Bone Scans and Calcium`

Any farther out posties have bone scans and calcium issues? I spoke online to a post op (6 years out), who used to live in my area, and she said she had good bloodwork showing her calcium levels were good but a bone scan showed she had lost some bone mass since surgery. She's now on drugs to rebuild some bone mass and she warned me about having good numbers for blood work doesn't mean your bones are fine. Has anyone else found this out? When do we need a Bone scan (age?) and how often to see if we're losing any. And does type of calcium we take make a difference? I had a dexa ( I think that's what it was called) years ago to scan my bones but nothing since. Thanks - Myrtle.

Hi Myrtle, I was told that we need an annual Dexa scan. Had one recently. Results showed that I'm really dense! No wonder I am learning old tricks from new dogs on a daily basis!!! Actually the results showed no bone density loss, I was "congratulated" (by my MD) for my high values*. I take 4 chewable calcium citrate tabs/day. Karen *moral litmus test results may differ.

yup - from the beginning...the sooner the better so they have a baseline to track your 'progress' with as time goes by. Only about 2% of your calcium shows up in your blood...same with magnesium. Sadly enough. Anyway, it's a good idea to have one done. They're quick and painless and many insurance companies cover the test - mine does under major medical so nothing out of pocket for me. I'm only allowed one every two years though unless I show a loss. So far *knock on wood* I'm dense too lol.

I had one done thanks to John from Brookhaven and my twin Bikini Bound. No one at the Dr office told me to do this and he made a lot of sense and of course I went on line and did a little research on calcuim. I was doing just the carbonate for about 9 months. I quickly changed my calcuim carbonate to citrate. My Dexascan showed I was really dense in the hip area but lacking in the spine (I was on the borderline with a -1 reading). My Dr told me to change to citrate...do lots of impact exercises and she would see me in two years. She felt with these changes I would be good. Also my insurance only pays every two years right now. I wish I had a baseline to tell if the loss was from before surgery. It would be nice to know that so you could see what is happening there. In my 18 month visit to my surgeon I saw changes in his vitamin protocol to the citrate. So it only took him 18 months to get to the place I got to in 9 months. I do suggest to everyone to get one done. Its fast and painless and has lots of important information for you to track your health....after all do we want to be healthy and afraid of cracking bones all the time? Debbie

My insurance covers them yearly. As having an RNY has issues with bone denisty it is covered. Lot depends on what your doc puts as a diagnosis and reason for it... Darlene

My calcium is always fine but my dexa scan isn't. I was showing osteopenia before WLS but it was fairly minimal. Nine months after WLS I was down another 18%! I was at -2.4 in the spine. -2.5 is considered osteoporisis. My rhuematologist put me on Fosamax right away and I am pleased to say that my last Dexa showed an increase of 9%. Blood calcium is regulated very tightly by the parathyroid glands. Things have to be pretty bad with the parathyroid glands for you to see any change in blood calcium. I seem to have some other issues tho and am not sure it's all WLS related. I have an elevated PTH and it has been since way before surgery. They just figured that out last year. My level hadn't changed, but what they consider normal did. So based on the new normal values, my PTH from about 4 years ago is elevated. I went thru all the testing they could think of. I have 4 gland hyperparathryroidism. No one is sure why. The docs at Mayo blame the WLS but I really don't think so since this was going one before surgery. But I guess in the absence of anything else that makes sense, that was an easy target. My insurance will pay for an annual Dexa since I have problems.

Myrtle--I believe many people have had problems with bone density even though their bloodwork shows fine. The only way to track this is to have a dexa scan. I did not have a bone scan before wls and then procrastinated about it until I was two years out. When I finally got my butt in to have one it showed mild osteopenia in either my hip or my spine--can't remember which. What really concerned my pcp is that I am pre-menapausal and typically at the beginning of menapause there is usually a sharp decline. I, too, am now taking a medication to build up my bones. I have from day one taken 1500 mg calcium citrate chewable spread throughout the day. This may have been a problem I had prior to wls, but I'll never know. I will get another dexa this year. Most insurance companies will pay for many more tests in us than in "normal" people as we are at higher risk for various things. It just needs to be submitted correctly. Good luck to you and I hope you follow through on getting a dexa scan regularly.

I had an initial dexa scan done in spring '05, and it showed osteopenia at -1 in the lower spine and femoral head. My PCP told me to make sure I was taking my calcium, which I do. I saw my surgeon last month, he wanted to repeat the test to see if there had been any change since then, but I've not gotten the results back as yet. He was curious about the need for Fosamax now vs later. I'll have to call his office tomorrow so I don't get lost in the shuffle. Luckily, my insurance willpay for them as often as the physician feels that the test is necessary. They paid for both of the scans I had last year. Sue O.

I had my first DEXA 1 year post op and it was OK, had my 2nd 3 years post and had a 10 % loss in density. That put me in the low normal range on my spine and osteopenia in my hip. I was started on Actonel, which is proven to increase bone density in both the hip and spine. fosamax is only proven to improve the density in the hip. The Orthopedic Dr. told me to start on the actonel. My calcium levels also were excellent, you draw calcium out of the bone to maintain the blood levels because calcium is essential to the function of every muscle in your body, including your heart. Calcium is an essential mineral to life. It is the most abundant mineral in your body and is necessary for bone initiation and growth in the developing fetus and throughout life to maintain optimal bone health and structure. While calcium is often linked to bone health and its importance to optimal bone health cannot be over-emphasized, there are other important functions for calcium. Calcium helps the body by aiding muscle contraction and relaxation, blood coagulation and nerve impulse transmission. I am currently recommended to have a DEXA every 2 years. My PCP orders it with a diagnosis of Malabsorption syndrome, and lactose intolerance. My insurance paid with out question. I decided age was not so important with having had a RNY and knowing that osteoporosis is a major risk factor post op. I am perimenopausal also so that will decreas bone density. I also do serious weight bearing exercise. I was recommended by the ortho to take calcium citrate as it had higher absorption in everybody, not just WLS patients.

wow ... thanks guys, I've been dragging my feet on getting the Dexa ... I think I better go do it ... plus, my parathyroid levels have also come back abnormal ... don't quite know what to make of that yet though. Karyn