Labour's broken osteoporosis promise

[lcakethereforeIam]

I've this happen to previously active and independent women

https://archive.ph/H02kz

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/22/thousands-women-die-labour-osteoporosis-failure/

It's something that frightens me, but I had no idea this was supposed to be a thing.

Just putting this here for info.

https://theros.org.uk/

Might be worth asking about the infusion that you can get - but I'd highly recommend phoning the ROS helpline. Their nurses are very good.

Mum became very bad after coming off HRT and was on biphosphonates for a while before being told that they were now contraindicated for those with gullet problems. Had it not been for NOS (as it then was) we'd never have known about the other treatments.

I can't remember why the Strontium was stopped, but my impression was that the Aclasta (sp?) infusion was much more effective. I recall that one infusion was supposed to last for three years. Mum died in 2015 at the age of 90, so there might be newer, even more effective treatments now.

Some of the areas on the website now seem to be members only, but I've found the page with the helpline number and that still seems to be for anyone.

theros.org.uk/information-and-support/support-for-you/osteoporosis-helpline/

There's a form of HRT called Duavee which might be worth looking into though I am not sure how available it is - it is a different formulation to normal HRT (bazedoxefine instead of a progestogen) and there are early results suggesting it may actually reduce breast cancer risk.

vajenda.substack.com/p/duavee-shows-promise-in-breast-cancer

Brick house bones is a good resource on bone healthy exercise - lots of free videos on YouTube and a very helpful Facebook page.

They are excellent. Staffed by specialist nurses who are very knowledgeable. In fact the website is also excellent and covers every aspect of osteoporosis. I don't normally watch video links but they were very informative.
I have osteoporosis and after a few years of alendronic acid I am now on iv biphosphonates.
I really had to fight for a dexa scan from my rheumatologist who had me on oral steroids (risk of osteoporosis) despite huge family history.

Bones are built in your early teens to mid 20s. A diet high in calcium and plenty of exercise at that age is the best prevention. Of course I didn't know that and even if I had old age is a long way off and unimportant when you are very young.
The number one thing for older woman is to take HRT if you can as it's preventative.

One thing I learned from the ROS is that calcium isn't the only thing you need to increase. Protein is also vital and a woman with osteoporosis needs a lot more than the recommended amount. I have to make a real effort to add more protein to my diet.

Thanks for that, I had no idea that protein was so important. I can't take HRT, so I do try to keep up with my calcium, also Vitamin D for my muscles do that I can continue to do a lot of walking. I'm going to have to increase my resistance exercises though- on my To Do list!

You also need to take Vitamin K2 - this is included with some Vit D tablets.

Thanks, will look into that!

Just beware of K2. I started taking it and it caused me nasty stomach irritation.

I take calcium and vit d gummies with added K2. I was prescribed calcium carbonate by the GP but it really made me constipated so swapped to calcium citrate.

I have no idea why my post has been hidden,I was recommending the supplements I take .

Thank you - it was watching one of hers that threw me as the exercises I’ve been told to do for hypermobility are at odds which what she says! Rolls downs etc. I’ve been given physio for a back issue which has certain exercises she suggested could be an issue.

Thank you all pp for other links; I will investigate. Have a menopausal Bc clinic I can access though the waiting lists are long.

I came across this article in the Times

https://archive.ph/ozS6E

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/womens-health-funding-less-than-mens-health-6k6l6pljw

I'm going to reserve judgement because the amounts, spread across the population, are pitiful. There is a breakdown in the article but, because I can only read the archived version, I've not been able to read the table for the new and existing women's health funding to compare it to the men's.

@lcakethereforeIam share token

Men’s health gets 60% bigger funding boost than women’s

https://www.thetimes.com/article/3f4221a9-f243-4343-80c3-aaa9c5f9e2d0?shareToken=178f98e2fc43e364d23258fab967cda3

Thanks for this, Cake, and to ikeameatballlunch for the share token.

Depressing, isn't it? It's clear that women have a long way to go until we have medical parity with men. Those men's medical issues are indeed very important, but, yet again, women's issues are treated as secondary. And we are still at the point of trying to regain the word "woman" and our female single sex spaces in care situations! No wonder they won't give us the funding we need - we're still second class citizens to the government and the NHS.

And we live longer, so we have a longer amount of time to need medical care or live in pain or debilitation- as I said, depressing.

