<p>Why to take drugs when problem is not there? We will need to have pharmacy at home that definitely will make us sick to prevent all possible diseases that might occur in our bodies. Why simple preventive measures like maintaining weight within normal range for height, drink water, do not consume junk on regular basis (ocasionally we all consume them), exersice daily, engage in your favorite activities, keep peice in family, keep ocupied… tons of very reasonable preventive measures without taking pharmacy of drugs. I do not believe in taking even calcium, how do you know how much your body need vs somebody else? Docs I trust the least. They almost kill each of my child and I will never forget it. If I seek help from my own physician, I have to tell her my diagnosis, she will not know otherwise. There are very very few good ones. I have my list in case if something serious happens. Being in a hospital is very risky for your life.</p>
<p>^^Of course you don’t want to take drugs or anythng else for a problem that doesn’t exist. Where in my responses to you in posts #27 or #40 did I say anything about drugs? </p>
<p>My point is that you need to be vigilant a detecting a problem when it is small and more easily dealt with rather than waiting until something really bad happens. And in the case of osteoporsis, a serious disease that silently and painlessly sneaks up on you, it may take more than an exercise routine and a lack of fractures to indicate that there is no problem. Particularly women with a family history of osteoporosis need to have regular Dexa scans once they are past menopause to detect any problems early.</p>
<p>^^ I agree. I put off the Dexa scan since I refused to acknowledge that there was any chance that I had bone density problems. Once I had it (at about 52) and had the osteopenia levels, the doc let me try about 6 months (might have been longer) with calcium. Didn’t improve, so I went to the Fosomax then Boniva. Then the skiing tibial plateau fracture which didn’t heal properly so I had surgery, then Forteo. Now…I’ll see what the endocrinologist recommends.</p>
<p>Ahem.</p>
<p>Drugs include statins, vaccines, antibiotics, and aids “cocktails” that have undoubtedly meant life over death for millions.</p>
<p>It’s just dumb to declare that drugs are bad and you will never take them.</p>
<p>All things in moderation? Yes.</p>
<p>If your bones are going to collapse on you without a pharmaceutical aid then you are a fool not to take it.</p>
<p>hey the only reason I am scheduling my colonoscopy is I heard the drugs are worth it
;)</p>
<p>Yes, the stuff they put you out with is nice but the stuff you have to drink the night before . . . not so nice.</p>
<p>
Either you have a different doctor or what turns you on is very different from most of us. Go ahead take my prep too. It’s these things that have kept me from having one.</p>
<p>btw, when I had stones, I could give myself hits of morphine. I had the greatest of expectations, and was hoping to somehow doggie-bag the leftovers. Turns out it was the biggest bust I experienced - I just put me out, and nothing else. Not something I’ll hold up a 7-11 for; heck I wouldn’t even take it if they gave it away.</p>
<p>On a broader note, the sad fact is that the root cause for many of today’s diseases - Alz, heart disease, cancer, etc. is antibiotics. Get rid of them from society and for the most part we wouldn’t have to deal with these diseases; as a bonus, we’ll probably cure the social security and medicare funding mess too.</p>
<p>^^Antibiotics didn’t become publicly available until after WWII. The golden age of antibiotic discovery was the 1940s through the 60s. Heart disease, alzheimer’s, and cancer were common long before that.</p>
<p>Some studies suggest that heavy use of antibiotics is associated with a modest but measurable increased risk of certain kinds of cancer, but the notion that “we wouldn’t have to deal with these diseases” if antibiotics went away is contrary to the facts. And we certainly <em>would</em> have to deal with much greater death and disease from many bacterial diseases that used to routinely kill people but today are successfully treated with antibiotics.</p>
<p>The main risk from antibiotics is their overuse - which produces “superbugs” that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. It is those resistant bacteria that give us a glimpse of what life was like before antibiotics came along. They are sometimes just as hard to kill as they all were back in the pre-antibiotic era.</p>
<p>As with all drugs, prudent use rather than wholesale overuse is the key.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>NYMom, I hope you don’t mind my being so bold as to ask what kind of shoulder problem you were experiencing? Sounds a bit like frozen shoulder (see poetsheart shudder and cross herself just thinking about that excruciating disorder:(). I have periodic bouts with bursitis, which I don’t believe is a “joint problem” per se. But it gets pretty painful at times and keeps me from sleeping well. </p>
<p>As for osteopenia/osteoporisis, I’m counting on the fact that being an AfAm woman (with a medium to large frame) somewhat protects me from having porous bones. But then again, I thought black women didn’t get rosacea before I got it…LOL! When I fractured my ankle in three places 10 months ago, and asked my orthopedic surgeon if he thought weakened bones might be a factor, he shrugged and said the likelihood was low, given the way I broke it and that he sees my kind of ankle break in much younger people, both men and women. Still, I guess it might be a good idea to get scanned. My primary wrote me a prescription for one about seven years ago, not long after full menopause hit at age 45. But at the time, I was distracted by a lot of, urm—“stuff” in my personal life, and literally kept forgetting to follow through. Even today, I never think of it until the subject of osteoporosis comes up in conversation.</p>
