Went from a mild Osteopenia DEXA to Osteoporosis in two years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In your case, yes. When I saw the thread title, I was going to suggest the D/K2 as my mom, in her late 70s, has osteoporosis and has been on Fosmax and another and this was the only thing to actually reverse it.

NP. what is the dosage of the D/K2? I'm 52 with osteopenia; my mom has and grandmother had osteoporosis. Trying to prevent what I can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In your case, yes. When I saw the thread title, I was going to suggest the D/K2 as my mom, in her late 70s, has osteoporosis and has been on Fosmax and another and this was the only thing to actually reverse it.

NP. what is the dosage of the D/K2? I'm 52 with osteopenia; my mom has and grandmother had osteoporosis. Trying to prevent what I can.

I didn’t ask her, but mine is 125mcg D and 180mcg of K2. I’m a year older than you with osteopenia, but I haven’t retested. My doctor suggested to also try Algae Cal, as some of her patients are on it, but I haven’t tried it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In your case, yes. When I saw the thread title, I was going to suggest the D/K2 as my mom, in her late 70s, has osteoporosis and has been on Fosmax and another and this was the only thing to actually reverse it.

NP. what is the dosage of the D/K2? I'm 52 with osteopenia; my mom has and grandmother had osteoporosis. Trying to prevent what I can.

I didn’t ask her, but mine is 125mcg D and 180mcg of K2. I’m a year older than you with osteopenia, but I haven’t retested. My doctor suggested to also try Algae Cal, as some of her patients are on it, but I haven’t tried it.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Yes, meds without hesitation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry -- one last thing, my mom and I are both very sensitive to meds and she hasn't had any issues with these meds, fyi. They're the only ones she's on in late 70s.

That's why I don't understand why someone would hesitate to go on the meds. Basically all downsides to turning down medication.

[Anonymous]

As a word of warning for everyone still able to ward this off: LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS. Walking is not weight bearing exercise, light weights are not weight bearing exercise, yoga/barre are not weight bearing exercise. Lift heavy weights. Stomp when you walk up stairs and do practiced jumps/falls off stairs to land heavy on your feet. EAT. All of these things help prevent osteoporosis.

[Anonymous]

I shared the link about the k2 with my doc, who said, "no, this is old and not proven." Taking the meds, lifting and eating clean as much as possible and still enjoying life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I shared the link about the k2 with my doc, who said, "no, this is old and not proven." Taking the meds, lifting and eating clean as much as possible and still enjoying life

Please ignore this poster and spend $5/mo if you are a woman. Hip fractures kill 1 out of 3 people age 50+ within the year. The combo may also help with cardiovascular health, which is the #1 killer of woman.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512201002754

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32060566/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5613455/

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1703116/full

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try jumping exercises and heavy weights. Even if you go on medication, they may help.

I would not jump unless doctor okays it. If your bones are too weak, jumping could be bad.

But, for good enough bones, jumping works well. Just ask doctor first.

Right - I would trade half the walking for additional weight bearing exercise. Add lifting weights (try to find a personal trainer who understands osteoporosis), and for cardio try an erg machine which adds a resistance component.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are parathyroid conditions that can cause the body to strip out calcium. You should see an endocrinologist.

This ^^^. Hyperparathyroidism can cause the parathyroid gland to go haywire in its control of serum calcium. You must have your serum calcium, PTH and Vitamin D tested together in the same blood draw (one without the others is meaningless). There must be an appropriate relationship between the 3: vitamin D should be above 30, Calcium below 10 (if you are over 30) and PTH must be normal *and* in inverse relationship to calcium (so if calcium is 10, PTH must be in the lower half of the "normal" range).

Hyperparathyroidism is often a missed diagnosis, which is unfortunate because surgery by a high volume surgeon is quick, has very good outcomes, is the only cure.

Hyperparathyroidism resulting in a calcium of 10 or higher indicates that the body is pulling calcium from the bones to maintain that higher serum calcium. Over time that can cause osteoporosis and/or kidney stones.

The symptoms or hyperparathyroidism are diffuse and non-specific. For me it was: exhaustion, poor sleep brain fog, motivation, obesity, frequent urination, muscle weakening, back pain and muscle spasms, heart palpitations, low vitamin D, and increased blood pressure. All of these symptoms went away within days after surgery.

There was an article in the Washington Post by a woman (not me) who went through several years trying before she received a hyperparathyroid diagnosis.

BTW, your PCP is terrible if he/she doesn't know that endocrinologists monitor osteoporosis and other bone metabolism issues. Please get a new PCP.

