Bone Density

Hi,

I had a partial hysterectomy (one ovary) and started perimenopause a few months ago which I mistook for insanity

I'm on blood pressure meds so I told my gyno I'd just skip the estrogen and take a clonidine patch which helps blood pressure and hot flashes. Then my Mom freaked out because I wasn't on estrogen. I guess that when my body stops making estrogen it damages my bones and can lead to osteoporosis or other bone density issues. My Mom took estrogen for 10 years and is 75, so far she has had no issues with bone density. I also take 1200mg of calcium a day. I have a friend who is 62 and didn't take anything for menopause and she has suffered many problems like breaks, fractures etc.

Another friend tried to hook me up with Bioidendity hormone Replacement Therapy. My Gyno doesn't carry them because she said our hormones fluctuate on an hourly basis and BRT claim to cover this realm on one dose, and they're not FDA approved.

Lastly, *****TW Premarin Please If At All Possible don't buy it, don't support the companies that sell it, and educate people considering it as an option. It's manufactured from the urine of pregnant horses and not by a humane procedure.

So, anywho that's my 2 cents of info so far. I'm not trying to push meds or hormones, but I think vitamins and supplements are needed either way. It's annoying because I used to get all kinds of energy boosts from exercise. Now, I get hit with these massive bouts of fatigue where I'll take 4 hour naps, and all the yahoos are like exercise it's a great energy boost. My gyno told me the average is a 4lb weight gain every year as the metabolism slows during menopause, but here's the kicker: How Long Is Menopause???

Thanks for sharing this. I am frustrated myself with this whole thing too.

I am peri-menopausal now and am trying to decide what I am going to do. Am in talks with the docs now and am doing research. There is no good answer at this point especially with the hx of breast cancer in the family. Grandmothers,both took nothing for that reason; one had horrible bone density issues and the other was fine. Not the best odds, same odds for the rest of the women in the family. Mom is too early to tell.

I just feel damned if do, and damned if don't. Meanwhile, I continue to take my calcium and weight training for what good it will do, please, please, please, let it do some good.

The risks of estrogen replacement are as great (or greater) for the average woman than any benefits. It's entirely up to a woman to decide on her own, with the help of her physician.

Next time you see your primary, you might ask for a vitamin D blood level test. Without good blood levels of D, the calcium won't help much.

I have to take high dose prescription D because I take meds that interfere with the body's ability to absorb D properly. After of a year of taking high dose D, my blood levels finally reached normal and my bone density improved dramatically.

Many drugs, including some psychiatric drugs and sedatives. interfere with vitamin D in the body.

I always had more than the recommended dose of D in my diet, but it wasn't enough because of my meds. If the doc tests your levels and they're normal, you can smile at your mom and tell her you've worked with your doctor on the issue and she doesn't have to worry.

The calcium I take includes vitamin D. I also read that scientists said women went too far over to the other side of the spectrum avoiding sunlight at the risk of skin cancer. I walk in the early sun about once or twice a week with a brimmed hat.

This is a little off-topic but I ran across it in today's news and it made me think of this thread. All the more reason to get blood levels of Vitamin D checked. It impacts more important things than bone density.

Years ago, I read in a nutrition book that bathing after sun exposure can prevent Vitamin D from being absorbed. After exposure to sun, the Vitamin D forms on the surface of the skin. It takes up to 48 hours to be absorbed. If you shower with soap or swim in a chlorinated pool the Vitamin D will be washed from your skin before it can be absorbed. Is that true? I just googled and found many sources that say so, but nothing from a source like the New England Journal of Medicine or Harvard Medical School. I don't like to rely on places that sell products to get medical info of any sort. But I did get it out of textbook when I was in college.

I really do believe sun exposure is the ideal way to get one's Vitamin D, but I can't get it that way because I'm photosensitive. I stay out of the sun or suffer terrible burns in minutes. I have great skin for my age, but my bones were like lace until I took a big super wacking dose of prescription D3 monitored by my doctor. It took several years and several dose increases to get me into the low normal range.

My bones are much better now. But I worry more about my brain than my bones. My mother developed dementia symptoms in her early 60s. I'd like to keep my brain working for as long as I can. Bet you all do too.

I am many, many years post-menopause. Of course then I was precocious about it and entered menopause at 38. By 42 I was done with it. I went on HRT for about a year. I tried herbal estrogen replacement, but it did not help with the symptoms I was having. And I was having every last one of the stinkin' symptoms! Thickntied, you mentioned you thought it was mental illness at first. I was one raging, screaming queen B before I went on HRT. I took the HRT to get me through the worst of the symptoms. I was okay when I stopped HRT. A few years ago I had a bone density test done that showed I have ostepenia (sp?), the precursor to osteoporisis (sp?). I upped my calcium intak via diet. I'm out in the Florida sunshine a lot so I don't worry about Vit D.

I'm so sorry LL about your osteoporosis. I am taking a lot if calcium, Greek yogurt yadda yadda but it's not enough imo. Probably a lot of these things are genetic. I am on the lowest estrogen patch made - .05 and I didn't think it helped with mood just sweats and hot flashes. Last week my stupid patch fell off and I relapsed after over 1 1/2 yrs sober. I went out and bought a gallon of vodka because I was freaking insane. It's like being double bipolar. The meds only help so much. Now I cover the patch with waterproof first aid tape.