Dexa bone scan

I have Osteoperosis, and have fallen many times. I also have AMD and from what I have read, your balance goes. WELL, my balance has certainly disappeared.

Your consultant is out of the step with the Scottish Government when it comes to Vit D, Marydoll. It’s recommended that everyone takes Vit D in winter because we simply can’t get enough in the dark days. It’s only stored in the body for a couple of months so by December people will start running low.

www.foodstandards.gov.scot/consumers/healthy-eating/nutrition/vitamins-minerals/vitamin-d

I am the third generation of the family to have Osteoporosis and was suggesting to my 55 year old daughter last night that she gets a Dexa scan done to see where she is. I don’t claim to understand it all but I know the rate of bone renewal is important. Mine must hereditary as we were all a well fed lot. I had Alendronic acid for 5 years and now take Vitamin D and Calcium. My hip measurement now shows Osteopaenia so some slight improvement.

I would agree with you SueDonim - and growstuff

SueDonim

Your consultant is out of the step with the Scottish Government when it comes to Vit D, Marydoll. It’s recommended that everyone takes Vit D in winter because we simply can’t get enough in the dark days. It’s only stored in the body for a couple of months so by December people will start running low.

www.foodstandards.gov.scot/consumers/healthy-eating/nutrition/vitamins-minerals/vitamin-d

My consultant is respected professor, Sue. Well he was, the last time I was at the endinocronolgy and specialised bone mineral clinics. 😱 Oh dear.
However, I am sure my fellow Gransnetters know better. .

It has not been recommended that it is taken all year round, only October to March.

I'd like to know which it is, because I have seen both views expressed, and the vitamin d makes me really nauseous.
I thought the idea of everyone taking it began during the pandemic?

My rheumatology consultant told me random blood tests in the north west where I live, would show everyone short on vit d by february

This is the advice from NHS England:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/

As far as I know, this was the advice before the pandemic. I guess the issue was during lockdown was that people weren't going outdoors so often, so weren't getting enough sunlight. There was also some idea at one stage that Vitamin D protected from Covid.

Luckygirl3

Hysterectomy (with or without removal of ovaries) is known to increase the risk of osteoporosis - lots of scientific evidence.

I rang my surgery and I had my hysterectomy when I was 55 I distinctly remember them asking me if I wanted the ovaries left and I said no, (I had a fear of ovarian cancer)
Thank you all so much for your advice.Bythe looks of it I need maybe get a vitamin C tablet,I go out in the Sun as little as possible as I don’t like the heat so I will keep taking my vitamin D capsule..

I have had osteopenia for a while and the latest scan showed an area of osteoporosis in my left femoral neck. I have an annual infusion, I have had two so far, and take supplements of calcium, vitamin K2 which helps the body absorb the calcium, boron and vitamin D.

Shinamae

Luckygirl3

Hysterectomy (with or without removal of ovaries) is known to increase the risk of osteoporosis - lots of scientific evidence.

I rang my surgery and I had my hysterectomy when I was 55 I distinctly remember them asking me if I wanted the ovaries left and I said no, (I had a fear of ovarian cancer)
Thank you all so much for your advice.Bythe looks of it I need maybe get a vitamin C tablet,I go out in the Sun as little as possible as I don’t like the heat so I will keep taking my vitamin D capsule..

Not vitamin C,calcium 🤦‍♀️

I’m sure your consultant is a respected professor, Marydoll but it isn’t Gransnetters who claim to know better, it’s the very people who employ him - the NHS. From Growstuff’s NHS link ^

Should I take a vitamin D supplement?^
Advice for adults and children over 4 years old^
During the autumn and winter, you need to get vitamin D from your diet because the sun is not strong enough for the body to make vitamin D.
But since it's difficult for people to get enough vitamin D from food alone, everyone (including pregnant and breastfeeding women) should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D during the autumn and winter.
Between late March/early April to the end of September, most people can make all the vitamin D they need through sunlight on their skin and from a balanced diet.
You may choose not to take a vitamin D supplement during these months.

Nowhere does it say you need a clinician’s input and you also didn’t mention seasonal Vit D in your post.

If your consultant really has grounds to think we should not be taking Vit D then I hope he is challenging the NHS’s advice and is publicising his evidence so we can make our own minds up.

Misadventure the advice to take Vitamin D dates to long before COVID. I have known about this advice for a long time.

Here is a genuine question. How do people know they personally are deficient in Vitamin D?

I had no obvious symptoms of a deficiency, it was a shock. (The broken bones came years later). Osteoporosis was picked up after scans for R.A. and concerns over long term steroid use.

