Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Let's Talk Osteoporosis

I never thought much about osteoporosis until I was diagnosed with it and began to learn more. It is serious, and older people, especially post-menopausal women, should be aware of this condition. WebMD, a site I rely on for good information, has some good articles today.

First, there is some evidence that Fosamax, a popular drug for treatment may actually weaken bones in a small subset of users.

Are you a drinker, or were you in younger days? Alcohol may heighten your osteoporosis risk.

Just as for heart disease, there may be genetic markers for osteoporosis.

Severe osteoporosis, that may be beyond Fosamax, may be treated with daily Forteo injections. I am quite familiar with this one. The problem here is that Forteo is recommended for only two years. There is a new option beyond those two years. Reclast is given only once a year -- yes, once a year! However, there are warnings accompanying this drug.

Thank you, WebMD, for continuing to keep us informed.

Technorati technorati tags: , , ,


3 comments:

Diane J Standiford said...

My 51 year old partner has had osteoporosis for ten years. She has on/off reversed it through exercise. Every person who has taking steroids needs to get yearly bone scans. (In Seattle they sometimes offer free ankle tests.) We DO need to talk about this, especially now that medicines are available. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

There are a lot of vitamins and minerals we can be taking also to help with osteoporosis. It's very important that we get enough of these essential vitamins daily. This site has a lot of information on what we can do to prevent or treat osteoporosis.

Vicki said...

I never thought much about it because it happens to old people. But it happens to not so old people, too - Diane's partner.

It is important we all take care of ourselves, eat well, take vitamins and other supplements, and more. And get plenty of weight-bearing exercise while we can. Otherwise we become breakable!