QuestionI am 72. Diagnosed with osteopenia 2 yrs. ago. Doc gave me Fosomax, then Didrocal, now Actonel. None agree with me. Reading some horrible side effects as well. Am trying the treadmill, calcium suppl. and good eating. Lots of milk etc. Heard about Algaecal, do you know anything about it? Only health problem is LBB and low b.p. Does osteopenia always lead to osteoporosis? Need to lose 20 lbs. as well. Not on any meds.
AnswerDonna,
This forum does not allow for giving medical advice for evaluation of disease or recommendation for treatments. The bisphosphinate drugs as a class can lay down more calcium in the bone, but do nothing for bone matrix. They have been shown to lower fracture risk, however, some have been implicated in wasting of bone of the lower jaw. Also there is dyspepsia (gastric problems) associated with several of the drugs. As time goes on more and more untoward effects of these medications are noted. A recent study pointed out that only 5 years of taking this medication has the same effect on bone health as longer term use. You should consider calcitonin (from salmon extract) available as a nasal spray. However, since you are 72 and only have osteopenia that is a good thing... most folks your age already have osteoporosis. Make sure you perform weight bearing exercises, take plenty of calcium, Magnesium, Boron and Vitamin K (if you can). Make sure you get adequate sleep, take in plenty of water. Actually one of the only benefits of being slightly overweight (or even obese) is that it is a NEGATIVE risk factor for osteoporosis. osteopenia is a diagnosis based on BMD studies and T- and Z-scores and is a designation of the degree of bone loss, ultimately it will lead to osteoporosis given enough time.
As far as Algaecal it is yet another supplement that improves bone health. I personally don't know more than what you can learn off the web site: http://www.algaecal.com/ but it appears to be a good source of Vitamin K2.
Make sure you have a normal CBC, CMP, Thyroid studies (TSH, T4, etc.) and IGF-1 (as rhGH therapy will build bone better than anything else). Same for sex hormone function (E2, P, Testosterone, etc.)
JP Saleeby, MD
www.saleeby.net
