Osteoporosis, Anyone?

[GonnaDoIt!]

I am 56 and had my first bone density test earlier this year. Results were alittle disheartening and I wasn't prepared for the outcome of "advanced osteoporosis" in my right hip and left forearm. After I got over the "deer in the headlights" shock I started in with the doctor prescribed 2,000mg a day calcium and my prescription of 70mg a week Fosamax. Will the Fosamax make it harder for me to continue losing weight? Has anyone experienced this? I have been on Fosamax for 2 months now. I have heard that calcium actually assits in weight loss, but it seems that my body really wants to put on the weight and it is a daily fight to keep it down. :wave:

[Zuleikaa]

You don't need the Fosamax. The best prescription for rebuilding bone is 2,000 mg of calcium, 1200 mg of magnesium, and 7-12,000 IU of vitamin D a day for 3 months.

Vitamin D beat fosamax for building bone by a mile, not to mention vitamin D's countless and varied other benefits.

[csoar2004]

not to mention that a recent study showed increased bone density in women who took 250-750mg of magnesium daily. (More Magnesium May Be Beneficial to Bones, published in Environmental Nutrition 2/06)

[GonnaDoIt!]

Thanks to both of you for your input. I too have been reading about Vit D, and magnesium benefits and include them with my daily intake of vitamins, as was suggested by my doctor. But, after reading a 10-year study on Fosamax results, especially combined with Vitamin D, I will still continue to take it.

[cs_carver]

Not clear from your post where you are WRT exercise.

If you're not asking for strength from your bones, they're not going to stash calcium. Bodies are a little too efficient for their own good that way.

[Nancy LC]

Just wanted to mention that celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, is a major cause of bone loss. It can prevent your body from absorbing the needed calcium.

[GonnaDoIt!]

I am walking 2 miles a day right now and I also do stationary bike peddling for my legs at the gym. Hubby and I are getting our hot tub up and running this week and I plan on doing arm and leg exercises there too.

[cs_carver]

The walking, yes. The biking, not much--no impact. Ditto for the water exercises. I'm not sure exactly what part of which exercises work on the bones. I read all the forensic anthro murder mysteries--they can always tell what a body did by looking at the skeletal adaptations. Weight lifters have different bones than "normal" people.

[Nancy LC]

It's the stress that gravity and jumping and stuff has on bones. Its kind of like that with tree trunks. Trees need the stresses of winds and movement so that their tree trunks will go thick and strong. If you stake a tree too long or too tightly, the trunk will never get sturdy.

I had a neighbor who staked a young tree such that it couldn't bend or be stressed. After about a year he took away the stake, and it bent over! It needed to have stress in order to get strong.