Are any of the men on the site being prescribed estrogen to stimulate bone remodeling? I have come across many research references about the success of Estrogen therapy for men, yet a doctors have never mentioned it to me as an option despite the severity of my osteoporosis.
This information and the link is just an example of the related information I have identified.
http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/article/2014
ESTROGENTHERAPY FOR MEN
There have been an increasing number of reports recently to support that bone loss in men may be related to declining levels of estradiol rather than testosterone. Some published reports linked a mutation in the estrogen receptor26 or the aromatase enzyme (aromatase enzyme activity is required for the conversion of androgens to estrogens) to the development of osteoporosis. Administration of conjugated estrogen resulted in increased bone mass in individuals with aromatase deficiency but not in those with mutation of the estrogen receptor. Such cases suggest that a major part of androgen action on the male skeleton is probably mediated by estrogen.
EVALUATION OF MEN WITH OSTEOPOROSIS
Table III lists some of the laboratory tests that may be helpful in the evaluation of men with osteoporosis. Colon-Emeric and associates29 surveyed 43 U.S. physician-researchers who published on the subject of male osteoporosis in the peer-reviewed literature between the years 1993 and 1997 for osteoporosis evaluation in men. Among respondents, 89% recommended measuring serum testosterone levels; 85% recommended measuring serum calcium; 75% recommended measuring 25-OH D levels; 73% recommended screening for multiple myeloma; and 61% recommended checking serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. In addition, 92% recommended bone
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Any men here already Rx’ed estrogen for osteoporosis?
- By MahaHaha
- Posted June 29, 2008 at 6:20 pm · 3 replies
- In Men with osteoporosis or osteopenia
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this discussion:
Cancer Forteo Prostate cancer Multiple myeloma Raloxifene Estradiol Estrogens Osteoporosis Evista
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- By windblown
- Posted June 29, 2008 at 7:11 pm
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Hi MahaHaha: I've never heard of this, but I think it's a brilliant idea. I'm going to talk to my Dr about this and see what she say's for the men I know dealing with this. She's a research physician at LLU's Osteoporosis Clinic, and is doing many studies on new therapies, but in particular on the DARC gene.
I used to take estrogen for post meno symptoms, but had to stop it because it was lowering my NTx levels, causing cysts (ovarian and breast) plus I just started Evista after finishing a 2 year course on Forteo, and the two can't be taken concurrently .
I recently read about men taking Evista for osteo, so I wondered about the connection between estrogen receptors and osteo in men. Have you read anything on the rx'ing of Evista for men?
I really enjoyed your profile/inspiration, and think a lot of us could learn from you!! I also found your post on "Bone Health-Contributing Factors," very informative. As a psychotherapist, do you have any suggestions on the mental aspect of dealing with osteo? Quite a few of us have a hard time with the news of severe osteo, and I wondered if there is anything you might suggest to help in easing the process.
I live in the Desert too, but further North, in the High Desert; how are you handling the heat???
Let us know if you find out anymore on estrogen therapy for men with osteo, and I'll do the same.
- By MahaHaha
- Posted June 30, 2008 at 11:43 am
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Morning Windblown, We are heating up here too, in the mid to high ‘teens’ today. Until yesterday, the last few days were not so bad.
Yes, it is very encouraging information, but apparently not impressive enough to start a significant dialogue amongst healthcare providers or with their patients. I was very disappointed to learn that that this is not new information. This is a link to published research from 10 years ago http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/339/9/599. Other articles I found suggest that the knowledge about the benefits of Estrogen supplementation for men is so well established that estrogen and it’s derivatives are taken routinely by men for cosmetic/physic building purposes more than clinical concerns. So, my personal experience and my resulting pessimism leads me to conclude that the failure of physicians to acknowledge that men develop osteoporosis and physician’s resistance to initiate bone scans seems consistent with the failure of these same supposed health care providers to promote effective drug therapies for men.
Healthcare improves slowly enough based on research, so perhaps the enthusiasm for change politically will catch on in health care and medical providers will become attentive. Years of physicians telling me that I did not need health care for osteoporosis, despite undeniable clinical evidence, left me with the conclusion long ago that physicians’ inhibitions about acknowledging that men develop osteoporosis is both a gender prejudice in their profession and a personal insecurity about their own masculinity. Even that is not news; just the same barrier to treatment that can typically stymie a women from receiving adequate health care.
It is great that you have found a female MD in your area and Loma Linda is terrific.
I wondered about Evista also, but presumed that Lilly would not dilute their advertising message to physicians and women with any information about prescribing for men, especially since Lilly would have to be aware that men are under diagnosed / under prescribed. If raloxifene HCl has any efficacy for men, before MD’s would hand out samples, Lilly would need to brand it differently, change the color and find a way to make an attention getting claim – perhaps something like it can prevent prostate cancer, regrow hair on our heads, solve ED, etc……I also could not find any information about clinical trails involving males.
I presume the drug companies and their cohorts check out this web-site with some frequency, looking at this as an informal focus group, so perhaps one of them will be kind enough to slip in a post with a few details if they are aware of anything beneficial to any of us. Are there any standard and alternative protocols involving estrogen for men diagnosed with osteoporosis?
Thanks for the compliments; I will post some information to my journal in the near future with some relevant behavioral health information.
- By Jeffer
- Posted April 17, 2009 at 12:13 pm
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Thanks for sharing this MahaHaha. I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis and my primary care doctor and I have not yet discussed treatments. I have done research myself and have seen numerous references to the link between low estrogen and osteo in men. It seems straightforward to me that one possible treatment that could or should be considered is estrogen therapy. I am hoping that since my MD is female, that she will be more receptive to that discussion. Have you had your estrogen levels tested?
Windblown, can I ask where you read about men taking evista for osteo? I couldn't find anything.
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