Just got my bone density scores back, with the assessment comment that its slightly borderline bone mass for age, and recommending rescan in 5 years or earlier if fracture is experienced.

My t-scores on femur neck, femur total, spine L1-4 were -1.9, -0.8 and -1.8, which from my reading suggests that two out of three are in the osteopenia range (below -1), and z-scores for the same areas -1.2, -0.6 and -0.9, which seems like its not far below normal for age (abnormal scores more than -1.5 below). To compare it, the spine DXA scan I had done in 2000 was -0.4

I guess given my history of many years of coeliac disease being undiagnosed and mother with really severe osteoporosis, and my age being mid 50s, that its not too bad a result. The recommendation was "general lifestyle advice indicated", and while my diet is fine, I think I am going to have problem with weight bearing exercise, eg walking, as I use crutches and really can't go far.

cemc - You will have to supplement. Sadly Strontium Citrate is now unavailable in UK (ban was introduced in Feb 2012 - this in order to make way for Servier's Protelos S.Ranelate...!! The Brit govt was 'bought'. Sigh).

So: calcium citrate;, magnesium citrate;, Vit-K2-MK4 (or K2-MK7 IF can take); manganese; boron; zinc; iodine; selenium; Vit-C; Vit-D3. (Check with a blood test for levels.)

Leafy greens, are also good.

At least yr DEXA scan was fair, but with yr mother's severe osteo then then would have thought best to be on the cautious side and to supplement.

Take care -

Molly C

Do you think it is at levels that need supplementing? I do have a diet that is quite high in calcium (getting at least what I should be getting).

Is the strontium citrate just unavailable on prescription, or is it totally unavailable in the UK? I know the osteoporosis info booklet they gave me just mentioned the ranelate.

Leafy greens. Yes. Don't eat enough of them. Mainly because I am just too tired to cook. I do have some just about ready to pick in the garden though - perpetual spinach, and stuff like that.

Strontium Citrate banned import and sale into the UK as of Feb 2012. Before that date was freely available and I took for 6 yrs - and reversed my osteo. Protelos Strontium Ranelate is available on prescription. Servier bought out the Brit govt...and the French govt! SC basically UNavailable in Europe - can get from USA by mail order, ensure that customs are not interested enough to open parcel. Best to get sent to you as a present and not listed as to content. Big bore. Prices for same are from here to eternity - USD12/- to AUS$93 for same same. In January could get in UK for £4.00 - couldn't invent it could you? Am furious with myself that I was not on the ball to get my order in. Maddening.

Osteoporosis booklet will only mention Ranelate - as said, Servier (the Fr. pharma co that produces the stuff) has strong armed Europe and the Brit govt. (Needs letters to govt officials to try and get this reversed...!! Needs 'action stations' protests!)

Leafy greens: spinach, mustard greens, broccoli etc will have trace SC so long as soil not depleted in nutrients. Grow yr own, use good horse dung and good compost for the garden to enrich the soil. No, top dressing with chemicals on/in the soil will not do it instead. Most greens from supermarkets are deplete in nutrients.

Have just planted my spinach - hope springs that 'I' get to eat afore the slugs and snails...Ho-Hum.

can understand that something like this might be unavailable, but banned, wondering why they say it is banned. what is their "excuse" for why it is "evil" and thus must be "banned". merely curious

Haven't a clue Sue - I tried to order it up. Several outlets and 'eventually' got the info - banned as of Feb 2012 by the govt but, Protelos was available ad lib! Discussion ensued and, looks like Servier has 'bought' the govt... Mebbe it will be like Stevia, that exact same happened to stevia, the sweetener made from a leaf as opposed to chemical like Aspartame (Servier uses Aspartame to sweeten its Protelos!) The sugar industry, the industrial food sciences industry got hold of the govt and had sales of stevia banned in the UK. But now...'a' company has come up with a stevia product and lo and behold, stevia is for sale in the UK but 'only' under this particular patent formula.

Perhaps eventually the same will happen with Strontium Citrate...

The world is a mad place -

BTW - 'a' reason is not given and certainly NOT that SC is 'evil'...economics and trade agreements Sue! The greed of man and govt controls. Look to industry for yr 'reasons'.

sometimes it is indeed!

hoping this is just a phase!

thanks for your answer.

The 'new' stevia supplement is by NUnaturals - they have four products, one contains...Maltodextrin. BAH.

Surprising the number of meds and supplements etc that do contain Maltodextrin. GGgggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Tried desperately to purchase vits and supplements here last Tuesday - everything I looked at carried horrible excipients: aspartame, maltodextrin, mannitol and so on. Was soooo blasted *angry. Eventually found ONE supplement by ONE company with nowt obnoxious - a magnesium product. I was fit to be tied at the end of some two hours hunts through the shelves of that particular outlet. The French LOVE these vile excipients. They also LOVE poor bioavailability, carbonates, AND the pharmacist had NEVER heard of Vit-K2... Scratch one's head in *total DISbelief!

(MUST get me over to the UK and sort out summat that makes sense cause nothing here makes much sense - at all... Their answer to *everything is the - Gallic shrug <LOL> except their *utter ineptitude IS rather maddening/frustrating).

I just hate maltodextrin. I have such problems with maize and all derivatives, and one reason I am sure that I (and a whole load of folk) are getting so sensitive to maize is that it is no longer a food, but an industrial product - used to make all sorts of things like dextrins and maltodextrins (to sweeten stuff and still be able to say "no added sugar"), microcrystalline cellulose (in loads of pills), modified starches, etc. Peanut allergy got widespread after peanut paste had been used as an emulsifier in loads of common processed food products (so kids were getting several hits a day of it). Now you find that just about every form of processed food has some kind of maize derivative in, and guess what - maize/corn allergy is on the rise.

UK just loves those horrible sweeteners too - I couldn't believe it when I first came back here to find nasty chemicals being promoted for kids use as being "tooth friendly". Most folk here would be far better off having sugar in their drinks than that muck. Even commercial fruit drinks that do have sugar in still have artificials in there as well. So hard to get stuff with only cane sugar as the sweetener. Then there is the thing that diet drinks actually contribute to putting weight on because the sweeteners in them trigger hunger, and particularly salty or sweet snack food.

But back to the original bone density thing, If I am having a lot of calcium in my diet, then how do I know how much to supplement, and is there any danger of mineral replacement (where an excess of one pushes out others), or getting imbalanced in other minerals if I end up with too much?

cemc - answer to yr question? Yes. That is why it is far better to check bloods *before supplementing/taking vits, so as you 'know' where you are. An *excellent book is 'Your Bones' by Lara Pizzorno & Dr Jonathan Wright - covers a lot of general information as well as bone stuff.

Blood Test -

Vit-D3
Parathyroid
Magnesium
Potassium
Calcium
Phosphate

and anything else to throw into the pot - don't cost more to have more checked in the one blood draw...'smile'. And full blood count to include cholesterol etc.