<p>MWOC, I’m so sorry to hear you’re facing this problem despite all you do to stay fit and healthy. I’ve been a quiet admirer of your fitness regimen for years:). Good luck with whatever you do to keep osteopenia at bay. It doesn’t sound like there are many risk free treatment options, which must be very disconcerting.</p>
<p>coreur,
“My point is that you need to be vigilant a detecting a problem when it is small and more easily dealt with rather than waiting until something really bad happens.”</p>
<p>-This depends on one’s position. I thought (I might be incorrect), that OP does not want to take drugs. In my personal case, there is no reason for tests, if I decided that I will not take drugs no matter what test results. So in my case there is no point to have a test, except to put me into depression by having knowledge that I have a desease.</p>
<p>Either you have a different doctor or what turns you on is very different from most of us. Go ahead take my prep too. It’s these things that have kept me from having one.</p>
<p>I was actually making a joke- although I *should *schedule one, since it runs in my family.</p>
<p>I doubt the medication would affect me much anyway- as a redhead, I have a genetic resistance to anesthesia- it just doesn’t work well.</p>
<p>I also have had * many* ultrasounds with my pregnancies that involved drinking huge amounts of fluid ( and having to retain it for the test 
) so drinking stuff specifically for a test isn’t a new idea.</p>
<p>But regarding testing- though I am a little p’oed, that my supposedly " excellent" insurance, only covers about 1/3 of the cost of the DEXA scan, by receiving the unexpected results, instead of " falling into a depression", even though the only risk factor I had was being a caucasian woman, I can be proactive and research other causes- because some causes can put me at risk for other diseases , for instance low hormone levels can put me at higher risk for heart disease- which isn’t necessarily identifiable until damage has occurred. So actually having osteoporosis confirmed by a DEXA scan, might have lengthened my life.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP- That sounds like a stupid position to me. This test is an important one and it allows you to figure out what steps need to be taken.<br>
I am not refusing to take medication. I just want to know all the options and then I will decide what the best thing is for my particular situation. Maybe I can buy some time- maybe not. I would PREFER not to take medication, but I also do not want to end up with a hump or a broken hip. I do run competitively and I DO fall. I fell twice in one race last October and, fortunately, did not break anything. A month later I fell again in a race. Again- no break. My luck might run out.</p>
<p>poetsheart, I did not have a diagnosis of my shoulder problem. I was getting ready to make an appointment to see a doctor. I’d waited for months because I knew that surgery might be the suggested treatment, and I was hoping that it would get better on its own. I don’t know whether it was frozen shoulder or not. Unless it coincidentally got better on its own just as I started the fish oil, the fish oil was the cure.</p>
<p>Sardines are not going to be part of my diet. This much I know.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>lol! :)</p>
<p>I’m sort of with you there.</p>
<p>Greens. Lots of dark leafy greens. They’ve become my main event for two meals out of three. They’re full of bone-building minerals.</p>
<p>I started the sardine thread because I wanted to eat them for health reasons, but found them repulsive. I learned from posters who responded that there are certain brands that are better, and someone posted a recipe for “Sardine Tonnato” from epicurious. It took me months to buy the sardines, and more months to make the recipe. I could not stand looking or smelling the things when I opened the cans, but I made the recipe and tried it on French bread. It was so good that I had to have a second sandwich, even though I wasn’t hungry. My husband loves it too. Now I make it regularly.</p>
<p>Are you taking any PPI drugs (Nexium and the like) regularly? I just saw a blurb on CNN that a recent study confirmed that these drugs do interfere with calcium absorbtion. I will look for a link.</p>
<p>Miraculously, right now I am taking absolutely nothing but the Vit D and calcium.</p>
<p>Sardines are an acquired taste. Have grown to like them.</p>
<p>But the best thing for the bones is canned salmon.</p>
<p>It is a good thing you are not taking these acid reflux drugs, MOfWC. Here is the promised link (not relevant for you, but maybe relevant for other posters):</p>
<p>[Are</a> too many people taking heartburn drugs? - CNN.com](<a href=“Are too many people taking heartburn drugs? - CNN.com”>Are too many people taking heartburn drugs? - CNN.com)</p>
<p>And:</p>
<p>[Proton</a> pump inhibitors can lead to higher risk of bone fractures, studies show - latimes.com](<a href=“Drugs that reduce stomach acid also increase risk of bone fractures, studies show”>Drugs that reduce stomach acid also increase risk of bone fractures, studies show)</p>
<p>This is not to support the claims made on this thead that all medications are useless and somewhat evil. For someone with a Barrett’s esophagus taking a Nexium a day is better than getting esophagheal or stomach cancer. For someone who simply gets heartburns because of being overweight and eating cr@p, the best heartburn remedy is weight loss.</p>