The Osteoporosis Support Center

The Journey:
Just Found Out
Dealing With It
Recover & Thrive
Worst Case

Facing the Initial Impact of Osteoporosis

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Osteoporosis

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like osteoporosis, you are never alone.  Countless women and men have faced exactly the same diagnosis and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge. 

TSC has scoured the Web to assemble links to the very best osteoporosis resources: articles, blogs, forums, and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional, and other challenges you're facing now.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this osteoporosis guide even more helpful to survivors like you.  


JUST FOUND OUT

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Osteoporosis

The Big Picture

Osteoporosis makes your bones weak and more likely to break. It's most common in older women, but men can get osteoporosis too. Because osteoporosis is a silent disease, you may not know you have it until you've broken a bone.

Your Osteoporosis

A bone density test can tell you and your doctor more about your case of osteoporosis, which will help your health-care providers determine the best treatment for you:

Your World

Getting diagnosed with osteoporosis may have brought up many emotions for you - that's normal. Talk to those closest to you know about your concerns and look for support if you need it:

National Osteoporosis Foundation: Patient Info - Support Programs  

Osteoporosis Myths

  • "Only women get osteoporosis."
  • "I'm young - I don't need to worry about osteoporosis."
  • "Osteoporosis is a natural part of aging."

Find the truth about these and other myths here: SpineUniverse.com: Myths and Misconceptions About Osteoporosis

Dealing With Osteoporosis

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Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

Types of Treatment

Medication

Bisphosphonates (alendronate/Fosamax; ibandronate/Boniva; risedronate/Actonel; zoledronic acid/Reclast) are the primary medications used to treat osteoporosis, but you may also be prescribed another type of drug, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs):

Lifestyle Changes

It's never too late to do all you can to keep your bones strong - and lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and stopping smoking can go a long way toward keeping you healthy:

Possible Treatment Side Effects

All drugs come with the risk of side effects - talk to your doctor about what to expect, to help choose the drug regimen that's right for you:

New Therapies

If you want to keep up on the latest news about osteoporosis treatment, look to these sources:

Holistic Treatments  

Lifestyle changes like those outlined above can have a big impact on osteoporosis, and yoga, chiropractic, and acupuncture may be useful too:

Creating a Support Circle

  • Set up your TSC survivor profile.
  • Join support groups of other survivors or start your own.
  • Interact and provide updates on your TSC profile or in the TSC forums.

Financial & Insurance Matters

Find out what your insurance will cover so that you are prepared for your medical costs:

National Osteoporosis Foundation: PAYING FOR YOUR OSTEOPOROSIS MEDICATIONS: What You Need to Know [PDF]

Health-care Providers Who Can Help

There are no specialists trained just for treating osteoporosis. Family doctors are able to treat mild cases of osteoporosis, but for more serious situations your physician may send you to other specialists, including specialists in gynecology, orthopedics, rheumatology, and podiatry.

Resources to Find Doctors  

National Osteoporosis Foundation: How to Find a Doctor

The Emotional Rollercoaster

Though you may find the prospect of living with osteoporosis a frightening one, know that you aren’t alone. Take some time now to talk to those closest to you about your journey so far and what more you could do to ease any discomfort or worry as you learn to live with osteoporosis. Talking to someone who's been where you are can really help:

National Osteoporosis Foundation: Patient Info - Support Programs  

Books Survivors Recommend

What Survivors Wish They’d Known

Communicating with Your Health-care Providers

  • Ask your doctors anything that's on your mind.
  • Ask a family member or a close friend to go with you to your appointments to ask questions or keep notes for you, so you aren't concerned about trying to remember everything.
  • Make a list of your past breaks and fractures, including the dates and what you were doing when the break happened. This list will help your doctors see if there's a pattern.

Information and Recommended Links for Co-Survivors

      

How You Can Help

  • Some daily activities will become difficult for people with osteoporosis. Chores that require lifting, such as vacuuming, can become hard to do. Offering to help with these tasks will be a big relief to your friend or family member.
  • Ask your survivor if there are ways to make daily living easier that you could help with. Some people, for example, may need to rearrange their cabinets or closets because the things they need are too high or otherwise difficult to reach. Make yourself available to help with these modifications around the house.

What to Say  

  • "I will help you in any way I can. If you need something, never hesitate to call me.”
  • "I’m here if you ever want to talk about anything to do with your condition."
  • “There's a lot we can do to help you; I'll work with you."

 What Not to Say

  • "Don’t worry. We’ll make it so you never fall again."  
  • "You know, I heard osteoporosis is a myth."
  • "This won’t require too much of an adjustment."

Things You Can Do for a Survivor Every Day

Helping with the basics of your survivor's daily routine is often the best, most useful help you can offer. Take the focus off your loved one's condition by offering to do something fun and not too taxing. Sometimes getting your mind off an illness is the best way to begin to cope with it.

How to Build a Support Network

  • Set up your TSC co-survivor profile.
  • Create a support group for your friend or family member.
  • Interact and provide updates on your loved one's progress.

How to Help a Survivor Deal with Day-to-Day Challenges

Recover & Thrive

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You've reached a new stage in your journey as a survivor - you've found a way to live with osteoporosis and you're working with your health-care provider to do all you can to keep your bones strong and prevent a fall. You may want to take some time now to look back on how far you've come and what's helped you to reach this stage of recovery and move into the rest of your life.

Remission / Recovery / Recurrence

There's a lot you can do to prevent osteoporosis from getting worse and stay as healthy and strong as possible:

Give Back

Once you've started to feel like you have a handle on your osteoporosis, you may want tohelp others who may be first beginning on this journey. You might be surprised to find how much your words of wisdom, assurance, and compassion help others who are going through what you have. Join support groups and create a profile at The Survivors Club to share your stories and experiences and help inspire others on their journey.

Worst Case

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In a worst-case scenario, weak bones can lead to fractures or falls that in turn lead to serious health complications and sometimes even death:

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