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Bone density scan looks bad

I just had a bone density scan. It says there is thinning especially in my back. :( My doctor didn't even call me to tell me about it. I just got a letter in the mail.

I hurt so much all the time and this is just very upsetting to me. I'm only 27 and I have so many joint problems and its getting worse. I even take calcium supplements and vitamins.

-Mary

:depressed:


I'm so angry too. I was the one that told them to give me a bone density test.

____________________________
Diagnosed: Crohn’s December ‘09
Gastritis August ’09, TMJD 1992
Surgeries: 1-terminal ileum removal
Treatments: Current- pentasa
Past- pred. aciphex, ranitidine
Other: Multi-vitamin, calcium,
digestive enzymes, probiotics,
and fish oil
 
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Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Mary I am so sorry and you are so young. How much Vitamin D3 and Calcium do you take and do you use Magnesium Citrate? Makes a difference, and doctors are not always up on that. Have you been on Prednisone and how often? :hang:
 
Thanks Pen and Kelly. :smile:

I take about 1,000mg of calcium and 800mg of vitamin D. My guess is I'm not taking enough. Oh, and I was taking way too much magnesium so that can lower calcium absorption. I just spoke with a nurse on-call and she says that your body can only absorb about 500mg of calcium at a time so I need to spread out the dosage.

I took prednisone for a week and had to stop because I started having severe joint pain (not like I already don't) and I went psychotic.

Anyhow, I'm just really worried. Apparently I don't have osteoporosis but I want to know how bad the thinning of the bone is.
 
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Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Yes you should be taking minimum 1000mg of Vitamin D3. Depends where you live too, your age (you look young lol) and you fitness.
 
Hehehe. Thanks Pen. I do look young in that picture. lol. I weighed 90lbs in January and now I weigh about 102lbs. I'm still trying to catch up to my BMI. lol.

Can pentasa cause thinning of the bone? Shoot. Its not even working that well anyways. The ginger is still keeping the inflammation down pretty well.
 
Hello! I had a bone scan 1 year ago and the said that I have oesteoporosis. I am 25! They have put me on Calcitrol tablets I have another year to go on them before they repeat the bone scan and see if it improves. They have told me that there is medication that can sort things out before we get old and have brittle bones?!!?!?

Hang in there, hope you get something sorted for the pain
Take care
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Not sure if pentasa would cause thinning of the bones. Most people dont take enough Calcium to start off with and then we are poorly absorbing it. Have you been on antacids or Prednisone in the past?
 
Hello! I had a bone scan 1 year ago and the said that I have oesteoporosis. I am 25! They have put me on Calcitrol tablets I have another year to go on them before they repeat the bone scan and see if it improves. They have told me that there is medication that can sort things out before we get old and have brittle bones?!!?!?

Hang in there, hope you get something sorted for the pain
Take care
Oh my gosh. I'm sorry :(
Well, I don't know if I have osteoporosis because I just got a letter saying that I had thinning bones especially in the back. Do you have pain too? The only pain medication my GI doctor wants to put me on is Tylenol.

I just went to the orthopedic specialist today and he thinks my pain is originating from the ileosacral joint. He wants to do an MRI. At least its not another CT scan! lol.
 
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Not sure if pentasa would cause thinning of the bones. Most people dont take enough Calcium to start off with and then we are poorly absorbing it. Have you been on antacids or Prednisone in the past?
Hey Pen :)
I was actually on antacids for almost a year. I thought that it might mess up my calcium absorption so I went off of them on my own and started drinking cabbage juice and got better. My doctor kept telling me that aciphex wouldn't even have an effect on my calcium absorption. What's with these doctors???
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Because they dont take upgrades to medicines like pharmacists do. My owner/pharmacist told me this because we were discussing my illness and absorption issues. A clue to the doctors, why do you think they put Calcium in Tums???
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Thanks! The dog is my husband's dog, a 80lb Chesapeak Bay retriever! She has a stuffed toy in her mouth. Her name is Holly. They are rescue dogs in icy water, you should see her in the pond trying to break the ice! Stomps like a bear lol.
 
