My life has changed dramatically over the past years since I began my education about vitamins, minerals and other various nutrients, and I wish to acknowledge the value her presence on various forums has been.

At the age of 60, I had my first bone scan and what he found alarmed him considerably. He prescribed a weekly generic Fosamax which I took faithfully. Because of my emotional difficulties in getting up and out of my apartment, I scarcely got even a fraction of the exercise I needed....

BUT ....

I immediately cut out caffeine, indulging only occasionally on INSTANT coffee (Taster's Choice - pricey, but the only instant that smells and tastes like fresh brewed coffee), and dropped sodas made with Phosphoric Acid (colas and Dr. Pepper - the dark drinks). Diet root beer, Fresca and gingr ale became my drinks of choice. Still indulge in a fountain diet coke occasionally, but since phosphoric acid leaches calcium and magnesium right out of you, I credit that as a strong start...

Then I researched online, added calcium Citrate (double dose on days with little or no milk and cheese), Vitamin D and finally, after more study, Magnesium. I kept my doctor (gynecologist) in the loop (he tested my Vitamin D level to make sure it was safely within limits)....

Finally, after almost 18 months, a repeat bone scan showed an almost 8% improvement in my spine and almost 14% improvement in my hips (which had been bad). He beamed as he told me, "Two more years and you will have the hips and spine of a 35 year old"....

I should add that while he decreased my estrogen of many years to .9 mg (he believes in post-menopausal estrogen), he didn't want it any lower while we battled the bone porosity.

I was the highest scoring (by far) of my nursing school class when we took a nutritional knowledge screening test years ago - back in the days when medical students were TAUGHT (yes, by doctors) that Americans are wasting money when they purchase vitamins BECAUSE "Americans eat a good diet" -- tho what that really means is that those with access to full grocery markets AND who have adequate income are EXPOSED to foods offering a full complement of needed nutrients.

Unfortunately, the lure of highly advertised empty calories and the reduced activity that causes weight gain to be epidemic, less and less of us consume adequate amounts - ESPECIALLY when you are looking for optimal nutrition or seeking to correct conditions remedied by higher than normal consumption.

Time spent on this forum is an education that can change your life - and extend it.

OMT

That is great you are doing well. I'd suggest you discuss getting off the Fosamax with your doctor. I don't think the the drug has done this for you. In fact over time it will increase risk of fracture.
(the way these drugs work is very imperfect and in some cases dangerous).

Fosamax has been linked to jaw necrosis, muscle problems, heart problems, etc.
example:
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/heal...-fractures.htm

The way these drugs work is to show more bone density on tests, but the bones themselves are more brittle and do not heal when broken (hence the jaw necrosis). You can Google this for more info. It is pretty available now, that Fosamax went generic.

Magnesium, B12, boron, and Vit K, Vit D are all players in bone density. You can get the vit K from vegetables. (I don't like recommending a supplement at this time, as the clotting risks are not clear with supplements of K). People who take alot of antibiotics may become low in K since the antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the bowel that make K for us.

Also good amounts of D are essential...but you say you have been tested for this.

Thank you for the update. I am sure others here can benefit from your experience.

Dear MrsDoubtfyre .....

Wow.... You have given me so much to read and so much to seriously think about, deal with... And I'm dropping my Fosamax back to once a month while I consider losing it entirely....

I think of the cartilage part --- perhaps the reason I ended up with a SEVERE cartilage injury of the elbow, simply because I firmly twisted an object, first once in one direction, then in the other --- and ended up with a "tennis elbow X 2" injury that has scarcely begun to heal in what is now four months.

And since I began the drug, I aged more (facially) in that first year than I had in the entirety of the prior TEN years (depressing to say the least). And what is envolved in "looking older"? The breakdown of the collagen supporting the skin's firmness.... and shrinkage of the bones, especially the jaws (already had given them a beating using nicorette over a period of years (yeah, I know - CRINGE)

And my mom has taken Fosamax since it came out, decades of use - yet she has lost about 5 inches in height. Why? Perhaps because she did not take in nearly enough calcium, not enough magnesium, covers up with sunblock, long sleeves, work gloves and shade caps when she goes outside to do yard work (no Vit D)... and no estrogen.

So, she eats a better diet overall than I do --- So the Fosamax didn't rebuild and retain her bone since it didn't have extra ingredients needed.

but like I have learned.....
In having a stalled horse where I was responsible for every morsel eaten, nutritional adequacy is a balancing act - the highest protein hay and a quality grain addition may seem "all a horse needs" --- but then add a vitamin-mineral-omega oil supplement powder and watch the coat smooth and glisten, the eyes brighten up, a more spirited energized animal emerge.

I also learned that a daily senior centrum PLUS a super-B complex was falling short when Rose encouraged me to try sublingual B-12 to bypass the age-diminished gut absorption.... My brows went completely dark again and I lost most of my gray hair. True, after another 8 years, age is forcing the issue, but my mother, mid-eighties, went from snowy white spanning decades to an astonishing amount of black hair after HER being on sublingual for the past several years. She is now gray-haired again, even if still mostly white (her father was white-haired by the time he left public school - early white hair for all her siblings and virtually all the grandchildren on her side of the family, too).

So I thank you... And give praise to Rose for having introduced me to the world of sublingual B-12.

I wish my weekend her at my friends would be longer, but I have to head home soon or else I'd keep writing and posting. I dropped into BoardTracker and found it such a wonderful search engine for these communities (as well as BT).

Thank you for your time spent giving me feedback, your kind suggestions, the great links. May this be a great year for you and yours.

Theresa / Teri

Hello!!

I am a major NEWBIE and this is my first post! I hope it is in the right place!

This is for MrsD or any of you vitamin/mineral experts out there...

All this chat about Calcium intake is music to my ears (or should it be ...bones?).

My big conundrum is how best to get enough Calcium in my diet via supplements. I have Parkinson's disease X 5 years and my meds lose the battle with any food high in protein, especially dairy. Very sensitive to it. I had always been a big fan of milk, yoghurt and cheese up till then. My Sinemet is presently 2.5 to 3 hours apart, so with doses so close it is difficult to have an empty enough gut for good absorption.

So, on to supplements! I presently take a daily total of 1200 mg of elemental Calcium (huge horse pills) and a total daily 100 mg of magnesim and trace minerals added, a well as 2000 I.U. of Vit. D all swigged back with a glass of orange juice. I also take fish oils and a Vit.B complex later.

Is this enough Calcium? I am 51, still premenopausal. But every time I swallow one of those monster pills I wonder if the thing has enough surface area to get fully absorbed. As well, I read so much conflicting info about not taking it with this or you must take it with that...

A bone density scan a couple of years ago was okay, but that was before the protein problem.

Suggestions and solutions much appreciated!

Skelly

If you magnesium is oxide form, you are not getting any absorbed.

There are foods now fortified with calcium:
Minute Maid OJ
Lactaid milk (some forms)
cereals

I get my magnesium form yogurt, cheese and Maalox instant dissolve. 8 oz of yogurt has about 400mg. My Maalox tablets have 1000mg of calcium carbonate. Without adequate Vit D the calcium you eat is not well absorbed either.

We are having a discussion about other nutrients and bone health here right now:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread115231.html