HEALTHINFO@EarthyMe

Yes, you read that correctly, I had osteoporosis. Not because I am an old lady, mind you. Because truth be told, it was detected a few years ago, when I was still not in my 30's. My doctor, a rheumatologist whose the specialty for bones was truly surprised when the result for my bone mineral density test or densitology revealed that I am porotic. At first she could not believe when I showed her the test I got from a seminar...that I have osteoporosis, so she had me take this more intensive test.

I said "I HAD OSTEOPOROSIS"...past tense. Because with the free medications given me from that tertiary hospital I was working at, Fosamax and Calcium with Vitamin D, my bone toughened up a little. It is now Osteopenia instead of Osteoporosis. I was able to beat the margin for me to be diagnosed as such.

The reason for me having it when I am still young ended up to being just hereditary. My thyroid was checked, no problem there. My hormones were checked, no problem there either. I am a milk drinker and loves calcium rich foods therefore could not blame it on my intake. More to absorption probably. Test after test were made and they could not find the origin of it. Hence it was concluded to be hereditary. This disease actually was not known to my greatgrans, and so I cannot really confirm that they have it early on. I just remember them to be hunched over...but well, most oldies are hunched.

According to Medline Plus, "Osteoporosis is a silent disease. You might not know you have it until you break a bone." Very true. Or like me, the moment you feel back pains and have it checked, then you'll know what could be wrong. It is a must that you know so you can avoid possible damage to your bones it being brittle if you have porotic bones. You wouldn't want to end up paralyzed when you slipped from playing rough games not being aware that you can be that breakable!!!

Advice? If you have back pains or even just the risk factors to osteoporosis of getting older, being small and thin (as I was), having a family history of osteoporosis, taking certain medicines, being a white or Asian woman, not taking in much calcium, without much exposure to sun to activate your vitamin D, have sedentary lifestyle and a smoker...have your bones checked.
**Even if you only have osteopenia (low bone mass) or osteomalacia (softening of bones) it's best that you have it checked.

Again, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. Therefore, MOVE, LOVE THE SUN, TAKE CALCIUM RICH FOODS and DO AWAY WITH DRINKING AND SMOKING. In short, have a healthy lifestyle.

People tend to go indoors the moment the sun shines down upon them. It is then not surprising to see bend backs more today than before. Why you say? Because sunlight is the button to activate the Vitamin D in our skin, which in turn helps in the absorption of Calcium. Calcium is responsible in making our bones strong, avoiding osteoporosis and bent backs. It also is the one responsible in making sure that we don’t lose a tooth when we give birth and breastfeeds. The nails and the hair need Calcium as well.

If sunlight makes the plants green, sunlight will definitely make us not green but as healthy.

The fast pace in life makes us think less and less of our health. We strive harder each day to earn a living. We do overtimes, sometimes even double jobs, just so we can give our family the best we can offer. But by doing so, we have less time sleeping, we grab bites to eat that is not really nutritious but filling, we even delay calls of nature at times. We forget that HEALTH IS WEALTH. And nutrition is one way to good health.

Do you still have a chance to eat balanced meal? Are you taking in nutritious food that compensates body expenditure? Do you even have vitamin supplements especially when you admit that you have minimal intake of the needed nutrients from items you eat at fast-food?

Now your back hurts. You believe it is mere stress from work. Probably just because you stayed overly long hours sitting down doing paper works. Have you ever thought that maybe you do not have calcium enough to support your bones? You rather drink coffee than milk, you are breastfeeding, you are more indoors than outdoors, you are taking steroidal drugs, and all those other factors why you have minimal calcium stores.

"OSTEOPOROSIS is the thinning of the bones with reduction in bone mass due to depletion of calcium" as per defined by MedicineNet.com. And with weak, porous bones, it cannot support your weight as it does before therefore your muscles give more effort making your back hurt.

GIVE TIME TO KNOW. Seek medical consult if you have back pains before it is too late. People with osteoporosis are at high risk to fractures since the bones can break easily. And this may pose a greater problem than osteoporosis itself. Bone Density Test can tell if you have osteoporosis. And if you do, your Doctor and Dietitian can give the appropriate diet and medicine to help make your bones stronger and back less painful.