A couple things, make sure you take your vit d3 (cholecalciferol) in a 1000mg liquid cap supplement. This will help absorption over solid pill forms. The other thing is, and this is CRITICAL, take your calcium as a calcium citrate and no other form, ideally also in a liquid form that can contain your D3 as well. This will increase your absorption of the supplement as well as give it to you in a form that is ideal easier for your body to work with.

In addition to that supplement advice, the other thing I highly recommend is load exercise. Mechanical stimulation of the bones triggers new bone growth and can help to reverse bone loss seen from prednisone, malnutrition, aging, and any other causes. Things like walking and light weight lifting can really provide a noticeable boost in bone density and volume. This is the reason astronauts lose bone density in space...weightlessness doesn't allow enough mechanical stress on the bones. I would talk to the doctor about a good exercise program that is safe for your current bone density so you don't hurt yourself. However, if they don't want to provide you with that information, starting with very light weights on simple exercises should be safe, even 5-10 pounds for some exercises should be enough to start. Also, jogging will provide a lot of benefit as well.

Other than that, you just have to hope increasing your calcium intake (not above 2500mg a day) and the form (calcium citrate, ideally as a liquid) as well as ensuring you get at least 1000iu of vitamin d3 a day, will be sufficient to reverse the bone loss. Remember as a crohns patient your absorption of nutrients is lower so taking a bit more than 500mg of calcium at a time isn't terrible either since 500mg is the "limit" for a healthy person absorbing normally.

Good luck!
 
Hello Mary,

Sorry to hear about your bone density scan...scary at your age. I take calcium 3 times a day 500 mg and 2000 IU. D3, (mine is low & I'm older). I live in Michigan, not a lot of sunny days....lol. I lift weights and do high impact cardio, that helps bone density.

I also go to a pain management doctor, I have back, neck and joint pain. My GI doctor didn't even want to talk about anything but Tylenol?? That doesn't nothing for me. I get steroid shots in my back for spinal stenosis which is pinching my nerves. I can't believe how much he has changed my life.

Hope this helps.....:goodluck:
 
Thanks everyone for all the advice.

I'm having numbness in my lower back. Gees. This is creepy. I feel like I'm on fire :(
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
A couple things, make sure you take your vit d3 (cholecalciferol) in a 1000mg liquid cap supplement. This will help absorption over solid pill forms. The other thing is, and this is CRITICAL, take your calcium as a calcium citrate and no other form, ideally also in a liquid form that can contain your D3 as well. This will increase your absorption of the supplement as well as give it to you in a form that is ideal easier for your body to work with.

In addition to that supplement advice, the other thing I highly recommend is load exercise. Mechanical stimulation of the bones triggers new bone growth and can help to reverse bone loss seen from prednisone, malnutrition, aging, and any other causes. Things like walking and light weight lifting can really provide a noticeable boost in bone density and volume. This is the reason astronauts lose bone density in space...weightlessness doesn't allow enough mechanical stress on the bones. I would talk to the doctor about a good exercise program that is safe for your current bone density so you don't hurt yourself. However, if they don't want to provide you with that information, starting with very light weights on simple exercises should be safe, even 5-10 pounds for some exercises should be enough to start. Also, jogging will provide a lot of benefit as well.

Other than that, you just have to hope increasing your calcium intake (not above 2500mg a day) and the form (calcium citrate, ideally as a liquid) as well as ensuring you get at least 1000iu of vitamin d3 a day, will be sufficient to reverse the bone loss. Remember as a crohns patient your absorption of nutrients is lower so taking a bit more than 500mg of calcium at a time isn't terrible either since 500mg is the "limit" for a healthy person absorbing normally.

Good luck!
I agree with this , I take gelcaps that are liquid filled even Vitamin D3 just my magnesium Citrate is a pill form but breaks down fast. I also take Natural cranberry with Vitamin C helps to stop toxins sticking to your kidneys, because I am prone to stones and bladder infections.

The brand I use is Nature's Bounty, they have alot of the liquid filled softgels. Not sure if it is in the states.
 
Thanks! The dog is my husband's dog, a 80lb Chesapeak Bay retriever! She has a stuffed toy in her mouth. Her name is Holly. They are rescue dogs in icy water, you should see her in the pond trying to break the ice! Stomps like a bear lol.
That's funny :)
Yeah. I love animals. I'm a certified veterinary technician but I can no longer work in the field very much because of all of my physical problems. She sounds like a sweet dog.
 
