bone loss/words from my orthopedic dr

i had to see an orthopedist today for another problem but i also questioned him on osteoporosis. i wanted to let you all know what he said about us menopausal women. i think we all know that most of our bone loss happens in the first few years after menopause. he said we need 1500mg of calcium (500 mg. or less, several times a day). choose a calcium supplement that dissolves in the stomach. you can check your brand by placing one in a small amount of vinegar or warm water for 30 mins., stirring occasionally. if the tablet has not dissolved, it probably will not do so in your stomach. choose a supplement with labels that say "purified" or have the usp symbol indicating purity. avoid calcium from unrefined oyster shell, bone meal, or dolomite...these contain lead. constipation can be relieved by increasing liquids (6-8 glasses a day) and/or fiber. you shouldn't take more than 2000 mg's a day...this would increase your chances of kidney stones. don't take iron at the same time as your calcium...it will interfere with the iron absorption. antacids made up of calcium carbonate can be used as your supplement as long as they don't contain aluminum...aluminum harms your bones.
vitamin D (400 - 800 IU) is the key that allows calcium to leave the intestines and enter the bloodstream. do not take more than 800 IU/day. a high calcium intake alone will not protect your bones.
he also said fosamax is the best thing for helping bone loss...he said it's better than actonel and the nasal spray.
we did talk more about different medications that effect bone loss and if anyone wants to know what they are just let me know.
i hope this helps someone....the thought of my body crumbling under my skin makes me a little nervous! love, cynthia

Thanks Cynthia
That's wonderful information to know. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to check my calcium this evening. I've also bookmarked this thread for my encyclopedia.

Thanks Cynthia!

I will look into the calcium I use. Great information

Thanks for sharing this with us, Cynthia.

Thanks for the wonderful information Cynthia

If I could I'd just like to add a caution about the vitamin D. It's a fat soluble vitamin and is stored in the liver. It can be toxic in large amounts and our body can't get rid of it easily like some other water soluble vitamins such as B vitamins. That's why I'd advise caution unless you have a deficiency as I do, especially in more than minimal amounts.
Good natural sources of vitamin D are fish, milk (I believe in the US it's added to milk - which is a good way to get calcium too!), and of course the best source is sunshine!
It's converted to it's active form by cholesterol in the skin after sun exposure. Those who are not exposed to much sunshine, or live in a cold climate may benefit from supplements. For those who get around 15 mins sun exposure daily during the summer there should be sufficient storage in the liver to get you through the winter months. Don't overdo it though, we're all aware of what too much sun exposure can do as far as skin cancers go.

It's nice to get confirmation from a doctor who is up on these things. Thanks for passing the wisdom on

At a recent hormone seminar I attended, there was a lot of discussion about testosterone and osteoporosis. It may be something to consider, since testosterone seems to build bone.

lily,
now i'm confused. i live in florida where the sun shines just about every day and i don't want to poisen myself! how much is too much? i bought 400 mg of vitamin d yesterday and get 266mg's in my multiple. i don't know if i'll ever get this whole body balance thing

lauren,
i didn't realize testosterone built bone...can u elaborate...or point me too some info? i'm waiting for my perscription to come in the mail...this is good news.

here's to strong bones!

Cynthia, you might find these articles interesting. I didn't mean to alarm you but when taking any vitamins or supplements it's important we realise that more isn't always best. Too much vitamin D can actually result in bone-loss as well,especially if it's not balanced with adequate calcium intake. Another vine in the jungle!

Overdose/Toxicity symptoms:
nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, stomach cramps, dry mouth, increased thirst, increased urination, muscle or bone pain, headache, weakness, weight loss or dizziness while taking this drug.

General interesting info on vitamin D:
http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/vitamin_d.htm

http://westonaprice.org/vitamins/nut..._vitaminD.html

http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/conte...icle.asp?a=414

I'm not sure about the amounts you are taking........the measuring units may be different over there.
Vitamin D is usually measured in iu units.........and I think that's universal? mg I imagine would be a much greater concentration.
The usual (minimal) amount of vitamin D taken is 1000iu daily. You'd be taking 666mg but only if what the manufacturer states is the actual content is true. Your vitamins/herbs are non regulated over there, so it's hard to tell if what you pay for is what you are actually getting. Ours isn't stricltly controlled but there are recommendations for strength etc.

I guess the only way to check on your status is to do what my doc did and have a blood test.
There is some evidence that menopause itself and also taking HRT can result in lower levels of vitamin D. They call it a vitamin but it's actually a steroid vitamin, it's structure not unlike the other steroids such as estrogen, progesterone etc. So it's not surprising that in menopause we can have fluctuations or low levels.
Providing your parathyroid gland, kidneys and liver work well and you get adequate exposure to sunlight and/or consume foods rich in vitamin D then you shouldn't have a profound deficiency. But the storage of vitamin D in the liver is of concern when taking supplements..........remember that the liver has to process ALL hormones we either take or manufacture ourselves. If Vitamin D builds up too much then it cannot be cleared easily. The same goes for Vitamins A, E & K they are fat soluble too. The other vitamins are a different story, being water soluble they are excreted by the kidneys if we get too much. That's why women taking some vitamins have very yellow pee ...........their body is getting rid of the excess.

I live in a fairly cold climate (yes even in Australia some places are cold for a large proportion of the year ) I also have a skin condition which results in very little oil to convert vitamin D to it's active form, I'm very allergic to fish, and I'm slim which means I don't store hormones well (not enough fatty tissue). Although the further I get into this menopause thing, the more fat I seem to be storing around my butt and thighs So that's why my doc checked my vitamin D status and found it to be almost unreadable. My mother and sister both had early osteoporosis, so we may have some familial thing going on there too with the metabolism of it.

Check with your doctor and if you're worried it's just a simple blood test to check the levels in your blood.

Take care

lily,
thanks so much for the vitamin d articles...very interesting. now i'm interested in the seasonal disorder thing. my dd lives near boston and suffers from this...as did my mom...i wonder if d is the key. i made a mistake on my vit d...it is IU's not mg.'s...still get brain fog you know . thanks so much for your help....this whole bone thing makes me nervous since i have very small bones light skinned thin woman...and so are my daughters. thanks again...i need all the info i can get.

It's pretty much well known that testosterone hormone increases bone density. One study concluded that a combination of estrogen and testosterone showed a greater increase of bone density than just estrogen alone. I feel testosterone is just as important as estrogen and progesterone and that we should not be afraid to replace this hormone.