Hi. My name is Tommy and here is my story. I am a collegiate runner at Aurora University. I will be a senior in the fall. Since my freshman year of college, I have had 5 stress fractures. One in each hip, calcaneus, fibula, and a broken wrist. Also, growing up I shattered my left arm and broke my left elbow (both from freak accidents). All the fractures during college are from running. Last December I went to an orthopedic to get my bone density tested and the results showed I had osteoporosis. My blood levels showed I was above average on both calcium and Vitamin D, so their was no deficiencies in my Vitamin and Mineral levels. In late June of 2008, I got another DEXA scan because of a stress fracture in my calcaneus and it showed no improvement in my bone density after being diligent about my calcium and Vitamin D. I am really frustrated because I have been doing everything the doctors have told me to do but there are no improvements. Is their anybody I should see other than an orthopedic and my primary doctor. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Already a member? Sign in
Welcome to Inspire!
What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.
Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.
How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!
21 year old male with osteoporosis
- By tommyrunner87
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 11:37 am · 7 replies
- In Men with osteoporosis or osteopenia
- Shared with the public
- Edited July 3, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Explore topics in this discussion:
Exercise Cancer Surgery Osteosarcoma Forteo Fractures Hyperparathyroidism Osteopenia Actonel Bone cancer Osteoporosis Stress fractures Stress
7 replies
- Oldest first
- Newest first
- By windblown
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 12:25 pm
- Report post
Hi Tommy: You are young to have osteoporosis... Have you been checked for secondary causes of osteo? Have your testosterone levels been checked? I would go to a good Endo, and ask to be checked for all the things that can cause osteoporosis. Do you have a family history of it?
If you need a list of secondary causes, they are readily available, a few would be corticosteriod use, hyperparathyroidism, and thyroid disorders.
Good Luck...
- By tommyrunner87
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 1:54 pm
- Report post
Thanks for the advice! I have been checked for parathyroid problems and the test results came back good. I should get my testosterone levels checked though. Also, I am the first in my family with the problem. This is what scares me.
- By windblown
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 2:40 pm
- Report post
Hi Tommy: I've heard of women runners who have problems with their menstrual cycles stopping altogether and that sometimes results in loss of estrogen and then bone loss.
I'm glad your PTH is good, and that someone checked it. Are you taking any medication for osteo, or are you still at the decision making stage?
Since many secondary causes of osteo are treated very differently than osteo, I would think it's a could thing to get this checked out. Check the NOF home page and see their list of secondary causes of Osteoporosis. The list is quite long.
Let us know how your tx goes and if you find out anything else. Do you know what your t-scores are?
I just finished Forteo and went from a -3.6 (spine) to -0.9 my total hip was -1.6 from a -2.3. I didn't have a dxa when I was first dx'd because all they had in my area where QCT's and they didn't do a hip scan, just spine. I've had 6 spinal frax's and 7 fusions but my bmd is great now.
Good luck and I hope you find out what the cause is!!
- By tommyrunner87
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 3:48 pm
- Report post
Those are some good numbers. In 6 months I went from -1.6 to -1.5 so that is not much improvement. How long did it take to see a signifigant improvement in your bone density?
- By windblown
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 4:45 pm
- Report post
Hi Tommy: You mentioned you went up in score, so that's still an increase. It may not seem like a lot, I know because I had the same reaction when I went from -3.6 to -3.4, but the Dr reminded me that it takes a long time to see an increase from any med. 3% increase is about the norm.
I was dx'd with a dxa 5 years ago, and the latest score was from last month. Originally I was dx'd with a bone biopsy back in the 80's, but the only thing I did was supplements and exercise, which wasn't enough for me. For some that certainly can be enough to improve your scores but I didn't see a significant increase until I started Forteo. I also didn't have any side effects from it.
If you want to read about it, there's a good link below. I don't know what type of tx you have in mind, but Forteo is used as a last resort, so to speak. Originally it was used for patients with existing fragility fx's and a score below -3, but now it's used along with joint replacement surgeries, to speed healing, and in patients with higher scores. Forteo is used in men as well, but it is a commitment of a daily injection for 2 years. The shot is simple and relatively painless, and the half life on it is 6 hours. I took Actonel for over a year and that's where I saw the 2/10ths of a point improvement. The side effects from Actonel were such that I couldn't continue on it, plus I was still at a -3.4 with fx's and I couldn't stand the thought of going through another surgery.
Take your time in deciding what to do, there are other options out there, but with your age I think you must search for a reason for this. You are by no means alone, younger and younger people have low bone mass, and I was dx'd initially at 30, so in some ways it's a slow process, but when I found the right tx my improvement went fast.
Yes Fisher rats contracted osteosarcoma, but you need to read the reason why, it didn't just happen from taking Forteo.
Normal Bone is any score above -1.0
Osteopenia is any score between -1.0 and -2.5
Osteoporosis is any score below -2.5
From World Health Org:
http://courses.washington.edu/bonephys/opbmd.html#WHO
Forteo:
http://www.ccjm.org/pdffiles/DEAL703.PDF#search=%22forteo%20and%20osteosarc oma%22
Good luck, and I hope you find a good Dr.
- By sdivas
- Posted July 3, 2008 at 7:11 pm
- Report post
Hi, I'm going to suggest that you message jerryd3001. He has a great deal of information with a focus on men with osteopenia/osteoporosis. He may be able to give you some information that will be of use. (Go above to Members. Place jerryd3001 in Members search. His name should appear with a place to send him a message.) Sandi
- By pgreene
- Posted July 5, 2008 at 1:39 pm
- Report post
Rats that took the equivalent human dose did NOT develop bone cancer. And the rats used are prone to develop bone cancer without any meds. Let's stick to the facts and not scare people away from meds that may help them.
Peggy
Add to the discussion