HEALTHY BONES AND RISKS YOU CAN’T AVOID: EMILY’S STORY

Emily was first diagnosed with scoliosis in childhood, and suffered with anorexia for about a year in her late teens. She confessed she still was constantly dieting. She is otherwise a basically healthy, very petite, 40-year-old woman, and has no family history of low bone density. Recently, she had a bone density measurement done. She had no symptoms (most people don’t until they break a bone), but she was concerned about the effects the scoliosis, anorexia, and continual dieting might have had on her bones.Sure enough, Emily’s DEXA scan revealed she already had osteoporosis in the vertebrae of her lower back. Her density was about 25 percent lower than average peak bone density. She had osteoporosis at a time when she should still have been at just about peak bone density. With her suspicions confirmed, she had tests of her NTX, vitamin D, parathyroid, and thyroid levels to determine the best way to stop any further loss and strengthen her spine.I told her she’ll be a prime candidate for HRT when the time comes, but she’s not there yet. After I laid out the treatment options that exist, she decided to try calcitonin, since she recognized the hard fact that for her, with no treatment, the worst was yet to come. At menopause she could be losing even more bone density unless she took drastic action now—and she had probably ten years of loss at her current rate before she even got that far.The aggressive approach she took consisted of improving her diet and exercise habits—like eating yogurt and soybeans at least once a day, starting strength training, and using supplements of calcium and other nutrients. Still she feared that might not be enough to keep her from shrinking and risking fractures and bone pain since her loss had become so advanced so early. With the calcitonin, her bone density was out of the danger zone within two years.*25\228\2*

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