[Anonymous]

Contrary to what people used to believe, walking doesn't help with bone density. Learning how to properly life heavy weights (machines, free weights, kettlebells, as an example) will help. I have a friend who swears that yoga helped her immensely, but she does a lot of it and intensely.

I love the leg press machine, the kind that you sit lower at an angle and press up at an angle. For a while I was doing upper body weights and lots of walking for mild osteopenia. My upper body went back to normal, but my hips got slightly worse. Still in Osteopenia range. My mother and grandmother both had osteoporosis. I have no balance issues so I have no added jump rope and lower body heavy weights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are parathyroid conditions that can cause the body to strip out calcium. You should see an endocrinologist.

This ^^^. Hyperparathyroidism can cause the parathyroid gland to go haywire in its control of serum calcium. You must have your serum calcium, PTH and Vitamin D tested together in the same blood draw (one without the others is meaningless). There must be an appropriate relationship between the 3: vitamin D should be above 30, Calcium below 10 (if you are over 30) and PTH must be normal *and* in inverse relationship to calcium (so if calcium is 10, PTH must be in the lower half of the "normal" range).

Hyperparathyroidism is often a missed diagnosis, which is unfortunate because surgery by a high volume surgeon is quick, has very good outcomes, is the only cure.

Hyperparathyroidism resulting in a calcium of 10 or higher indicates that the body is pulling calcium from the bones to maintain that higher serum calcium. Over time that can cause osteoporosis and/or kidney stones.

The symptoms or hyperparathyroidism are diffuse and non-specific. For me it was: exhaustion, poor sleep brain fog, motivation, obesity, frequent urination, muscle weakening, back pain and muscle spasms, heart palpitations, low vitamin D, and increased blood pressure. All of these symptoms went away within days after surgery.

There was an article in the Washington Post by a woman (not me) who went through several years trying before she received a hyperparathyroid diagnosis.

BTW, your PCP is terrible if he/she doesn't know that endocrinologists monitor osteoporosis and other bone metabolism issues. Please get a new PCP.

This is why the 24 hour urine collection test is important. OP, you definitely need one of these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are parathyroid conditions that can cause the body to strip out calcium. You should see an endocrinologist.

This ^^^. Hyperparathyroidism can cause the parathyroid gland to go haywire in its control of serum calcium. You must have your serum calcium, PTH and Vitamin D tested together in the same blood draw (one without the others is meaningless). There must be an appropriate relationship between the 3: vitamin D should be above 30, Calcium below 10 (if you are over 30) and PTH must be normal *and* in inverse relationship to calcium (so if calcium is 10, PTH must be in the lower half of the "normal" range).

Hyperparathyroidism is often a missed diagnosis, which is unfortunate because surgery by a high volume surgeon is quick, has very good outcomes, is the only cure.

Hyperparathyroidism resulting in a calcium of 10 or higher indicates that the body is pulling calcium from the bones to maintain that higher serum calcium. Over time that can cause osteoporosis and/or kidney stones.

The symptoms or hyperparathyroidism are diffuse and non-specific. For me it was: exhaustion, poor sleep brain fog, motivation, obesity, frequent urination, muscle weakening, back pain and muscle spasms, heart palpitations, low vitamin D, and increased blood pressure. All of these symptoms went away within days after surgery.

There was an article in the Washington Post by a woman (not me) who went through several years trying before she received a hyperparathyroid diagnosis.

BTW, your PCP is terrible if he/she doesn't know that endocrinologists monitor osteoporosis and other bone metabolism issues. Please get a new PCP.

This is why the 24 hour urine collection test is important. OP, you definitely need one of these.

Urine calcium can be helpful but isn’t definitive. I had a urine calcium below the cut off for Hyperparathyroidism, but fortunately, I had an ultrasound that showed the parathyroid adenoma and I had persistent mildly high serum calcium with inappropriately normal PTH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try jumping exercises and heavy weights. Even if you go on medication, they may help.

I would not jump unless doctor okays it. If your bones are too weak, jumping could be bad.

But, for good enough bones, jumping works well. Just ask doctor first.

Right - I would trade half the walking for additional weight bearing exercise. Add lifting weights (try to find a personal trainer who understands osteoporosis), and for cardio try an erg machine which adds a resistance component.

NP does anyone know a good trainer in dmv area (preferably northern Virginia) who understands osteoporosis?

[Anonymous]

Are you taking any acid reducers? These can affect absorption.