I had one injection- I think maybe it was December 2016 and the next one would have been June 2017. No fractures.
That’s great. Good to know too. momofwildchild, What med are you taking now for osteoporosis?
No fractures yet does not mean no osteoporosis.
http://es.ereprints.elsevier.cc/9PB5021/fulltext
“Understanding and Communicating the Benefits and Risks of Denosumab, Raloxifene, and Teriparatide for the Treatment of Osteoporosis”
Little heavy on technical stuff but this article is pretty good at parsing out the differences in between relative and absolute reductions between some of the most common drugs to find efficacy.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the total fracture number used for most studies-- includes toes and fingers.
What is MOST important in the long run is hip fractures since those can be debilitating.
This particular review breaks down the numbers.
Tymlos is an injectable that is for people who have already had a fracture. For prevention of further fractures.
Hormone replacement therapy is no longer a thing. Long term studies found it didn’t make any difference.
I’m not taking any meds, but as I mentioned, my spine number got worse and hip stayed the same. I took Forteo for 2 stints totaling 2 years before the 1 shot of Prolia. I was not willing to do anything else. I will see what I think when the new med becomes available later this year. Not looking forward to it- monthly injections which you have to go to the office to get.
Thanks for the article, @gouf78
Who should get a bone-density scan? (according to current guidelines)
Women should get a DEXA scan at age 65, and men age 70 and up. They may want to talk with their health care providers about the risks and benefits before deciding. Younger women and men ages 50 to 69 should consider the test if they have risk factors for serious bone loss. Risk factors include:
Breaking a bone in a minor accident.
Having rheumatoid arthritis.
Having a parent who broke a hip.
Smoking.
Drinking heavily.
Having a low body weight.
Using corticosteroid drugs for three months or more.
Having a disorders associated with osteoporosis.
Personally I think doctors sign up everybody for a scan whether they fall into these guidelines or not–especially the less than 65 yo with no real other risk factors.
I have had a few dexascans because I’ve been on inhaled steroids since 2000. Fortunately I just have mild osteopenia and hope it stays mild. At this time, no treatment recommended, keep exercising. I agree that folks should have dexascans periodically. H has mild osteopenia as well.
@gouf78 yes HRT is a thing of the past for osteoporosis. I have no risk factors but for some reason was asked to get one due to family history of breast/ovarian ca… and found to be ostoporotic.
No risks factors for me either. Had a first dexascan around age 50 for a baseline and that’s when I discovered my out of whack numbers.
Be aware that there are varying results between machines, positioning, etc. You should take small changes with a grain of salt.
I readily admit it. Maybe I’ve been around too long. I’ve seen way too many drugs hailed as the “BEST” only to have them pulled off the market very soon because of crippling side effects.
The bone drugs are marketed heavily for white post-menopausal women often based on a fear factor in my opinion. I sometimes feel that the female gender is one big guinea pig population being used for profit.
I’ve never been thrilled that research on so many levels ignores women. The big heart research was focused on men. And as we now know the “symptoms of heart attack” are totally different for women. That certainly took awhile to get around to. 40-50 years?
Small dose aspirin was for men–not for women (no studies for that)–and now they are re-considering that regimen also. Easy come, easy go.
Number one killer of women is…heart disease.
They use a T-score for bone density. That’s you against a 30 y/o healthy person on average. You might never have been “that” average. It might never apply to you. You can have less dense but still strong bones.
That’s what makes it complicated–there are lots of factors to consider before signing up for a drug regimen. That’s why there are many factors in the guidelines including family history, exercise, diet, history of fracture. They just don’t know all the factors yet.
Some factors include just the risk of falling–balance, eyesight etc which increase with age. It might be better to get your eyesight checked and work on balance than take drugs.
So I just came back from seeing my endocrinologist, who treats me for this. Since after three shots of Prolia my results were much improved, she gave me a choice: I could stop the Prolia, or continue it. She said she has two kinds of patients: Those who say, “If I don’t have to take a drug, I don’t want to,” and those who say, “I want to do anything to thwart my osteoporosis.” I am definitely in the latter camp, so I am going to continue.
Look up FRAX. It’s an algorithm to identify risk for fracture.
FRAX - Fracture Risk Assessment Tool | Doctor | Patient
https://patient.info/doctor/frax-fracture-risk-assessment-tool
The FRAX® tool helps to identify people who may be at risk of developing osteoporosis. Personal details (such as height and weight, medication history, …
@VeryHappy --I don’t look at it as “if I don’t have to take this drug” nor “I’ll do anything”…it’s a matter of “does this drug really offer benefit to me?”. That’s the question.
@gouf78 Lots of good information here; I am so with you on this.
This drug will benefit me. If I stop taking it, I will start to lose bone density again. The older I can get without losing bone density, the better off I will be for the long term.
My understanding is the problem with Prolia isn’t just that you lose bone density once you stop, it’s that your bone density goes into a very rapid decline- i.e. you were better off not taking the Prolia. Gouf- is that your understanding?
My internist did the FRAX for me and wrote my fracture risks are 4.2 for osteoporotic fracture and 0.4% for hip fracture over the next 10 years. I’m recommended to keep doing weight-bearing exercise, taking calcium etc. I’m not concerned.
My former internist says he has had patients get very different results from dexascans performed in the same day in a study so he advises caution in interpreting and relying too much on them.