Osteoporsis and Losing weight

• By bgillis
• Posted August 1, 2008 at 12:31 pm
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Several yrs. ago, I had back spasms & the reason was that I was not exercising my back. Of course, the whole body must be exercised which will probably solve her problems. Many people with Osteo are afraid to exercise . Have her meet with a professional before embarking......b gillis

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• By paddler2
• Posted August 1, 2008 at 5:22 pm
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My mom has had the same problem for many years. She's 84. She uses a heating pad and puts pressure on the spot to relieve. Her doctor gave her Vicodin and Soma but they don't work. Recently she developed shooting pains in her hand - she says like an electrical shock. The neurologist suggested Aleve twice a day. It didn't help the hand pain, but she hasn't had any back spasms since she started on the Aleve!

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• By nobonesaboutit
• Posted August 1, 2008 at 7:50 pm
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Dear Missust,
Does your mom have compression fractures causing the spasms? Exercising may agravate compression fractures. Aleve can also cause side effects with increased bleeding times. I get GI bleeding after 2 doses of Aleve. Too bad, it really helped pain. Fosamax also can be a GI irritant so both of them together may have some bad side effects you and she need to be on the watch for (black or tarry stools, vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds-which is actually blood.) What kind of Dr has her on Fosamax? Is it a specialist in endocrinology or osteoporosis or a family Dr? I had back spasms from my compression fractures that were really not helped with Vicodin and other pain meds. At the time, I just took enough to knock myself out because the pain was so great. Sounds like you/she need to find out specifically what she's dealing with with testing and a Dr who can interpret the results. It is difficult to get older folks to eat more plus the fact that as we age, we just are unable to absorb nutrients from our GI tract. All the warning posters you see about risk of osteo include having lost weight. If her bones are so brittle, it's possible to get more compression fractures of the spine just by normal daily activities not to mention bending, lifting, etc. She needs some kind of testing to see her baseline scores then later to measure if the Fosamax has been effective .

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• By BobWallace
• Posted August 2, 2008 at 9:57 am
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My osteoporosis was discovered accidentally and my former GP did the routine treatment placing me on Fosamax . No effort was made to determine the cause and my bone density did not improve. I lost over 30 pounds (15 under my high school weight). My live was saved by Dr. Alessio Fasano of the Celiac Center, U. of Maryland, hence I was tested for Celiac Disease and this was the cause of my osteoporosis. I was not absorbing the necessary nutriments, calcium,etc. I have learned that 97% of Celiac Disease goes undiagnosed.

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• By BobWallace
• Posted August 2, 2008 at 10:06 am
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My osteoporosis was discovered accidentally and my former doctor placed me routinely on Fosamax. No effort was made to determine the cause. The Fosamax did not improve my bone density and I began losing weight, over 30 pounds (15 pounds under my high school weight). I was wasting away when Dr. Alessio Fansano of the Celiac Center, University of Maryland Medical School, saved my life. I have Celiac Disease which prevents the absorption of necessary nutriments, calcium,etc. 97% of Celiac Disease goes undiagnosed.

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• By Franceline
• Posted August 4, 2008 at 2:19 am
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Cannot really help. I have been on Actonel for 4 years and my bone density has stabilized, is now at T-Score - 2,3. I have never lost any weight with Actonel and never had any other problems with it. However, when I went last year and wanted to have teeth implants, I was told it could not be done because Actonel and other biophosphonates prevent proper healing. So, it all depends what your priority is: bone density, i.e. preventing or stabilizing osteoporosis - in that case you will have to accept side effects as with any other medication. I, however, have reached a point where I most probably have to stop taking Actonel after 4 years on it - it apparently could even harm you if you continue. Any comments?

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