Thanks for all the advice! I'll really look more into finding the liquid calcium supplement and I believe that they do sell Nature's Bounty here. Thanks Pen:hug:. I was taking a liquid form but then I realized that it had too much magnesium. Shoot! The vitamin D I had been taking for a long time was vitamin D2 I believe. Then, 4 months ago I realized that it was the wrong kind! Gees.

Does anyone know how long it takes to regenerate bone? They say they want to do a second bone scan 2 years from now.

Sorry for all the questions but does anyone know if you can develop spinal numbness if you aren't getting enough vitamin B?
 
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Unfortunately bone density lost past a certain age is nearly impossible to fully regain. We continue depositing new bone till sometime in our 20s or maybe 30s (I should know this but cant currently remember). After that we start to lose bone if it isn't maintained. If you lose too much bone density some will come back with appropriate action, but sadly it will almost never go back to its previous state due to the nature of the organ itself. You can definitely do a lot to reverse the effects and prevent bone weakness in the near future, but as you age, you will have to remain vigilant to assist your body in maintaining your bone density through the actions described above.

Hopefully by then we'll understand bone a lot better and be able to provide treatment options that effectively help to prevent or fully reverse bone density an volume loss.
 
I read the weightlifting increases bone density.

I won't be doing much of that now. I'm just trying to increase my intake of calcium and D. Plus I don't want to fracture anything.
 
Oh shoot. I think I might be B12 deficient. I'm getting blood tests done tomorrow. I still have numbness and burning pain that radiates up my back and sometimes I have tingling in my hands. My mental state is pretty bad too. It seems like everything is getting worse in that area:eek2: despite my crohn's being under control now.
 

Dallies

Dragonfly
Hiya Mary, Meg also had a bone density scan as a routine thing the hospital wanted to do. Her results came back slightly lower than should be and she has been given Vits A and D. She also has to have Vitamin B12 injections every three months - he also mentioned the exercise thing Saidintouch posted about helps. Thinking of you lovexxxxx
 
Hiya Mary, Meg also had a bone density scan as a routine thing the hospital wanted to do. Her results came back slightly lower than should be and she has been given Vits A and D. She also has to have Vitamin B12 injections every three months - he also mentioned the exercise thing Saidintouch posted about helps. Thinking of you lovexxxxx
Thanks Dallies :smile: Is Meg doing better?

I just had my blood taken today and they drew up over 13 vials! I'm going to have to come back again for the rest. I'm going to go get a B12 injection from my doctor today but I think she is going to give me the cyanocobalamin. The methyl is better. Why is it that everyone still uses the cyanocobalamin? Its cheap but it you don't as much out of it than methylcobalamin.
 
Hi Mary

Sorry to hear about your bone scan results, it's not good that we have to ask for these tests ourselves, I was the same.

I developed osteoperosis after taking prednisolone and I was in so much back pain but the docs used to say it was because I was inactive when I was ill. They suggested I go swimming, I couldn't even get out of bed! Then a scan showed I had quite alot of fractures and was put on biphosphonates, they prevent further loss of bone mass and increase the growth of new bone. There were only a couple of types I could take as most have hormones in as they are used for ladies during the menopause..and I was 25!

Lyndsey xx
 
I'm sorry Lyndsey:(

The doctors told you to go swimming???! Ummm, ya can't absorb more calcium and make your bones strong if you don't have any to begin with. That is, if your bones aren't absorbing the calcium in the first place:blush:. Exercise without adequate calcium intake actually accelerates bone loss. Yeah. I was in physical therapy forever and no matter what I did, I just couldn't gain strength and it just hurt like you-know-what. Then I started realizing my muscles weren't working properly.


This disease just sucks! You think by now, the doctors would get be diligent about telling us what supplements to take! Are your bones o.k. now?


-Mary



____________________________
Diagnosed: Crohn’s December ‘09
Gastritis August ’09, TMJD 1992
Surgeries: 1-terminal ileum removal+abscess
Treatments: Current- None!
Past- pred., pentasa, aciphex, ranitidine
Other: Multi-vitamin, calcium(lots)+D,
digestive enzymes, fish oil (3 capsules),
B vitamins+B12 injections, and ginger:wink:
 
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