New here and my journey so far

I have been lurking for about 6 months now and I just want to express my gratitude to everyone. I finally decided to stop lurking and contribute.

I am 65F and was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis early this year from the routine DEXA scan at age 65. I was shocked (exercised most of my life and at a healthy weight) and scared but after the initial fear died down, I got busy and started researching. This subreddit has been a godsend. A big thank you to all. I am not anti-meds at all but have chosen to go without meds for now.

I thought I would share what I have done/been doing so far. I am not a doctor so I am not an expert at all and below has simply been my experience.

  1. Within a month from diagnosis, I was fortunate to see an endocrinologist from a major hospital with a bone center. There was a cancellation when I called for an appointment. My endocrinologist is extremely knowledgeable about osteoporosis and she ordered a ton of tests. Low-ish weight all my life (normal BMI but low end) and genetics appear to be the main reasons. And onset of menopause. My endocrinologist has recommended either Evenity, Tymlos or Forteo.
  2. I learned about the book, Great Bones, from this sub. It has been a great resource and I have been meeting with the author (Dr. McCormick) on a regular basis. My endocrinologist is aware that I consult with Dr. M.
  3. I have also been following several YouTube channels: Dr. Doug, Margaret Martin and a few others that I have learned from this sub.
  4. I lift weights three times a week, strengthen my spine and hips twice a week using Dr. Lisa Moore's exercise routines on YouTube. I also do balancing exercises from Dr. Lisa. I walk about 2 miles a day. I tried wearing a weighted vest (lowest weight) while walking but my back hurt so I stopped doing that after a couple of tries. I jump on a trampoline 5 days a week since jumping on the floor seem to bother my knees.
  5. I use a vibration plate 10 minutes per day, 5 days a week.
  6. I use a red light therapy belt with a massager twice daily, 20 minutes each session. I set it at 850nm.
  7. I take a bone building supplement from Life Extension and collagen with Fortibone, both from Amazon. I take other supplements to support overall health.
  8. I am on HRT. I was fortunate to find a gynecologist who advocated for HRT.
  9. I eat 6 prunes a day.
  10. My diet is protein-focused (50 to 60 grams per day for my size) and I try to avoid ultra processed food but sometimes fail miserably.

I have been monitoring my progress using CTX, Vit D and estradiol levels under Dr. M's guidance. CTX started off in the high 500s early this year and my last test at the end of June showed that my CTX was in the low 200s. Vit D and estradiol have gone up but still need to go higher. P1NP was checked early this year and was in the 90s and Dr. M explained that he expected that since the bone rebuilding was busy trying to keep up with the high bone resorption.

I am feeling encouraged but until I get my next DEXA scan (same machine, same hospital) results next spring, I truly don't know.

Posted Aug 8, 2025, 9:08 PM UTC

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