I was looking through my photos for a good one for a public service announcement....
I thought this one might do. HaHa!!
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Ugh! Yes, I'm of age.
When the results came back, she said that I had some thinning....not Osteoporosis, but just a little thinning. Yet, she wanted to start me on Fosamax. She wrote out the prescription and I took it to the pharmacy to be filled. I had already done some research on the drug, so I knew what the side effects were. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like this was not what I should do. The side effect that worried me the most was the chance of a femur fracture. So, I called the pharmacy and cancelled the prescription.
One year passed and it was time for my next doctor's appt. She asked how I was doing on the Fosamax and I sheepishly told her that I had not been taking it...that the side effects worried me. I was afraid that she would be a little angry, but she wasn't. She said that if the side effect was a worry for me, then let's take a different approach. She sent me to an endocrinologist to check Vitamin D levels and anything else he felt necessary to get answers.
The endocrinologist talked to me about the different medicines he prescribes for Osteoporosis and how each worked. I told him I was against taking medication and asked if there wasn't something else I could do. He was willing to help me and I was thankful for that. He wanted to get a blood test to see where my Vitamin D level was and we would go from there. So, I had blood drawn and sure enough, I was extremely low in Vitamin D. He gave me a prescription for a mega-dose of the vitamin. After I had finished the prescribed amount, he retested and I was in the normal range. I was supposed to take over the counter Vitamin D and he would recheck in three months. I tried my best to remember to take the vitamin, but I would forget to take it, all the time. Never the less, three months passed and I had to retest. And, once again I was very low. So he repeated the mega-dose. At the end of that prescribed dose, I retested and I was again back in the normal range. So he urged me to try to remember to take an over the counter Vitamin D. I had already told him that I had began eating vegetarian and I was exercising a lot. He told me to add weights and he would give me one year to try this and then we would retest.
June of this year was the one year mark. I went back to my endocrinologist for a re-check. He made mention something about my tan. I told him that I got it from my bike training and when I told him how I was training, he was very impressed. He said, "I wouldn't doubt that your bones have improved, if you're exercising that much." I sure was glad to hear that and I was very hopeful that it was true. So, he ordered another blood test and another bone density scan. The blood test came back and I was in the low end of the normal range, but in the normal range none-the-less. I had been trying really hard to remember to take my vitamins this year. I wasn't perfect, but better than before. Then I had the bone density scan done and got the results back last week. His note on the bottom of the results.....'Spine and hip/femur scans shows improvement! Good!'
YAY!
I was ecstatic! I knew in my heart that I could improve my health with diet and exercise and I had just proved it. So, I will continue to take Vitamin D and Calcium and I will continue to eat healthy and to exercise. I can only get better. I am really passionate about finding the root of problems, not just treating symptoms. I hope my little success story inspires someone out there to take their health in their hands and be proactive about their diet and exercise.
YOU CAN DO IT!
