Osteoporosis at age 48

[user1471471849]

Hi there,

I had a dexa scan recently as I was going to go on HRT and my doctor wanted a baseline scan. Much to my shock, it showed I have osteoporosis (T score of -3.3) in my whole spine and osteopenia in both hips. I went to one specialist who seems to think I should go on prolia as my risk of fracture is high, but my GP thinks this is not recommended for someone my age and thinks HRT/diet/weight bearing exercises will be enough for the moment. I'm going to go to another specialist to get their opinion, as it's a big decision.

In the meantime, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience of getting osteoporosis at this age ( or any age) and successfully reversing it with HRT, calcium rich diet, VIT D, exercise?
From my reading, it seems prolia does increase bone density but you can't stop taking it or other meds as the bone density reverts to how it was.

Thanks so much for your help. Any success stories or experience would be much appreciated!!

@QueenOfToast I have osteoporosis. Look at the Royal Osteoporosis website it has some very useful and up to date info. They also have specialist nurses and I've spoken to them twice. Initially to see if there was anything more that I could do besides exercise and taking the bisonphosphorates and calcium /vit d and latterly about drugs.
The thing I found out that I hadn't really picked up on elsewhere was protein. You need more than the recommended amount and it's more than you think. I eat meat but when I worked it out I wasn't getting nearly enough.
See here about diet

I take a lot of drugs for other health conditions and was keen to avoid calcium supplements because of potential impact on heart. However when measuring my calcium intake I really struggled to get enough. I eat dairy but not cheese.

Hi there,
yes, you need to keep your vitamin D above 70 and to make sure you get at least 1000mg in calcium, best to get it through diet but can also supplement.
According to my consultant, gluten intolerance is a big factor. She was very thorough in doing blood tests for. me and getting to the root of the problem. It turns out I'm gluten intolerant so haven't been absorbing enough nutrients despite a reasonable diet. I could see in my second blood test taken 3 weeks after I went on a gluten free diet that one of my bone markers (Ctx1- I think it shows rate of bone loss) had gone from too high to back in the normal range - it was 602 and went down to 400 so it's heading the right direction. Normal range is up to 600.
If you're bloated after a meal/have bowel problems like constipation or diahorrea, indigestion problems, mouth ulcers, you could be gluten intolerant and it's worth giving it up for a few weeks so see if you feel better. Such a simple thing that nobody seems to have on their radar. I've been going to the doctor complaining of tiredness, low vitamin d, low iron for years and she never suggested it could be gluten intolerance.
Thanks for the exercise link. I've been doing exercises the physio gave me. I got a side profile dexa scan which showed I don't have any fractures thankfully so hopefully I can do slightly harder exercises now. My spine is severe osteoporosis (-3.2). hips are osteopenia (-2.0).

Great that you caught it while it's in the osteopenia range. I think diet and exercise can have a big impact but I'd recommend getting a dexa again in a year to keep an eye on it.

thenightsaredrawingin - I've a small frame too, bracelets are usually too big and I'm 5 ft 3.

I’m glad I found this thread as I’ve been diagnosed with it - at 29 years old! X

@user1471471849 please may I ask what speciality consultant you saw and were they nhs or private? When I spoke to the nhs Rheumatology one they dismissed my concerns about food intolerences entirely. I was wondering about getting a caeliac test. I don't have any specific symptoms or bloating though other than dark circles under eyes and difficulties gaining weight.

I would be really interested in the bone marker tests you had but my nhs consultant didn't do any tests at all, maybe becuase I am osteopenic rather than oesteoporotic.

@thenightsaredrawingin I saw an osteoporosis specialiist in Ireland, She just deals with osteoporosis patients.
If you're still eating gluten you can get a blood test to show if you have coeliac disease or a biopsy of your gut. Even if not coeliac, you might be gluten intolerant.
My symptoms weren't that bad, maybe I'd gotten used to them and thought it was normal (slightly bloating after food, very tired all the time which doctors put down to low vitamin d and low iron without investigating cause.
I gave up gluten for about 6 weeks and felt much better. I accidentally ate a meal with gluten in it from a restaurant after they said it was gluten free and I knew all about it the next day. My stomach was sore and cramping and bloated and I was so down in myself. So maybe if you stop for a while and then observe how you feel if you go back on it? I'm strictly gluten free now, Iron is still low so I'm taking supplements.
By the way, my consultant said that 80 per cent of Irish people are gluten intolerant and that it's a common factor for osteoporosis ( I might be repeating myself) so don't let them fob you off. Bone marker test was called CTX1. Could you get blood tests done somewhere else?

@WinterisComing95 Have you just found out? Do they know what has caused it? Lucky you found it out anyway and can do something about it. it can happen at any age.