8 replies to this topic

[paraguy1]

Hi everyone I didnt see this topic discussed anywhere in health issues. But my doc has me diagnosed with bone loss and he put me on boniva. Then after about 4 years on it I had a small fall onto carpet from my chair and ended up breaking both femurs and knees. I thought it was because of the bone loss at the time but now I am hearing that people on boniva have been having problems with thier femurs breaking. So is there anyone else here that takes bone loss drugs? And if not what do you do for thatif anything?

[Millard]

paraguy1, on 11 December 2011 - 01:50 PM, said:

Hi everyone I didnt see this topic discussed anywhere in health issues. But my doc has me diagnosed with bone loss and he put me on boniva. Then after about 4 years on it I had a small fall onto carpet from my chair and ended up breaking both femurs and knees. I thought it was because of the bone loss at the time but now I am hearing that people on boniva have been having problems with thier femurs breaking. So is there anyone else here that takes bone loss drugs? And if not what do you do for thatif anything?

Hello ParaGuy,


When I was walking on crutches, I started breaking bones almost every time I would fall. My OS prescribed Forteo for me which is injected once a day for two years. This was around 2005. When I had my next Dexascan, I had greatly improved bone density and only showed one spot on my right hip that was still a little low. The latest scan shows the bone density is still good.

Currently, I don't take anything for bone density.

Good luck.

[Izziwhizzi]

I am being forced through an induced early menopause currently by monthly injections and before I started them I had a dexascan done. Showed no surprise that I several areas of concern especially in my hips.

Currently I'm on weekly alendronic acid and some daily chewable calcium carbonate and Vitamin D3 tablets.

When I asked my spinal unit about bone loss they said they don't check patients with a dexascan, only when they have broken something.

Hope it goes well for you

[Ted 303]

hi all.
Im taking Actonel 35mg once a week, i had a dexa in May & it showed loss more so on the right hip does anyone know why its more so on one side?
I also use an easy stand maybe 3 times a week bearing weight will also help so i was told.

hope this help b gud!

[Tetracyclone]

A google search for this will show some alarming reports but not much in the way of stats yet.

[Ted 303]

Hi, Ya i seen the information on goggle but your right not much stats.

I know a fella in Ireland & he has never had a Dexa in 26years, and he didnt have any problems I know everyone is different too i suppose.

Thanks.

[rkzenrage]

I have advanced osteoporosis & have been on testosterone shots, supplements & other therapies for years. I'm looking at Boniva because I can't take the pill I've been taking any longer (taking it for too long causes bones to become brittle). I sure hope the once a year shot works!

[araitn]

I'm going to have a bone density test (dexa scan) performed later today. This will be my first dexa scan since my injury, which was four years and a few months ago. I have severe atrophy in my legs, especially from my knees down. I'm a T-11 incomplete and have some remaining (recovered) motor function in my quads and hamstrings, so my thighs are not as skinny as my calves, but they're at least half the size as they were pre-injury. However, my muscles below my knees are totally flacid and won't respond to electrical stimulation even on the strongest setting, resulting in toothpick legs that appear to be breakable just by touching them.

The main reason for the scan is to determine if it is safe for me to attempt some more aggressive therapy with some kafo/afo devices. No expectations for walking, just for some exercise and hopefully to keep my bones strong or from deteriorating more, if that is what the test shows. For a couple of years after injury, I went through physical therapy and was able to "walk" with a kafo on one leg and and an afo on the other, but I'm talking a few hundred feet in about twenty minutes and it was mostly upper body work with the walker and I ended up feeling like I had ran a half a marathon. So, again, no expectations on that front and I realize I'm getting off topic.

If I can remember, which is always questionable for me, I'll update with the results.

[araitn]

I'm finally getting around to providing the results of my Dexa Bone Density Study. The procedure and results were pretty much as I expected.

The procedure itself is pretty easy, simple and quick. I had to transfer to a table which was slightly higher than my wheelchair. They strapped my left leg against a padded block and scanned my left hip. A scanning "arm" passes over your body to take the images. The next step for a person without a plethora of metal objects in their back is to scan the spine. As an alternative to the spine scan, the technician had me transfer off the table, roll up beside the table and place my right arm under the scanner. This part was actually more uncomfortable than laying on the table as it was a long reach and it hurts my back to bend in that direction. This all took place in about ten minutes.

Before I present the findings, here is a little information of how the results are reported and what the scores actually mean:

They give you a T-score and a Z-score. The T-score is the patient's bone mineral density compared to a young (30 years old) control population of the same gender and ethnicity. The Z-score compares the bone mineral density to age matched controls of the same gender and ethnicity. A T-score of +1 to -1 is considered normal and healthy. A T-score between -1 and -2.5 means you have low bone mass (osteopenia) but not severe enough to be considered osteoporosis. A T-score of -2.5 or lower means you have osteoporosis. Of course, a greater negative number means more severe osteoporosis. Ultimately, the diagnosis of osteoporosis is based on the T-score. In addition to the information from my report, I obtained the previous information from this source.

My findings:

Right Forearm: T-score of -0.9, Z-score of -0.6
Left Hip: T-score of -2.7, Z-score of -2.4

Information taken directly from the report:

IMPRESSION: Based on the area of least bone mineral density, the patient is OSTEOPOROTIC, with significant increase in fracture risk.

RECOMMENDATION: Preventive and interventional therapy with follow-up DEXA scan in two years unless clinically indicated earlier.

I talked to my primary care doctor about what "preventive and interventional therapy" should be and he said he would have to "study" osteoporosis in spinal cord injury patients and get back to me. He told me for now to make sure to get plenty of calcium and vitamin D, which I already do.

Here's another link with information on the risk factors for bone loss resulting from bed rest and immobilization. On the bright side it states that bone density loss happens over the first several months with immobilization and then appears to level off.

So, as stated before, the results were pretty much what I expected. I'm not sure how this will affect my attempts to do some more rehab.