some drug (can't remember the name and haven't picked up the rx, yet) that I have to take once a week.

I would like to hear from people who've had this and resolved it. I want the success stories.

A little back ground info:

I take 2500mg cal. citrate daily and 50k dry D3 5 days a week right before bed with my last dose of calcium. A year ago I had endocrinologists, oncologists, and neurologists doing cartwheels over my incredible lab results. Frankly, I was probably just at normal, healthy DS levels.

Now, I've had a year of steroids, radiation treatments, elevated thyroid replacement drug levels (to keep the tumors from kicking out thyroglobulin and making more tumors) and it has kicked my now boney ass. Oh yeah, and the thyroid cancer they found in 2001 has now metastasized to my brain.

What do I need to do to fix this? (the osteopenia, not the cancer)

Thank you for any help you can provide! xoxo

Sounds like they've put you on something similar to me. I'm on a generic form of Fosamax. It only stops the bone loss and doesn't give you the bone back, in my experience. In addition to the Fosamax they told me to double my calcium (3600mg) and D3. I also take mag citrate and boron with every calcium dose and hormone replacements.

--gina


Oh, and vitamin K2 twice a day.

I already take 100mg of mag oxide for constipation problems. Does it matter if I add the mag. citrate to this?

Boron? How much, how often? I'm not taking it now so I have no benchmark.

K2? I guess I could Google it, but I'd rather know of your experience and why.

I don't take hormone replacements, btw, if that matters.

Thanks, Gina! xoxox

The mag cit in capsule, 140mg per, assists with calcium absorption as does the boron (3mg per). You can take both mag oxide and citrate. The oxide only helps with constipation but the mag cit helps with calcium absorption.

 I take 150mg of vit K2 x2 a day. K2 is more a hormone than a vitamin and it helps with bone restructuring and density. 

You might want to have your hormones tested to see how much estrogen is present and go from there. Estrogen is another hormone that keeps your bone restructuring working properly.

 backatcha

--g

   

Gina-
What do you do for hormone replacements?

I've developed hypothalamic amenorrhea after losing weight (no LH, FSH, estrogen, or progesterone in my body naturally).  I've been to 2 endocrinologists, my PCP, and my gyno, and the best "hormone replacement" I could get was premarin or a birth control pill.

I want to do more, as that seems rather lame to me.

I tried premarin (1.25), still felt like crud, now trying BCP...not expecting much.

I was just barely past menopause when I started on the hormones, so this may not apply. Pre-hysti I was on Estrogen-Methyltestos half strength and Progesterone. Post-hysti just the Estro-Methyltestos.

--g

I have osteopenia and osteoporosis.    My endo told me that steroids will do more damage to the bone than anything else (second to D/calcium deficiency).
I take a bone building formula by NSI called Bone Booster.    I order it from Vitacost.   It has calcium hydroxyapatite instead of calcium citrate (I still supplement with calcium citrate too) and boron, K1, K2, D, mag, etc.   Their big old honkin capsules, but they work.  My labs came up quite nicely after starting them.   My D still sucks, but everything else is doing well.
I have not started any of the bisphosphonates yet, and I need to.   If your serum calcium is not normal, do NOT let anybody start you on any bisphosphonate.   My ob-gyn tried to start me on Boniva for mine and my endo doc almost had a heart attack.
Hope you are doing well, otherwise.

You know...given your history, I would do my due dilligence in advance on this.  And that would include learning what I could about one issue related to Fosamax type drugs.  Use your Google machine and google:

Osteonecrosis +Fosamax
Osteonecrosis of the Jaw
Biophosphonates +Jaw

And, not to scare you, this is not as ugly as some of the others and has some interesting data from a few years back:
courses.washington.edu/bonephys/opjawON.html



I am aware of this because a friend's daughter's MIL (sound slike sixth-counsin twice removed...but really, it's her grandkids' other grandma) no longer has a jaw.  Looks like Roger Ebert.

BY THE WAY....according to my ortho...you can't get diagnosed with osteopenia because it's not a disease or condition.  It's just a fancy way of telling you that you aren't 26 anymore.  (I think the results are standardized against the results of 26-year-olds.) 

All it means is that your bone density is less than the ideal bone density of a 26-year-old.  So, no way in downtown hell I'd take a Fosamax type product for oseteopenia...and I haven't had chemo.

 I've been told to also add in 30 minutes of a weight bearing exercise daily. Walking is the easiest.

I also take the boron and K1 and a huge magnesium glycinate pill with each of my 4 calcium doses. I agree with Sue, I think it's just part of the aging process.