Treatment of osteoporosis?

treatment-menopausal osteoporosis

It is well established that estrogen replacement during menopause protects bone mass and helps protect against the risk of osteoporotic fractures. The accelerated bone loss during menopause has little relationship to the amount of calcium intake. After age 60, however, the proper attention to calcium intake is very important and has been shown to increase bone density. An important study published in 1992 showed that elderly women who took supplemental dietary calcium (with vitamin D) had a 30% less fractures (including hip fractures) than similar women who did not take supplemental calcium. When these investigators looked at these women again 3 years later, they still had a significantly less rate of fractures, and, they had a 15 % decreased chance of death. Most endocrinologists feel that the use of calcium supplements are safe (and inexpensive) and recommend it to most (all?) elderly men and women unless specific contraindications exist. it helps to take calcium with vitman d in them ..

You should not take Actonel or Actonel with Calcium if you
are allergic to any of the ingredients, if you have low blood
calcium (hypocalcemia), have kidneys that work poorly,
or cannot stand or sit upright for 30 minutes. Do not take
Calcium tablets if you have high blood calcium
(hypercalcemia). If you have had kidney stones please tell
your doctor before you start taking Actonel with Calcium.
Stop taking Actonel or Actonel with Calcium and tell your
doctor if you experience difficult or painful swallowing,
chest pain, or severe or continuing heartburn, as these
may be signs of serious upper digestive problems.
Follow dosing instructions carefully to lower the
chance of these events occurring.

Most prescriptions a doctor will give does not actually re-build bone loss. It simply stops it from losing any more bone mass. The only medicine out there that actually increases bone mass/rebuilds bones is called Forteo. It is a once-daily injection that can be self-administered. If you start taking this, you can only take it for two years of your life and their is an increased risk of bone cancer. My mom's bone mass was only 30 % of what it should normally be. She started taking Forteo 6 months ago and its increased to 45%. Be careful and be sure to discuss with your doctor all of your options.