This page is brilliant, thank you.

https://theros.org.uk/information-and-support/bone-health/exercise-for-bones/

I do actually like jumping and plyometrics and it’s part of the resistance training programme I’m following. I also dance once a week in my kitchen. It all went a bit by the wayside recently but my original plan seems good.

I did know about protein as I found the Moving Through Cancer book when I was diagnosed and followed all their advice, including extra protein. Roughly 30 g each meal. They suggest this for both bones and energy, and have a simple lifting programme in the book. Can also be found on a free pdf, though not the sets etc

I now realise though that whilst I probably had good bones growing up (despite early hypothyroidism) I definitely went though a number of years where I was far too weak and not eating enough post children. I was diagnosed hypermobile about 12 years ago, another condition where extra protein is important. I wish there had been more info around at the time. I feel like I’ve had to actively seek it via books and podcasts etc.

it is depressing.

I knew a bit about bones thanks to a lifetime of listening to woman’s hour and some training I did via work 20 years ago (they said that free milk should really be being given to the teens not the eyfs) but clearly not enough to know what I needed to do lately.

Also, as far as I can tell, it’s hrt AND exercise that’s needed.

You just need one nhs page with all the info. And definitely more info for girls and teens.

I know that bone density is an issue amongst some athletes who weren’t eating enough to support their bones when training in their 20s. If their periods stop due to “low energy availability” it’s a potential issue.

I was told amenorrhea was normal when breastfeeding. First time it was two years. Second time I’d found out it wasn’t such a great thing and ate more, though probably not the right things apparently. That time it was only one year.

Thank you for the share token. Jic it expires I've hopefully (MN willing) copied both tables.

of course one of the best way to attack the problem of osteoporosis is to focus much more on prevention.

But, Bref, you may say, how can we do that?

Well, we could encourage more women into sport when they are younger, and get girls into the habit of doing sport when they are young. Weight bearing exercise is a key component of avoiding osteoporosis.

Well, Bref, that's brilliant, you may say. How do we do that?

Well, we could, for eg, give money to grassroots sporting associations to encourage more women to participate in sport. Parkrun for example....

Thanks for copying the tables, Cake!

I'm actually angry at myself that, once I started learning more about gender ideology, I was so astonished at how thin that veneer of niceness was over the massive, unknowable depth of misogyny that still exists in 21st century western society. I, naively, thought that we had actually come a long way since the 1970s and Women's Lib.

How easy it has been to lift that veneer and release the torrent of hatred men (as a class) have for women! And how easy it is to embed that hatred into everyday necessities such as healthcare for women. And to not do it surreptitiously, but in plain sight! They've even put monetary values against how little our healthcare is worth.

the times article has several comments from (presumably - given the names) men wittering about male suicide rates compared to women (clearly awful - any suicide) and how women live longer (because they go to the doctor)

No mention of: women have set up organisations (Men's Shed, CALM etc) to tackle the growing male mental health crisis

No mention of: married men living longer than single men (because their wives "nag" them to take better care of themselves, and go to the doctor)

No mention of: healthcare professionals warning women who are diagnosed with terminal or debilitating illnesses that there is a higher chance their life partner will piss off rather than care for them than there is the other way round

There is talk about all the money chucked at breast cancer: and i do think we are doing very well on that?

There is talk of "wah wah no prostrate checks in the way women get smear tests" - although IIRC men can live very full and productive lives even with prostrate cancer, they don't tend to die OF it rather than WITH it

etc etc

The simple fact is that for years (and still) women's health is treated as a "nice to have luxury" and we are still paying the price of that.

When it comes to bone density in women, undoubtedly there’s a cost benefit in the longer term to keeping women healthy via education and self help v drain on the nhs dealing with falls and fractures and care

And if women are going to be expected to care for aging men, we're going to need all our bones intact, aren't we?

Nobody even thinks of that as a (sexist albeit pragmatic) reason for investing in women's healthcare.

Hmm. Statistics can be used to support any story, if you pick the right numbers and present them in the right way.

By far and away the biggest risk factor is age - and there's nothing any of us can do to change the fact that we're getting older.

Pharmaceutical treatments for osteoporosis don't cure the condition, they merely mask it. Yes, they can reduce the risk of fractures (in a general population) but taking them is no guarantee that a person won't suffer fractures - and the treatments all have the potential to cause serious side effects, some of which can drastically reduce quality of life.