Hope for Daughter 22?

• By italiancowgirl
• Posted October 25, 2009 at 10:52 pm
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I would definitely have ALL the thyroid tests done too. ALl of them! And if any of the levels require medicine, Do NOT take Synthroid, synthetic thyroid, go for the ARMOUR, natural. Has she had irrregular periods since she has been running? They do quiet down for a devout runner, sometimes stop altogether. One other thing, my daughter had irregular periods and other symptoms, turned out to be a benign pituitary tumor. All is well. Just throwing some things out there to check. Hope all improves.

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• By millie123
• Posted October 26, 2009 at 7:16 am
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I agree with the cowgirl. Do all of the thyroid tests to rule out a secondary cause.

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• By ijomom
• Posted October 26, 2009 at 10:22 am
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Mom 55 - Always surprising when young people have low density but it probably does happen more frequently then we realize because healthy kids don't usually get dexas. My daughter is 16 and has severe Idiopathic Juvenille Osteoporosis, which means all secondary causes have been conclusively ruled out. Sounds like your daughter has a good start on managing her condition with the tests & nutrition. My understanding is that progress can be made if the extreme exercise was at root. In addition to thryoid tests, she might consider having the protein levels of her blood tested - bone needs calcium and protein to form. In my child's case, all the building blocks are there so even though she was a slender, intensive ballerina the doctors do not believe that a change in exercise level would make a difference in density (she did have to quit due to fractures). Lastly, they can do a simple test to measure the rate she is shedding bone and check to see if its too fast. We didn't even realize that you grow & shed bone sort of like skin cells.

She has probably already started on calcium and Vit. D supplements but if not, she might consider starting.

Final suggestion is to have her focus her fitness on strengthening her core muscles supporting her spine. Doctors have said my daughter's strong core has helped compensate for her lack of spinal column density.

Best wishes to you both.

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• By VictoriaLynn
• Posted October 26, 2009 at 11:28 am
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Ask the Doctor to test for Celiac Disease!! IT is the cause of early on set osteoporosis!!
It is a blood test...
Also read up Celiac and see if it sounds like your daughter.
It was the cause of my bone problems....
vicki

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• By lilrayosun
• Posted October 26, 2009 at 11:35 am
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The good news is, we can continue to actively and aggressively build bone and store calcium until about age 30. After that, the body becomes a little less efficient at it. So your daughter has 8 good years of solid bone building left before things slow down a bit.

Have the PTH, TSH tested. Also test for vitamin D blood serum levels, and for food allergies like Celiac Disease.

Make sure she eats enough to maintain menstruation. Perhaps look into a more alkaline diet. Some people think that's just new age hogwash, but I think there's something to it.

Add prunes to her diet. Prunes stimulate the growth hormone in bones. Cut out all sodas (the phosphoric acid is very bad for bones).

And even though her density levels were low, what the DEXA doesn't measure is bone quality. It could very well be that with all that running, she has some great bone quality. But we'll never know, because there's no non-invasive way to measure that.

She's got a good mom to be posting here for her!

Good luck!
Raye

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