To think osteoporosis is shockingly sidelined by healthcare professionals in the UK

[Pavementworrier]

My mum was recently diagnosed. That in itself isn't such a shock - the bigger shock was that the treatments available are pretty limited with potentially significant side effects. And now I think about it there are things we should all be thinking about to try to limit our own risks. It's easy to forget when young that strength starts with our bones.

More than half of women in the UK will have an osteoporotic fracture and there is risk even if you never have vitamin d deficiency (which almost all of us will at some point). Some medication and food/drinks can put you more at risk but this is never taken into account in prescribing.

Reading today about the plan to give puberty blockers to 200 kids and then follow them for four years. Four years is not enough - osteoporosis is a huge risk of adjusting adolescent hormones and the people conducting the study have a duty to the children for the rest of their lives. What measures will be taken to monitor and protect their future skeletons? I bet none.

Anyway if you are reading this, however old you are, please think about vitamin d supplements, regular exercise and strength training and taking a dexa scan in your forties.

HRT supposedly offers great protection - I am 44 now and not sure when to start for best effect. My periods are irregular but otherwise I feel fine. Would be great if someone would start taking this disease seriously and work out the optimal starting moment!

I agree. The golden years for building bone are between 20 and 30 iirc and women should be aware. They should also be aware that they should have, as you suggested, their bone density tested.

Time after time on here I read posts from women who say they have managed menopause without HRT, or that they ‘breezed’ through it with no symptoms. Imo, until you have a dexa scan you have no idea if you breezed through anything!

This is what makes me anxious about these weight loss drugs, apparently up to 40% of the weight loss is bone and muscle, this is very worrying indeed for the future and I do wonder if people are told this when they start taking them?

My Mum has osteoporosis and I was osteopoenic at the age of 30 due to taking lots of steroids for an autoimmune disease. I have worked hard for years at weight bearing exercise and strengthening and keeping a healthy weight (ie the top of my BMI so I have some weight to bear) and I have entirely reversed it and my bone density is excellent now. I think it is never to early to start looking after your bones and exercising and eating in a way to help you have the best chance of not getting osteoporosis

Osteoporosis: Vitamins for strong bones

And what about all the women who can’t take HRT? I’m one of them.

It's definitely something to think about (although being very overweight can also be bad so it's a balance).

Indeed - there ought to be specialist advice immediately available to help you take additional steps (vitamin d and strength training and maybe preventative medication).

I think the 'Body Positivity' shit has a lot to answer for. Young women shouldn't be told it's ok to be overweight and embrace their size.

How do we go about getting a dexa scan? I already do the other things that you’ve recommended

You only get them on the NHS after a fracture (at least in my area) which is much too late so if you can afford to it's well worth arranging privately. Appreciate not everyone can.

I had one on the nhs last year, I just said my Mum has bad osteoporosis

My mum was diagnosed and has been crippled as she aged. personally think early menopause (she was finished by 44) was the blame. I started hrt at 38 when I started with hot flushes and periods becoming erratic, partly i determined not to be the same.

I take decent supplements. I just need to get into swing of weight training again.

I’ve had two Dexa scans and started off in the top 5% of the population - aged 55 - but within three years I have osteopenia and have had a major fracture after a fall. It’s somewhat depressing.

I suffered a maisonneuve fracture of my leg last year as a result of a stupid accident. But because of my age they called me in for a bone scan to check for osteoporosis. Tbh I had absolutely no reason to believe I had, or was in danger of osteoporosis.

And right enough the scan showed no problems. But even so I got given a doctor's appointment just so the doctor could impress on me the importance of taking vitamin D, including dairy in my diet and doing weight bearing exercise.
Tbh getting called in for the appointment put me in real fear because at that point I didn't know that the scan had shown no problems. And all the things the doctor told me to do i was doing anyway.

I'm more worried about my cholesterol levels and whether my blood sugar levels indicate a possible diabetes problem but unless I was to specifically ask to be tested for these I have no way of knowing whether I have issues or potential issues with these.

So whereas I should be grateful for the care I got over osteoporosis prevention to me it highlighted the lack of care over issues which I feel are potentially much more likely to affect me.

I’m on HRT and I have osteopenia. HRT can help but it’s not a silver bullet.

Weight lifting and appropriate plyometric exercises are excellent. Plyometric exercise is expertise that’s explosive and kinds of jolts the bones. Like box jumps. Or even tennis is good. There’s loads of info out there.

God that is hard. Did anything happen in between that suggests a cause?

I think that thyroid disorders can be a big issue and also obviously common in women around menopause

YABU just becase we need to take responsibility for our own health it’s not up to healthnpredessionals to nag us about the bleeding obvious of a healthy balanced diet and excercise and HRT if indicated etc .

I’ve always had a healthy balanced diet. Always. Some of it is genetic. Some of us have to work harder to maintain and restore bone density. The point is, you just don’t know, as there are no telltale symptoms.

Having a medical professional discuss osteoporosis when talking about HRT is not nagging. It’s healthcare.

whataboutism..

OP isnt suggesting they have all the answers, just that people shouldn't do nothing... so what about people who cant take HRT, what will you do?

Surely overweight people's bones are in better shape because they bear more weight?

I had an early menopause and by 49 had osteoporosis. My actual day job was as the head gardener of a place where I'd done about 12000 steps before elevenses. I was constantly carrying heavy stuff, walking about, lifting and stretching and digging and carrying and kneeling...it was non stop. I didn't even have a desk let alone sit at one for hours on end. So exercise alone isnt the answer.

HRT literally saved my life. What alot of people don't understand either is that if you have ever broken a bone, your body takes bone material from your bones to mend the broken bones which puts you at higher risk of osteoporosis, broken bones arent a sign of it they are also a cause of it...so along with an early menopause really hightens the risk.

How can you take responsibility for something you didn't know was possible? Healthy eating by some measures is actually bone unhealthy, for example.

I can't take HRT due to BC. I have an IV infusion every six months to strengthen my bones and take daily calcium and Vitamin D tablets. I've exercised all my life but a sudden chemical menopause put me at risk of osteoporosis.

Young women are warned (and have been warned for years) about the risk of osteoporosis later in life but choose to ignore it, it's the arrogance of youth.

Same here. It can be pretty depressing, the many many threads (and people irl) saying women must get on HRT immediately or our lives will be terrible - physically, mentally and emotionally.

I think the inflammation that accompanies excess weight can interfere with the process of dissolving and reforming bone cells (which happens within us constantly). Although I suspect being a bit overweight is generally better than being underweight.

I mean I literally didn't say that. I said in a separate paragraph that it's something I'm personally looking into.

Take vitamin d.

Sorry - I didn't mean to imply that you said that at all, I was just talking generally and commiserating with people in the same position as it can feel quite isolating. Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread.