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’m not sure that’s fair. Things like a healthy diet and exercise are widely known and discussed but I don’t think there is wider knowledge in the population about bone health, specifically for women and the involvement of the menopause.

If you’re like me, and you have osteopenia (which is a precursor), you get your vitamin d levels checked. Mine were fine, but I now take supplements. I do weight training and specific prevention exercises. There are more hard core prescription meds you can get. Some people can reverse it.

I did all of those things and still developed osteopenia and had a major fracture.

We need to be precise and specific when we talk about prevention or even management . It is not just any exercise with dumbbells or a machine in the gym, it is targeted exercises. There is a program called LIFTMOR which has been tested in trials and it is available for free online and this video shows options for all levels of bone strength.

Then supplements. It is not just vitamin D or vitamin D and calcium. It is a combo of vitamin D+ calcium+vitamin K2. And if you take magnesium or a multivitamin which has magnesium, you need to take the calcium+vitD+VitK2 at least 8 hours apart (so one in the morning, the other in the evening) as calcium and magnesium fight for absorption.

You can stop bone loss and even rebuild bone. It is incredible hard work but it can be done.

A Dexa Scan found osteopenia and some signs of osteoporosis when I was in my mid-50s. I took biphosphonates for several years and started serious weight training (dumbbells, with Caroline Girvan who is great). I also take fairly large Dosen of vitamin D. A second scan 10 years later shower that most of the damage had been reversed.

@ILoveDuckDuckGo Ididnt know about magnesium vs calcium thing. Thank you.

So to the naysayers, awareness is not enough. More education is needed.

Young people don't listen though. Or women who've been slim all their lives and have never had to exercise to keep their weight down.

Weight training is not just about looking ripped, it's about being able to carry heavy bags, being able to put your 10kg bag in the overhead locker on the plane and being able to stand up unassisted if you fall over. Once you lose the ability to do these things, it's game over.

It isn’t!

Even very, very elderly people can put on bone and muscle mass.

I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. I improved my Dexa results, as in my bone density improved with weight bearing excercise and the addition of 10 minutes a day on a vibration plate.
I asked the Dexa machine technician who was a similar age to me , sixties, if she had had herself scanned and she was outraged. ‘Of course not’ she said, ‘my doctor will tell me if I need a scan.’ Dream on lady.
Vibration plates are shipped up to space stations as all astronauts lose bone while in space. You need the ones that do vertical vibrations rather than side to side as that has the better impact on building density. I’ve just bought a new one from Bluefin for £120. It’s fab and helps with my lower back pain too.

Agree. I never heard the word osterperosis until I started reading the meno boards on here in my early 40s. I'm now 47.

I want a dexa scan but don't want to use the local private hospital as it reminds me of some hideous surgery I had there. Am waiting for the local fancy botox place to start offering them!

*osteoperosis

Ok I didn't know that, sorry.

I wish someone would tell my dad. My mum (83) goes to the gym five times a week and she's always trying to get him to go 😅

Actually you can request one and if you fit the nhs criteria you will get one.
It doesn’t need a fracture first.
I requested a dexa scan because I have had periods of prescribed steroids lasting more than 3 months, I am post menopausal and was also prescribed antacids (omeprazole) for many years. All risk factors but the steroids alone would have got me a scan.
Had my scan on friday and awaiting results.

Is there no space in the corner of your living room or kitchen?

We've turned out living room in to a gym.

I was diagnosed with Osteopienia (sp?) about 15 years ago at the age of 45. I was in panic mode and did a lot of research myself.

I ended up going to a private "specialist" in Australia and I remember having read book upon book upon book about what supplements I should take (and vitamin K2 is rather important) asked her about that.

She laughed at me and said she would not be allowed to prescribe vitamin k. She did not know the difference.

It is so weird how we managed to pass the message about skin cancer and everyone is so aware and even when there is a slight sunny day in April we are covered in PF50 yet when it comes to everything else, from bone health, to colon cancer, we are totally ignorant.
Bone is built before the age of 20. You have reached the peak between 20-30 and from 30 on, it goes down unless you do something.

Get a baseline private DEXA. It will cost you two takeaways but at least you know where you stand.

And for those who already have bone issues or want to prevent them , read
“ great bones” by Keith McCormick. It is THE book you need. It covers the nutrition, supplements, exercises including the LIFTMOR (which stands for Lifting Intervention for Training Muscle and Osteoporosis Rehabilitation) I mentioned earlier. Christmas is coming, put that book on your wish list.

Osteopenia and osteoporosis are serious medical issues that require serious intervention, and targeted action . For example, it is not just more proteins, it is specific amino acids, such as alanine and glycine .

We, older women, have an increased risk, and it is not just drink a glass of milk, take HRT, vitamin D and go to the gym.
We should dedicate an evening to learning about it and from good sources.

Vitamin K was discovered in the late 1920s, however the differentiation between K1, K2 and K3 came early 2000s. And the importance of K2 for bones (that it directs the calcium in your bones instead of your arteries) is still recent and guidelines have not included it yet).
The highest food source of K2 is natto. You can find it in the freezer section of Japanese/Asian shops but it is an acquired taste.
Without K2, the combo vitamin D + Calcium doesn’t change your fracture risk in long term studies.

I’ve ordered the book, thanks!

My osteopenia was only picked up when sent for a shoulder X-ray about something else. Quite worrying to think I would still be oblivious if not for that. They are rolling out scanning for prostate cancer for men now including via MRI scanners. I absolutely think dexa scans should be routine from 45 ish onwards.

Completely disagree with this. There is a lack of information and by the time many people are interested enough to take note they are probably of an age where it's already too late down the road to make really big differences.

Completely disagree with this. There is a lack of information and by the time many people are interested enough to take note they are probably of an age where it's already too late down the road to make really big differences.

Hi orbital12.
If you have RA it is a known risk factor - I would put pressure on your GP because of that and see if you can get an earlier referral.

What with fizzy drinks and people ditching dairy this is all only going to get worse

Thanks @CandidOP Yes that's a good idea to try my GP. I say to my rheumatologist every appointment that I'm worried about this and I've told them my family history and they know I was put into menopause by cancer treatment, but I think they are just so under-resourced in general and just say I have to wait. The GP definitely could be a better route or I might see if there's somewhere I can go private. Definitely finding information on this thread very helpful (thank you to all who have provided info) and I'm also going to order the book mentioned upthread.

Hi Shedmistress, Is HRT the only medication you took? Did you reverse osteoporosis? I found out a year ago that I had it (aged 49). I did have low vit D at one stage but I think the reason I got it is that I also found out this year I had a congenital problem with my ureter so one kidney wasn't draining properly. Consultant said that could be a cause (some vague reason about calcium in urine). That's fixed now so I'm hoping it helps. Also started HRT and fosamax.

Thanks for your help!