Possible symptoms of Vit D deficiency include:
Muscle pain
Bone pain
Increased sensitivity to pain
A tingly, “pins-and-needles” sensation in the hands or feet
Muscle weakness in body parts near the trunk of the body, such as the upper arms or thighs
Waddling while walking, due to muscle weakness in the hips
Muscle twitches or tremors
Muscle spasms

However, having been diagnosed in my early thirties with severe osteoporosis, I have been tested annually for Vit D deficiency, as part of routine monitoring, which I have been told should be done once a year.
On each occasion, my levels were so low, they didn't register. This was despite taking hospital prescribed supplements and having a healthy diet. I had to be given very high doses of Vit D on a number of occasions to try and resolve this. Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to retain Vit D.

Do those who routinely take it know the dose which is appropriate for their needs or do they guess? I am curious, because without intervention, I would have no idea how much I need.

M0nica

Misadventure the advice to take Vitamin D dates to long before COVID. I have known about this advice for a long time.

I'm all new to this.

I was working, fit, and taking no meds during lockdown (s)

I just take what I'm given, do as I'm told, and my prescriptions are the bane of my life with mistakes, things stopping, starting, being forgotten.

I remember John Campbell talking about vit d being a kind of cure all at the time of covid.

Our surgery are not prepared to test for vit D levels ( not sensible from economic point of view) but advice older people to take it in winter months.

I get conflicting advice from the people I see.
Have been told to buy them myself, which I'm happy to do.

Then told I needed stronger than I could buy, so I shouldnt have stopped the prescribed ones. (It wasn't me, it was left off my prescription)
Then told "well we only prescribe it if your levels are low (they are, constantly)

I'm totally fed up with it all.

Miss A We could start the Fed up club.

GN is great for advice, however sometimes it can lead to people being upset, due to conflicting advice.

I am just going to take my clinician's advice and get on with things. I need to stop reading these threads, they unsettle me and I am not in the best place, either physically nor mentally.

On reading other's experiences, I realise that the care I had (up to Covid) was excellent, because I was transferred to a newly established, dedicated bone mineral clinic. Others on here have not been so fortunate.
Unfortunately, I still do not have the results of my annual Dexa scan I had in June '23!
My blood test must be done by the hospital, my surgery won't do them anymore and it is overdue.

Oh Marydoll, a "fed up club" would be marvellous for me.

I feel exactly the same, and find I'm now trying to coordinate different consultants, different issues, in three different hospitals, along with tapering this medication, starting another, weaning on/off, up down and sideways!!!

It is really unsettling, I agree.

MissAdventure

Oh Marydoll, a "fed up club" would be marvellous for me.

I feel exactly the same, and find I'm now trying to coordinate different consultants, different issues, in three different hospitals, along with tapering this medication, starting another, weaning on/off, up down and sideways!!!

It is really unsettling, I agree.

💐

I once saw four different consultants at four different hospitals in a week. When told a CT was required, I refused, saying I had had enough!

I'm fortunate in that mine to communicate with each other, but the cardiologist reigns supreme. His word is law and the others defer to him.

Hang on in there. Sometimes it feels like we are making no progress, but hopefully you will get there in the end.
I have developed a stoicism and resilience, I didn't know I had.
You are a very strong woman, a fighter like me!

Yes, let's hang on, just to annoy people.

Marydoll I know because I've been tested for Vitamin D and folate deficiency and I ask for the testing to be included in my annual blood test, which the surgery is happy to do.

SueDonim

I’m sure your consultant is a respected professor, Marydoll but it isn’t Gransnetters who claim to know better, it’s the very people who employ him - the NHS. From Growstuff’s NHS link ^

Should I take a vitamin D supplement?^
Advice for adults and children over 4 years old^
During the autumn and winter, you need to get vitamin D from your diet because the sun is not strong enough for the body to make vitamin D.
But since it's difficult for people to get enough vitamin D from food alone, everyone (including pregnant and breastfeeding women) should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D during the autumn and winter.
Between late March/early April to the end of September, most people can make all the vitamin D they need through sunlight on their skin and from a balanced diet.
You may choose not to take a vitamin D supplement during these months.

Nowhere does it say you need a clinician’s input and you also didn’t mention seasonal Vit D in your post.

If your consultant really has grounds to think we should not be taking Vit D then I hope he is challenging the NHS’s advice and is publicising his evidence so we can make our own minds up.

On the NHS England site (I don't think it's in NHS Scotland )it says
"Some people have medical conditions that mean they may not be able to safely take as much. If in doubt, you should consult your doctor.
If your doctor has recommended you take a different amount of vitamin D, you should follow their advice."
I assume folk with kidney problems should be cautious.

My consultant was very pleased that I was taking a vitamin D supplement, she had guessed I was from the level of vitamin D in my blood and said I should continue to take it.

Can I join the fed up club please- sounds fun x