Post menopausal Osteoporosis, anyone addressed here?

Hi I'm using prolia (aka denosumab), i'm pre-menopausal so can't really compare my situation. I do know it has been around since 2010 so it is not that new... The main risk is that a small percentage of patients get rebound fractures upon discontinuation - the risk is highest in patients who previously experienced a fracture prior to starting denosumab. On the other hand it has none of the side effects of bisphosphonates. It's a subcutaneous injection every 6 months.

DF, do you know where the osteoporosis is located with your mother? Typically it hits the spine, hips & wrists. Any idea what her T score is? Severe osteoporosis in these 3 areas can cause pain for several reasons. When the bones become brittle or soft, regrowth cannot keep up bone loss, this is where medications play a role, slowing down the progression. Someone with mild activity will not have pain.

I was dx'd in my early 50's with severe activity, I also had loss of height. I did 2 years of Forteo injections to attempt to slow down the progression. Back then it was the only one that had potential of increasing new bone growth.

Vitamin D & calcium plus exercise is what all drs recommend. Keep in mind, depending on the severity, exercise may not be applicable to her because of the risk of fracture. A simple sneeze or bending the wrong way can cause a fracture.

If your mother is not open to medication, sadly her options are going to be limited.

Thank you, ladies.

My mom is just 63 and this is going on for a few years now. She hit menopause in her 40s (almost all ladies in her family hit around the same time) and after that, she started getting obese. I don't know the exact details of DXA scan as she is not that tech-savvy to send the reports. I will call her today and get the details but the physician has asked her not to pick up even a pound of weight. Over a period of time, she has gathered a lot more conditions, hypertension, type II diabetes and taking meds for it now.

Currently, the situation is, she can not walk more than 10 minutes without getting exhausted. The doctors have recommended her to only walk slowly and no other exercise. The pain seems to be muscular but it is definitely biphosphonates related. As soon as she stopped those, the pain went away.

She definitely can not take standard NSAIDs. She has tried and every time, it resulted in blood. I sent her Nabumetone from here as I take those. While they are not as good as Alleve or Advil, something is better than nothing. They do not bother her.
NSAIDs and flare connection is tricky. Sometimes Nabumetone (Relafen) does not work with me, then I take 200mg Advil. Once or twice a week, I can get by but if I end up taking more, it results in the flare. I researched what causes NSAID flare and from the mechanism of action, I thought Phophotidylcholine may work. So I started taking along with Advil every time. While I do not have enough data to state that it helps me, so far so good. So if there is anyone that absolutely needs to take Advil, it is worth a shot.

@FlowersGal,
Estrogen patch? That is interesting. I didn't know. Do you know (or can you ask, if possible) the dosage so I can ask my mom to ask about it to her doc.

My mom is not against the meds. Actually, she has no opinion one way or the other. She only wants the 'fix'. The holistic/functional is my idea because I have reached the conclusion, there is no one method of addressing any ailment, you can definitely use supplementary methodology if its trustworthy/proved enough.

Thanks a lot again.

That's really tough. I hope she can find something that will help without the awful side effects.