Hi.....my father is 75, and just had his second kyphoplasty, (superglue injection to the spinal disc) prior to which he was in excruciating pain. I'm seeing the reclast ads on t.v. and wonderin' if its for him. He also has high b.p. and is a type 2 diabetic. Will the reclast help the rest of his discs and vertebra, and if not what other meds are recommended? I have my doubts about the large bottle of calcium pills he swills down- they may not absorb.
Dear Oreo
There is a multistep proceess that should be followed:
1) You can start with a screening that measures the density of the heel. If it shows osteo you go to the next step
2) You then need to get a DEXA scan which is a fiiner measure of the degree of the Osteo by measuring the bone density of 3 sites-forearm, lumbar, and femur(hip). The results of the DEXA will be analyized and recommendations will be made.
3) If the DEXA shows Osteo, You should then go to an Endocronologist or another doctor who specializes in Osteo.
He might then recommend blood and urine tests which will show if there are secondary conditions that need to be treated such as testorone, calcium in the urine, blood, etc. These conditions have to be corrected before any other steps are taken.
4) Once the ssecondary conditions are corrected, the doctor will recommend a course of treatment. If the bone loss is significant , he might recommend Forteo first to build up the bone mass and after the 2 year treatment is completed, he might start him with one of the "bone coating" treatments, to minimize further bone loss. If the bone loss is not too much, he might start right in with the "bone coating" drugs like Fosamax.
I have gone thru the first 3 steps and about to start the Forteo. I'm a 73 male and have posted more in "Men with Osteoporosis"
Hope this helps. Swallowing calcium pills won't help if the body chemistry isn't right, Neither will weight bearing exercises and a lot of other things.
Dear Oreo:
I should have said that discs collapsing are not not an osteo condition-only the vertabrae or bones in the spine. I would think that the doctor treating the discs would have noted any osteo condition
Thank you eamenard....My dad definitely has osteo...his mother died from it about 12 years ago at 85. She was constantly getting breaks toward the end. she broke two ribs just coming back on a plane....He has had all the tests, but his regular doctor is not giving him anything to my knowledge. I plan to interview the doc, and possibly the surgeon who did the kypho. I have a gut feelin that there is a good medication( like forteo) for him. Reclast sounds like an interesting treatment. I will look into forteo
Hi Oreo,
I totally concur with what Eamenard said, the post just below yours.
My husband was diagnosed in January with advanced osteo and his internist has been having fits for him to start on one of the Bisphosphonate Drugs. After doing my reasearch, reading these posts, looking at the drugs from WebMD website and looking at each drugs manufacturers sites; we came to the conclusion that an endocrinologist was in order.
Yesterday; we saw the endo who concurred with our thinking and will now begin further tests to see what underlying problems exist.
Osteo is a complicated condition and it is best to go slowly.
Hmmmph..just found out that his doctor is actually an endocrinologist! Wonder why he hasn't mentioned any biophosphates.....perhaps he's waiting to see how the 2nd kypho kicks in.....I'm a bodybuilder and my solution is lift weights! (think Jack Lalanne) ....hopefully the "old man" can get on some decent meds like reclast.....but I agree, taking it slowly is best: His density is piss-poor and I want him to consider forteo,...I hope I never get this, but some things are out of our hands despite the best efforts.
You and your father definitely need some good advice on exercise from a skilled professional who can steer you into safe movement. Depending upon what you are doing with weights and working-out, you could actually be at increased risk for injury and you are at increased risk for osteoporosis because of the family connection.
There is much you, and he, can do but you need advice and guidance from someone skilled and knowledgeable about the condition of osteoporosis and its management.
You can contact me privately if you like for more information on this and I also do telephone consultations--my email address is sara@sarameekspt.com. Take a look at my website and you can see who I am and why I would say these things to you www.sarameekspt.com
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